The 5P Approach

Introducing the 5P Approach

The 5p Approach is a practical programme which can be used by professionals and parents who want a better understanding about the behaviour of children and young people with autistic spectrum disorders and how to prevent problems from arising, and who want help with the process of managing behaviour change.

Although primarily about managing behaviour, at its core is a focuson prevention rather than ‘cure’.

The 5P Approach was developed by Linda Miller and emerged over several years as a result of her work as a specialist educational psychologist working with autism in schools and with families. It developed into a complete programme which has now been tried and tested with many children and young people with autistic spectrum disorders.

The 5P Approach is now available in a book; “Practical Behaviour Management Solutions for Children and Teens with Autism – The 5P Approach”. If you want to know more about the programme, the book and its author you can find this by following the links from this page.
5P Approach Book Cover About the book

The book outlines a framework for behaviour intervention. Although there are some practical examples and useful tips, it does not simply provide a list of difficult behaviours and instructions on what could be done to change them (i.e. if he or she does this – then do this).

Instead it sets out a clear pathway to follow, adopting right from the start a practical solution-focused problem-solving approach.

The five-step pathway takes you from identifying behaviour and understanding the reason it occurs through to planning and implementing a comprehensive intervention programme.

The approach therefore provides a clear process to follow, one step at a time, and a framework for collecting and using all the information needed for each stage. Each ‘P’ represents a stage or step in the process:

1 = Profiling

2 = Prioritizing

3 = Problem Analysis

4 = Problem Solving

5 = Planning

The 5P Approach aims to provide a complete package which can be used time and time again, and which provides a solution whatever the circumstances. While clearly defining the steps you need to take, it also allows for flexibility in the range of materials provided which can be used according to need and individual situations.

NEW! Linda has now expanded the 5P Approach to include the 5P Approach to Flexibility and the 5P Approach to Psychology Intervention