Summary Statement

The summary statement generally consists of a single paragraph of information including

• Specific, observable behaviors
• What seems to happen before the behavior (setting event, antecedent, trigger)
• Whether the behavior seems to show patterns (certain time of day, certain subject or routine, certain other people)
• What seems to happen immediately after the behavior (what is the consequence, what happens) and
• A best guess about the function of the behavior (what does the child get or avoid as a result of his/her behavior?)

The summary statement allows someone who is not familiar with the child to get a snapshot picture of the problem behavior with some detail and context.