Lesson 1: Creating Your Plan
Objective
Learners will develop a behavior intervention plan to address the behavior.
Introduction
By now, you are able to do the following:
- Define the target behavior
- Define the replacement behavior
- Gather information about behavior using ABC forms
- Determine the function of behavior
Recall that Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP) is defined as any change in a person's environment that is designed to change his or her behavior.
Time to make a plan!
Investigation
Recall that positive reinforcement is defined as the addition of stimulus that, in turn, increases the likelihood that a specific behavior or response will occur (e.g., Johnny hates homework and likes jellybeans. Johnny does his homework and gets a jellybean. Getting a jellybean increases the likelihood that he will complete his homework.).
Recall that negative reinforcement is defined as the removal of stimulus that, in turn, increases the likelihood that a specific behavior or response will occur (e.g., Johnny hates broccoli and screams when they are on his plate. His parents take away the broccoli when he screams. Removing the broccoli increases the likelihood that he will keep screaming when he sees it on his plate.).
Recall that punishment is defined as the addition or removal of stimulus that, in turn, decreases the likelihood that a specific behavior or response will occur (e.g., Johnny yells out in class. The teacher reprimands him. Reprimands decrease the likelihood that Johnny will yell in class.) .
Recall that modeling is defined as demonstrating a desired behavior in order to get the learner to imitate the behavior.
There are three primary ways to alter an individuals behavior:
- Skills-based intervention
- Antecedent-based intervention
- Consequence-based intervention
You can use one, two, or all three types of interventions together in order to effect behavioral change.
| Skills-based Intervention | Antecedent-based Intervention | Consequence-based Intervention |
|---|---|---|
| If the student is not able to perform the replacement behavior, a skills-based intervention is best. Provide the student with instruction and modeling in order to show the student how to behavior appropriately. Then reinforce the appropriate behavior. | If the antecedent triggers the behavior, an antecedent-based intervention is best. Adjust the antecedent so that the behavior does not occur. |
If the consequence reinforces the behavior, a consequence-based intervention is best. Adjust the consequence so that the individual isn't getting what he or she wants from the behavior. |
| Example: Jill is nonverbal. She screams and cries for more than 50% of the day. The hypothesized function of the behavior is attention. However, Jill does not know how to gain attention appropriately. Her teacher provides her with explicit instruction and modeling to demonstrate how she can walk up to staff, tap their shoulder, and use sign language to get her wants and needs met. Staff praise her when she gains attention the right way in order to positively reinforce the behavior. After Jill learns how to gain attention appropriately, she ceases to scream and cry. | Example: Math is a challenging subject for Shawn. When presented with math work, Shawn becomes verbally aggressive and sometimes engages in self-injurious behavior (i.e., head banging). The hypothesized function of the behavior is escape. His teacher adjusts the amount of work that Shawn is given and provides Shawn with additional pre-teaching before the lesson occurs. | Example: Andrew engages in verbally aggressive behavior (e.g., cursing, threatening and insulting others) frequently. The hypothesized function of the behavior is attention (specifically attention from staff). When Andrew engages in this behavior, staff tell him to desist the behavior, which reinforces the behavior because he is getting what he wants. His teacher implements a plan whereby staff will now ignore all of Andrew's verbally aggressive behavior except to remind him that he knows how to gain attention appropriately. Andrew can also earn a sticker for each day that he goes without engaging in verbally aggressive behavior. Once Andrew collects five stickers, he can earn a KitKat, which he loves. Andrew's verbally aggressive behavior increases at first, but then drops significantly. |
Read: Design a Function-Based Intervention | IRIS Vanderbilt
Learning Task
Review the following example.
Math is very challenging for Tommy. Recently, Tommy has been throwing objects and banging his fists on his desk when presented with math tasks. His teacher will give him multiple warnings and then send him to the principal's office. His behavior is getting worse and his teacher doesn't know what to do. She decides to do a functional behavior assessment in order to create a behavior intervention plan for Tommy.
Read: Behavior Support Planning Flowchart Sample | Competing Pathways
In the example above, Tommy's behavior has been broken down into a flowchart.
- Target behavior is "physical disruption," defined as when Tommy throws objects.
- Replacement behavior is "on task behavior," defined as when Tommy participates in math class and uses materials appropriately.
- The hypothesized function of the behavior is escape, given that Tommy is able to "escape" aversive math tasks when he engages in physical disruption. Being sent to the principal's office positively reinforces the target behavior since it is the addition of a consequence that ensures that the behavior will increase.
The teacher decides to implement multiple interventions. Her antecedent-based intervention includes providing math remediation, providing differentiated instruction on his level, providing choices of math activities, and pairing preferred activities (i.e., things that Tommy likes) with math. Her skills-based intervention includes teaching Tommy how to participate in math lessons and how to appropriately request a break. While requesting a break is not the replacement behavior the teacher would like to see, she deems it to be an acceptable alternative to physical disruption. Lastly, her consequence-based intervention includes having Tommy do extra math during recess time/free time when he engages in physical disruption.
Over the next couple of weeks, Tommy's teacher sees positive changes in his behavior. At first, Tommy continues to engage in physical disruption, but after several missed recesses, the behavior begins to decrease. Tommy is appropriately requesting breaks when he needs them. His grades are improving as well now that he receives additional help from his teacher and is spending more time in the classroom. His teacher is very pleased with the results of her interventions.
Review the following example and respond to the prompt. Use the previous example as a model.
Amy is a 5th grader at a public school. She regularly talks out of turn in class. Amy will jump up and shout answers (although her answers are frequently incorrect). She also interrupts her peers when they are answering the teacher's questions. Her teacher reminds her that she needs to wait her turn and has had many one-on-one conversations with Amy about her behavior, but it's no use. She can't seem to help herself. Amy's teacher is stressed out and her classmates are starting to dislike her because she's so disruptive.
Use this behavior support planning flowchart to do the following:
- Define the target behavior
- Define the replacement behavior
- Determine the function of the behavior
- Determine what kind of intervention is needed (skills-, antecedent-, consequence-based, or multiple)
- Develop intervention(s)
When developing your intervention, remember the different types of reinforcement:
- Positive reinforcement
- Negative reinforcement
- Punishment
You're Finished!
Congratulations! You have completed this mini-course and now have basic behavior management skills. You should now be able to conduct a functional behavior assessment and create a behavior intervention plan. Best of luck!
Back to Main Course Page.