A - ASK
Adult Support: Help define the decision by asking, “What decision do I/we need to make?” and follow up with probing questions such as, “What’s happening? How does it make you feel?”
- Summarize what was said.
- Articulate the problem from the young person’s point of view.
- Encourage the young person to state the decision at hand.
B - BRAINSTORM
Adult Support: Help evaluate possible options.
- Encourage sharing of multiple ideas about how to proceed.
- Advocate for generating several ideas and gathering ideas from numerous people.
- Refrain from sharing opinions. If there are a lot of ideas, encourage writing them down.
C - CHOOSE
Adult Support: To help choose the best option or solution, invite evaluation of each idea.
- Propose listing the pros and cons of each and analyzing the consequences of making a particular choice.
- Encourage making a specific plan that includes who, what, when, where, how, and how much.
- Recommend writing it down and reading it back to help determine if the option is realistic
D- DO IT!
Adult Support: Put the decision into action.
- Continue to ask probing questions.
- Practice active listening.
- Encourage as necessary to support the decision.
If you are thinking about trying this process, consider the following ahead of time--and periodically after implementation--to increase success:
- In which situations would this work best?
- How do you see this working in your program?
- What concerns do you have about using this process?
- What would the next step be?
- What would you add to the process to make it more effective?
You may be thinking, “That’s fine when you have a lot of time, but what about when a decision needs to be made immediately or if decisions are part of a positive guidance strategy to redirect behavior?” Our next blog post in the Choose Choices series will offer a model and suggestions for time-pressed circumstances.
