BA440 Unit 9 Behavior Intervention Plan Example

A Plan Two Households and a Classroom Can Use: A BA440 Unit 9 Behavior Intervention Plan

[Student Name]

Purdue University Global

BA440: Behavior Intervention

Unit 9 Behavior Intervention Plan

[Instructor Name]

[Date]

The writer, the agency, the family and every figure are composite and illustrative; the articles cited are real.

Background

Jonah, eleven, is a Spokane fifth grader with an intellectual disability and ADHD. His family moved from Ukraine when he was three. He lives with his parents, a younger sister and his grandmother, who speaks mostly Ukrainian and helps with homework two evenings a week. My supervising behavior analyst completed a functional assessment showing that his homework refusal is maintained by escape from work. I drafted this plan for her review; she approved it after revisions, and Jonah's parents signed it after a meeting with an interpreter for his grandmother.

Target Behaviors

Refusal is defined as any of the following during homework or class work: putting his head on the table for ten seconds or more, arguing about the work, or leaving the work area without permission. Each episode ends after thirty seconds without any of these behaviors.

The replacement behaviors are completing a set number of problems to earn a break, and asking for help with "I'm stuck" or a help card.

Function

Refusal is maintained by escape: arguing or leaving has usually ended homework. Descriptive data showed refusal was most likely with writing tasks and after school days with physical education, when Jonah arrives home tired.

Every adult who sits beside Jonah controls the same reinforcer, so every adult needs the same plan.

Prevention Strategies

Using the model of Geiger et al. (2010), the plan first asks whether Jonah can do the work. His teacher confirmed that most homework is at his level; long writing tasks are not, and she will shorten them to three sentences. Before each session, the adult gives three quick, easy requests, such as handing over a pencil, followed by the first problem. Jonah chooses which subject to do first. A visual timer shows when the next break comes. On days with physical education, homework starts after a fifteen-minute snack break.

Teaching Replacement Skills

Jonah earns a two-minute break, with his tablet on the couch, after every three completed problems; this matches the escape function. He also learns to ask for help. The adult models "I'm stuck" and praises its use, then helps with one step. Asking for help is never refused.

Responses to Refusal

If Jonah refuses, the adult waits calmly, points to the next problem and says, "Three more, then break." Refusal does not end homework or shorten it. If Jonah leaves the table, the adult brings the worksheet to where he is. No reprimands, lectures or loss of privileges are used, because his assessment showed that arguing with adults often extended episodes.

Plan for Each Adult

At home with his parents, the plan runs as written, from 4 to 5 p.m.

With his grandmother, the plan was translated into Ukrainian with the interpreter's help, and the help card has words in both languages. Fong et al. (2016) emphasize that culturally responsive practice adapts procedures to a family's values and language. His grandmother explained that, in her view, arguing with an elder is a serious matter of respect. She agreed to the calm response after the team explained that the goal was to reduce arguing, and that responding without lecturing had reduced it at home. She chose to add one sentence of her own after each break: a short blessing she says to all her grandchildren.

At school, his teacher uses a version agreed with the family: a walk to the water fountain after each completed section, with the same timer.

Data Collection

Adults record, on a tally sheet, the number of problems completed, the number of refusal episodes and help requests. I check agreement with his mother on one evening each week. Data are graphed weekly by my supervisor.

Crisis Steps

Jonah has not shown aggression. If he ever becomes aggressive or attempts to leave the home, adults will keep others safe, stay calm, avoid physical contact unless someone is in danger, and call the behavior analyst. No restraint or seclusion is part of this plan.

Legal and Ethical Considerations

The plan is used only with the parents' written consent, which they can withdraw at any time. Health information is kept under the agency's privacy policies, and the plan is shared with the school only with the parents' signed release. Any change to his school program would go through his individualized education program team. Van Houten et al. (1988) held that treatment should teach functional skills and be judged by data; the plan's reinforcement-based design, skill teaching and review schedule follow that principle. As a technician, I carry out the plan and report concerns; only the behavior analyst changes it.

Review

The team reviews data every two weeks. If refusal does not fall by half within four weeks, my supervisor will reassess. Once refusal stays below one episode per session for three weeks, the break schedule will be thinned by adding one problem per break.

References

Fong, E. H., Catagnus, R. M., Brodhead, M. T., Quigley, S., & Field, S. (2016). Developing the cultural awareness skills of behavior analysts. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 9(1), 84-94. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-016-0111-6

Geiger, K. B., Carr, J. E., & LeBlanc, L. A. (2010). Function-based treatments for escape-maintained problem behavior: A treatment-selection model for practicing behavior analysts. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 3(1), 22-32. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03391755

Van Houten, R., Axelrod, S., Bailey, J. S., Favell, J. E., Foxx, R. M., Iwata, B. A., & Lovaas, O. I. (1988). The right to effective behavioral treatment. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 21(4), 381-384. https://doi.org/10.1901/jaba.1988.21-381