Problem: The student engages in behavior that is markedly inconsistent from day to day and possibly hour to hour.

Cognitive/Self-Regulatory Possibility: Isolated Deficit

Step 1: Organize observations relevant to the problematic behavior/issue

• Who is reporting the problem?
• When does it occur? (Include time of day, activities etc).
• Where does it occur?
• What tends to precede the problematic behavior/issue?
• What tends to follow the problematic behavior/issue?
• What is the age and functioning level of the student?
• Previous documentation/charts?

Step 2: Identify possible contributors to the problematic behavior/issue

In many cases, there are several contributors to the student’s identified problem. These contributors may interact with each other, therefore, it may be necessary to combine tests from different categories of possibilities. The existence of several interacting contributors may become obvious as you proceed through individual intervention experiments.

Isolated deficit: Some students may be inconsistent in their behavior and performance as a direct result of frontal lobe injury. (See Tutorial on Inconsistency).

Relevant observations: The student’s behavior is inconsistent from day to day and possibly hour to hour and this inconsistency does not appear to be a result of any of the medical, cognitive, behavioral, or emotional possibilities listed. In some students with TBI, frontal lobe injury can produce inconsistent performance that is independent of all other problems.