Behaviour Support & Co-Design: Why Formulation Matters
June 12, 2026
One thing we see time and time again in behaviour support is that the most effective plans aren’t created in isolation, they’re built together.
That’s really what co-design is about. It’s not just a buzzword. It’s making sure the people who know the participant best are actively involved in understanding what’s going on and shaping what we do next. This becomes especially important during formulation.
So, what’s a formulation session?
A formulation session is where we slow things down and try to make sense of behaviour as a team.
Rather than jumping straight into “how do we stop this?”, we take a step back and ask:
- What might this behaviour be communicating?
- When does it tend to happen?
- What seems to make things better or worse?
It’s not about getting a perfect answer on the day. It’s about building a shared understanding that we can keep refining over time.
Why co-design actually matters in practice
Everyone comes into a formulation session with a different perspective.
- Families and carers often bring the history and the day-to-day reality
- Support workers see what happens in the moment
- Support Coordinators are looking at the bigger system and consistency
- Practitioners bring a framework to help organise it all
If we don’t bring those views together, we end up with gaps or plans that look good on paper but don’t quite work in real life.
When people are properly involved in the process, there’s usually better buy-in, more consistency, and less reliance on reactive strategies.
What we’re trying to do in these sessions
At its core, formulation is about understanding patterns.
We might map things out simply:
- What’s happening before the behaviour?
- What does the behaviour actually look like? (clearly and without labels)
- What tends to happen afterwards?
From there, we start looking at possible reasons—or functions—behind the behaviour. For example, is the person:
- trying to communicate something?
- overwhelmed or dysregulated?
- trying to get away from something?
- seeking connection or something preferred?
There’s rarely just one answer, and that’s okay. What matters is that the team has a shared way of making sense of it.
Making it useful, not just theoretical
A good formulation should actually help guide what we do next.
That’s where co-design really makes a difference. It keeps strategies grounded in reality:
- Will this work in the home or school environment?
- Is it something staff feel confident to try?
- Does it fit with the participant’s preferences and goals?
If the answer is no, then we adjust it. That flexibility is part of the process.
A few things that help sessions run well
From experience, formulation sessions tend to be most useful when:
- People bring specific examples, not just general concerns
- There’s space for different viewpoints, even if they don’t fully align
- We focus on patterns over time, not one-off incidents
- The tone stays curious rather than critical
Even small shifts in language can help, moving away from “non-compliance” and towards “what might be driving this?”
Co-design takes a bit more time upfront, but it makes everything else easier.
When a team has a shared understanding of behaviour, support becomes more consistent, more proactive, and more aligned with the person’s needs.
And ultimately, that’s what we’re aiming for, support that actually makes sense in the person’s world, not just in a report.
Have you attended a formulation session with your Behaviour Support Practitioner? Book one now.
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