Big Behaviours
A 2nd grader frequently pushes or tackles peers during unstructured playground time.
What is a lack of social language skills to ask peers, "Can I join your game?"
A student consistently fails to turn in homework on Google Classroom.
What is a lack of digital equity (no Wi-Fi in the home)
A student constantly makes "animal noises" or hums loudly while the teacher is speaking.
What is a self-stimulating behavior (stimming) used to regulate a nervous system that feels overwhelmed?
A student is unusually irritable and snappy with their friends during lunch.
What is significant physical irritability caused by skipping breakfast / food insecurity?
A student refuses to use the glue and glitter during an art project, appearing physically disgusted.
What is a Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) involving tactile defensiveness?
A student becomes verbally aggressive with a substitute teacher who tries to enforce a strict seating chart
What is an anxiety response triggered by a loss of routine, predictability, and their « safety person »?
A student consistently forgets to hand in homework, despite doing well on their in-class quizzes.
What is a chaotic home environment with no adult support?
A student frequently asks to go to the bathroom during math lessons.
What is an avoidance strategy to escape a task that makes the student feel stupid.
This child keeps resting their head on the desk and falling asleep during a high-interest activity.
What is extreme fatigue caused by having to care for younger siblings at night?
This child follows the first step of a three-step direction perfectly but then stops and looks lost.
What is an Auditory Processing Disorder or a struggle with sequential processing?
A student rips up their worksheet into tiny pieces with five minutes left in the testing period.
What is intense frustration and panic over a strict time limit they can’t meet.
A student actively misbehaves to get sent to the hallway right before the class takes turns reading aloud.
What is hiding a reading delay or dyslexia by choosing to look "bad" rather than look "dumb"?
A student "blurts out" answers and interrupts peers constantly, despite multiple reminders to wait their turn.
What is a symptom of ADHD, (not just a lack of respect)?
A student arrives at school looking unkempt and becomes defensive when asked if they are okay.
What is the shame associated with a sudden housing transition.
A student spends the entire writing period sharpening their pencil and organizing their desk instead of writing.
What is "task paralysis" caused by an inability to prioritize the steps of an assignment?
A student aggressively refuses to participate in a collaborative group project, crossing their arms and ignoring their partners.
What is social anxiety caused by navigating the unwritten social dynamics of the group?
A student aces their homework but consistently fails the in-class unit tests.
What is debilitating test anxiety that causes their mind to "go blank" under pressure?
A student frequently makes loud, inappropriate jokes right in the middle of teacher instruction.
What is seeking negative peer attention because they feel completely lost academically?
A consistently polite student suddenly yells at their best friend over a minor disagreement about a shared marker.
What is displaced anger from an argument they had with a caregiver in the car right before drop-off?
A student can explain a complex science concept to you flawlessly out loud, but completely bombs the written multiple-choice test on the same topic.
What is a language processing difficulty that makes decoding written test formats a barrier to showing what they know?
A student destroys their own artwork and yells "I hate this" after making one small mistake.
What is « perfectionism anxiety » or fear of failure.
A student turns in a completely blank page for an open-ended creative writing prompt, despite sitting quietly the whole time.
What is a fixed mindset that makes the fear of writing the "wrong" thing so paralyzing they cannot even start?
A student is always participating in class discussions, but constantly corrects peers and teacher and becomes upsetting when not called upon.
What is a desperate need for external validation to compensate for deep feelings of social inadequacy?
A student who normally shares easily becomes fiercely territorial over a classroom iPad and refuses to let anyone look at it.
What is a reaction to experiencing a complete lack of autonomy or choice at home that morning?
A student excels in highly structured math and logic, but shuts down completely, cries, or refuses to work during open-ended creative writing prompts.
What is a rigid cognitive profile (consistent with ASD) that thrives on absolute rules and struggles with assignement ambiguity?