When Behavior Isn't the Problem
Using the Ziggurat Framework to Identify Missing Supports for Students with Disabilities
Your team has tried everything — the behavior chart, the consequence, the reward system, then a second reward system — and the student still won't start, still turns in half the work, and somewhere along the way got labeled "lazy" or "unmotivated."
When Behavior Isn't the Problem is a ready-to-present staff PD that changes the question from "What strategy should we add?" to "What layer are we missing?" Using a five-layer framework adapted from the Ziggurat Model, your staff learn to find the support a stuck student is actually missing — before designing another intervention.
- Slides
- ~25 regular · ~41 extended
- Runtime
- 60–90 min + ~3 hr half-day
- Format
- PowerPoint + Google Slides (decks); Word + Google Docs (companions)
- Audience
- Special education staff — case managers, SLPs, paraprofessionals, counselors
All included in the price shown.
Quick Answers
Everything you need to present this with confidence — no prep, no slides to build.
Do I need to know the Ziggurat Model to present this?
No. The deck and Facilitator Guide walk you through every layer, with per-slide speaker notes.
Who is the audience?
Special education staff — case managers, SLPs, paraprofessionals, counselors. The presenter is typically a SPED administrator or instructional leader.
Can I brand it for my school?
Yes — the deck and participant handout are white-label, ready for your logo.
PowerPoint or Google?
Both. Every deck ships as PowerPoint and Google Slides; every companion as Word and Google Docs.
Is this a behavior-strategies training?
No — it's a troubleshooting framework for finding the support a student is missing, which complements your behavior systems.
Refunds?
All sales are final (digital download).
Preview the materials
A few sample slides and a companion document page. These are samples only — the full deck and resources are included with purchase.
Watermarked samples shown — your purchased files are clean, unmarked, and fully editable.
By the end of this PD, participants will:
- Diagnose the gap — Use a five-layer framework to diagnose why an intervention isn't working, before adding another one.
- Rule out the basics — Rule out sensory and biological barriers and identify reinforcers systematically, instead of concluding a student "isn't motivated."
- Make expectations visible — Use evidence-based visual supports, and analyze a task's hidden demands to tell "won't" from "can't — yet."
- Skill vs. performance — Distinguish a skill deficit from a performance deficit and match the intervention to the diagnosis.
- Apply it to a real student — Run the Missing Layer Diagnostic on a real student and connect it to MTSS, specially designed instruction, and the IEP/BIP process.
- Change the question — Replace "What strategy should we add?" with "What layer are we missing?"
Built for the people doing the work.
Special education administrators and instructional leaders who need a research-based, ready-to-present PD for their staff — and teams tired of cycling through interventions that don't match the problem.
License
Single-building license. Instant digital download. All sales are final (digital download).
Delivery & refunds
Checkout and instant file delivery are handled by Gumroad — you'll get an email with your download link within seconds of purchase. All sales are final (digital download). Read the full refund policy.
Every NSES presentation, ready to make your own
Each deck arrives fully editable in PowerPoint and Google Slides, with speaker notes on every slide so anyone can present it confidently. Drop in your school or district name and deliver it as your own — facilitator and participant materials included.
- Open & edit in PowerPoint or Google Slides
- Speaker notes on every slide — present tomorrow
- Drop in your school name — brand it as your own
- Facilitator & participant materials included