The Autism Society Event and Education Recordings Archive

Collaborative Problem Solving (CPS) is an evidence-based approach rooted in neurobiological research. Focusing on strengths to help children develop skills and meet expectations with the understanding that children may lack the skill, not the will, to behave well; specifically skills related to problem solving, flexibility and frustration tolerance.

Learning Objectives

• Understand the framework and philosophy of Collaborative Problem Solving.

• Apply the Collaborative Problem Solving model to a wide range of people with varying levels of ability including those who are non-verbal.

Collaborative Problem Solving (CPS) is an evidence based approach rooted in neurobiological research. Focusing on strengths to help children develop skills and meet expectations with the understanding that children may lack the skill, not the will, to behave well; specifically skills related to problem solving, flexibility and frustration tolerance.

Based on Dr. Bruce Perry’s neurological research this approach changes the paths of the brain through regulation, relationship, and repetition. This approach values the perspectives of both adults and children while teaching skills in a manner that builds on the strength of the individual.

CPS is being utilized in a wide range of settings from residential facilities, correctional facilities, mental health and education. The philosophy of “People do well if they can” paired with identifying lagging skills leads to durable lifelong solutions.

When kids don’t meet our expectations, we need a plan. In CPS, we refer to these as your three Plans: Plan A, Plan B and Plan C. Most often, we adults try to impose our will (in CPS, this is referred to as Plan A) to make a child meet our expectations. Plan A not only causes challenging behavior, but it does not teach the skills that may be necessary for success. Plan C is when we adults decide to drop an expectation, at least for now. Plan C is a way of prioritizing and deciding what you want to address first. Finally, Plan B is the heart of CPS when adults work together with kids to solve problems in mutually satisfactory and realistic ways. Plan B involves four basic steps. The first step is to identify and understand the child’s concern about the problem to be solved and reassure him or her that imposition of adult will is not how the problem will be resolved. The second step is to identify and share the adults’ concerns about the same issue. The third step is where the child is invited to brainstorm solutions together with the adult. The fourth and final step is where the child and adult work together to assess potential solutions and choose one that is both realistic and mutually satisfactory. The continuous use of Plan B helps solve problems that are precipitating challenging behavior in a durable way while building helping relationships, thinking skills, intrinsic motivation and confidence.

The work done at Willamette ESD has demonstrated the effectiveness of CPS not only with the preschool population but with our most severe students with ASD. We have successfully integrated CPS with traditional methods of ABA, TEACCH, and PBIS. We believe there are unlimited possibilities to the application of CPS with the ASD population as the methods are tailor made to the ASD brain.

Learning Objectives: