Antecedent Tweaks That Actually Work: Small Changes Before Behaviour That Can Make a Big Difference

By Dr. Bob Carey

There is a question I have been asked countless times over the past four decades. It usually comes from exhausted parents who have reached the end of another difficult day and are searching for something—anything—that might make tomorrow a little easier. "What do I do when my child refuses?" Sometimes the refusal involves homework, sometimes getting dressed in the morning, sometimes going to bed, and sometimes something as simple as turning off a video game. The situations are different, but the question is remarkably consistent.  My answer, however, often surprises them.

Rather than beginning with what to do after the behaviour occurs, I usually ask them to tell me what was happening immediately beforehand. There is often a brief pause, followed by a look that says they are not quite sure why I am asking. They have come looking for strategies to manage behaviour, and instead I am asking them to describe the environment, the routine, the demands being placed on their child, how the request was made, what happened five minutes earlier, and whether anything else in the child's day might have contributed to the situation.  It is at that point that many parents begin to realize something important. Behaviour rarely occurs in isolation. Every behaviour unfolds within a context, and that context often tells us far more than the behaviour itself.

This idea is hardly new. It has been one of the cornerstones of Applied Behaviour Analysis since the early work of B. F. Skinner and was later expanded through decades of behavioural research examining the relationship between antecedents, behaviour, and consequences. More recently, Positive Behaviour Support has demonstrated that carefully designed antecedent interventions can reduce challenging behaviour while simultaneously increasing participation, independence, and quality of life. Researchers such as Glen Dunlap, Robert Horner, Edward Carr, and their colleagues have repeatedly shown that changing the environment often changes behaviour without relying on increasingly restrictive or reactive interventions. Yet despite this impressive body of evidence, our first instinct is still often to focus on what happens after a behaviour instead of what happened before it. Perhaps that is because reacting feels intuitive. Prevention requires us to slow down, become curious, and think more like investigators than firefighters.

One family I worked with several years ago illustrates this beautifully. Their nine-year-old son had developed an intense aversion to homework. Every evening followed almost exactly the same script. His parents would ask him to begin, he would complain, negotiations would quickly escalate into arguments, and eventually someone would lose their temper. By the end of the evening everyone felt defeated, and homework had become the most stressful part of the day.  When I visited their home, I was struck by something the family had almost stopped noticing. Homework was taking place at the kitchen table while dinner was being prepared. The television was on in the adjoining room. A younger sibling wandered in and out asking questions. School papers, grocery flyers, unopened mail, and electronic devices covered most of the table. Before the first math problem had even been attempted, the environment itself was demanding attention from half a dozen different directions.

Instead of introducing a new reward system or additional consequences, we changed remarkably little. Homework was moved to a quieter room. Only the materials needed for the first assignment were placed on the desk. The television remained off until homework was completed. Rather than beginning with the most difficult assignment, the child started with one he could complete successfully in just a few minutes before moving to more challenging work.  Within a matter of weeks, homework had not become enjoyable, but it had become manageable. The arguments diminished dramatically. The child had not suddenly become more motivated or more mature. The environment had simply stopped competing with him every step of the way.

Experiences like this have reinforced one of the central principles of the Positive Systems Approach. We spend enormous amounts of time trying to change people while sometimes overlooking the systems in which those people are functioning. Yet behaviour emerges from the interaction between individuals and their environments. Family routines, classroom expectations, sensory demands, communication styles, physical surroundings, relationships, and organizational structures all influence whether success is likely or whether frustration becomes almost inevitable.

I often encourage parents to imagine themselves arriving at work after a poor night's sleep. Their inbox contains two hundred unread emails. Their computer freezes repeatedly. Three colleagues interrupt them before they finish their first sentence. Their manager then asks them to complete an unfamiliar report before lunch. Most adults would feel overwhelmed under those circumstances. We would not conclude that we had suddenly become lazy or oppositional. We would recognize that the environment had become unnecessarily demanding.  Children deserve the same understanding.

Another child comes to mind whenever I think about the power of antecedent change. She was seven years old and had developed significant anxiety following numerous medical procedures during early childhood. Her parents described her as cooperative and thoughtful in most situations, yet appointments with physicians or dentists inevitably resulted in tears, refusal, and overwhelming distress. Understandably, adults around her focused on helping her calm down once the anxiety appeared.  Instead, we concentrated on what happened long before anyone entered an examination room. Together we developed a highly predictable routine. She knew exactly where she was going, who she would see, what would happen first, second, and third, and approximately how long each part of the visit would last. She practised the sequence through play at home, chose a favourite comfort object to bring with her, and earned opportunities to engage in enjoyable activities before and after appointments. Medical staff also agreed to explain each step before beginning rather than surprising her with procedures.  None of these changes removed her anxiety completely, nor should we have expected them to. Anxiety is not something we simply erase. What changed was her ability to cope. As uncertainty decreased, her confidence gradually increased. By modifying the antecedents surrounding each appointment, we created conditions in which courage became more achievable. Watching that transformation reminded me once again that behaviour is often far more responsive to thoughtful preparation than to crisis management.

One of the misconceptions I occasionally encounter is the belief that antecedent strategies somehow make life too easy for children. I see it quite differently. We are not lowering expectations; we are removing unnecessary barriers that interfere with children's ability to meet those expectations. There is an important difference between making a task easier and making success more possible.  The research supporting this perspective has grown steadily over the past several decades. Functional assessment research by Edward Carr and his colleagues demonstrated that understanding the variables surrounding behaviour leads to more effective intervention than relying on generic consequences alone. Glen Dunlap's work on antecedent interventions highlighted how relatively modest environmental adjustments could produce meaningful reductions in challenging behaviour. Robert Horner and George Sugai's development of School-wide Positive Behaviour Support further demonstrated that altering environments, increasing predictability, and teaching expectations proactively could improve behaviour across entire schools rather than simply changing individual students. Even outside behavioural psychology, contemporary neuroscience has increasingly emphasized what behavioural scientists have appreciated for years—that stress, uncertainty, cognitive overload, and emotional regulation profoundly influence learning and behaviour.

Perhaps the most encouraging aspect of antecedent modification is that it rarely requires expensive programs or elaborate interventions. More often it involves paying closer attention to everyday moments. A quieter workspace. Clearer instructions. A visual schedule. Breaking a large assignment into smaller steps. Providing a five-minute warning before leaving the park. Beginning with an easy success before introducing a more difficult challenge. Allowing a child to choose which homework assignment to complete first. Individually, these changes may seem almost insignificant. Collectively, they can transform the emotional tone of an entire household.

When I recommend these strategies to parents, I also encourage them to think like behavioural scientists. Choose one routine that consistently creates difficulties and make one or two thoughtful changes before the behaviour occurs. Then measure what happens. Count homework refusals over the next month. Record the number of minutes your child works independently. Notice how many transitions occur without conflict. Behavioural science has always emphasized objective measurement because progress often unfolds so gradually that our memories fail to notice it. Families are frequently surprised to discover that while daily life still has its difficult moments, the overall trajectory has quietly shifted in a positive direction.

Over the years, I have become increasingly convinced that one of the greatest strengths of the Positive Systems Approach is that it invites us to replace judgment with curiosity. Instead of asking, "What is wrong with this child?" we begin asking, "What is happening around this child?" Instead of focusing exclusively on consequences, we begin examining routines, environments, relationships, expectations, communication, and opportunities for success. That simple shift changes not only how we understand behaviour but also how we respond to it.

Perhaps that is why antecedent modification continues to resonate with me after all these years. It reminds us that meaningful change often begins long before a challenging behaviour ever appears. It begins in the environments we create, the expectations we communicate, the relationships we build, and the thoughtful preparation we provide. When we invest our energy there, we are doing far more than preventing difficult behaviour. We are creating conditions in which children can experience competence, confidence, and success more often. In my experience, there are few gifts we can offer a child that are more valuable than that.

Below you will find a handy one page handout that will prompt parents to be more aware of the importance of "antecedents" in behaviour change!

Antecedents_That_Actually_Work_Handout.pdf

Download PDF • 313KB

In a future post, I'll explore another often-overlooked aspect of behaviour support—the powerful role that consequences play after behaviour occurs, and why reinforcement is frequently misunderstood by both parents and professionals.