The Difficulty
When you begin working with an ABA provider, you may be wondering what all goes into coming up with the Treatment Plan/Behavior Intervention Plan and what role you as a parent play into it.
At Laugh and Learn, we utilize a process that can be broken down into three main steps:
- We first conduct Indirect assessments, which are questionnaires that parents/caregivers complete to give us a better idea of what we’re looking at.
- We then follow a practice called ABC observation, which is based on the ABCs of ABA—Antecedent (pre-cursor), Behavior, Consequence. Using this approach allows us to collect accurate data and identify the "why" behind the behavior(s).
- Then we complete a Behavior Intervention Plan including the “why” behind the behavior, examples of the behavior, proactive strategies, reactive/consequence strategies, safe replacement behaviors, and goals for behavior reduction as well as independent use of the aforementioned replacement behaviors. Ethical considerations, as well as family and technician collaboration are a necessity in the creation and reviewing of the plan to ensure all key stakeholders are on the same page.
Implementing and Adjusting
At Laugh and Learn, we intentionally and methodically assemble a group of technicians to ensure generalization of skills (the ability to utilize acquired skills in a variety of settings and with a variety of people). This also ensures that we can provide continuous care and avoid cancellations (in the case of a technician being out sick or on vacation, there is then another technician available who is familiar with the client and vice versa). Throughout the course of the Behavior Intervention Plan, the whole team goes over collected data weekly. We all work together to ensure proper implementation and consistency. If things are not progressing as desired, adjustments are made. Parents are involved in the process of adjusting the behavior plan, and are welcome to ask questions about how things are progressing, and/or request changes.
