Intervention Support Plan

This assignment is the fourth component of your course project. In Unit 5, you uncovered a wide range of scholarly works necessary for developing a strategic approach that entails multiple principles and tactics for changing behavior. In this project component, you will create an intervention support plan for the behavior change of the subjects in your case study. As stated in the course project information, if your chosen case study or real-life scenario has more than one behavior of interest, you must prioritize them for intervention.

For this assignment, you will be assessed on your understanding of the following course competencies:

• Recommend intervention goals based on client preferences, supporting environments, risks, constraints, and social validity.
• Design research-based interventions for individual cases based on the principles of applied behavior analysis.
• Develop a plan to measure, generalize, and maintain intervention strategies.
• Communicate in a manner that is scholarly and consistent with expectations for professionals in the field of psychology.

How to Organize Your Paper

Use the following subheadings (formatted in current APA style) to label the three main sections of your paper:

Intervention Support Plan

Apply behavioral assessment methods for the consideration and selection of intervention outcomes and strategies for the target behavior in your case study. You will exercise your clinical writing skills to create a detailed behavior intervention plan including the following:

• Operational Definitions and Functions of Identified Target Behaviors: For this section, summarize all results of the assessment portion. Prioritize and define the behaviors to be targeted, and list the functions of each of those behaviors.
• Antecedent Procedures: Based on the results of the functional behavior analysis (FBA), describe the antecedent procedures you recommend to prevent the behavior from occurring. Be sure to cite the research justifying your use of these procedures.
• Replacement Procedure: Based on the functions of behavior, describe the replacement behaviors you would like to address, as well as your plan for how they would be taught and reinforced. Be sure to cite the research justifying your use of these procedures.
• Consequential Procedures: Based on the results of the FBA, describe how you would want others (therapist, teacher, or caregiver) to respond if the behavior occurs. Describe how to arrange the environment such that others will respond accordingly.
• Short-Term Goals: Describe behavioral goals for the client to be achieved with three months of service. Be sure to cite the research justifying these goals.
• Long-Term Goals: Describe the ultimate goals of the intervention. Describe the discharge criteria for the recommended ABA services. Be sure to cite the research justifying these goals.
• Generalization and Maintenance Procedures: Describe your recommended plan to generalize the skills learned in this treatment plan. Describe your recommended plan to withdraw any treatment components while maintaining low rates of challenging behavior. Be sure to cite the research justifying your use of these procedures.

Monitoring Systems Support for Behavior

Present your design for effective performance monitoring and reinforcement systems for your chosen case study.

Implementation of ABA Techniques

Discuss the research that supports your decision for the implementation of intervention strategies here. Reference the literature gathered in previous units to help you create an empirically valid intervention plan.

Assignment Requirements

Your assignment should meet the following requirements:

• Written communication: Should be free of errors that detract from the overall message.
• APA formatting: References and citations are formatted according to current APA style guidelines.
• Resources: 5–6 scholarly or professional resources.
• Length: 3–5 double-spaced pages, excluding title page and list of references.

Running head: DATA AND MEASUREMENT DECISIONS

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DATA AND MEASUREMENT DECISIONS

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Data and Measurement Decisions

Student’s Name

Institution Affiliation

Date

Data and Measurement Decisions

Introduction

This article is the third element of Liam’s case study. Liam is a 12-year-old boy diagnosed with ASD or autism spectrum disorder while still young. He undergoes at least three refusal behavior during his school day. Liam’s refusal behavior is outlined as looking away from a class assignment or teacher for about 12 seconds, verbally refusing and ignoring the instructor’s direction, and occupying himself with other activities instead of classwork. Liam’s refusal behavior is facilitated by being tired in that he stayed the whole night preoccupied with other events. Besides, Liam’s refusal behavior is socially important to modification in that it is affecting his academic performance. His refusal behavior is adversely affecting his ability to gain from education that can affect his adulthood.

In the previous article, the writer came up with an intervention that would efficient in facilitating Liam’s on-task behavior and limiting his refusal behavior. The writer feels that DRA (differential reinforcement of alternative behavior) would be considered the best treatment to apply in treating Liam. According to Milternberger (2016), DRA intervention supports an alternative behavior while making the targeted behavior became extinct. Besides, this paper purposes of evaluating the measurement, data display, and data-based decisions the writer will use to conduct a study on Liam’s case.

Measurement

A changed behavior should be observable and measurable to outline a baseline before applying intervention to better the behavior. There are various kinds of measurements that can be utilized in applied behavior analysis (ABA) to approximate behavior. However, frequency, sampling response for momentary time, partial recording interval, whole recording interval, duration, as well as inter-response time, and latency are some of the different kinds of measurements. The research applied a decision- making model, which was composed of quizzes that he could answer to outline the best measurements to approximate the refusal behavior of Liam (LeBlanc, Raetz, Sellers, & Carr, 2016). For instance, the researcher provided a yes answer to observable behavior. The reason is that the researcher could record all time the behavior took place. Because the behavior did not occur most of the time, the frequency method of measurement was the most appropriate in this case. The researcher decided to apply the frequency method of recording events. It approximated the number of times the selected behavior took place within the period to be observed (Miltenberger, 2016). In the case of Liam, the researcher would apply the frequency method of measurement to determine the number of times the refusal behavior of Liam took place throughout his normal school days.

Selecting the most appropriate technique of measurement to evaluate the case of Liam, the researcher considered various aspects such as the refusal behavior, available resources, and environmental variables. However, the environmental aspects such as assigned tasks, instructions on small groups, and noise were regarded when selecting the frequency method of measurement. The researcher settled on this model in that it enabled him to record the number of times that the refusal behavior took place when Liam was in class. Besides, the researcher was in a position to record this occurrence during the independent time of reading, when there was a noise, group time, and instructional time.

Second, the researcher applied the available resources such as available materials and staff members when selecting the most appropriate model of measurement. The researcher was well conversant with the fact that he was required to select a model that would be easily understandable for the staff members and enable them to track the behavior of Liam without any interruption of consuming a lot of time. Nevertheless, the available materials like a laptop, pencil, a frequency datasheet, influenced the researcher on the best measurement procedure to apply in Liam’s case. The researcher concluded that frequency technique would be the best measurement option to approximate this refusal behavior in that there would be a variation when the behavior ends and begins.

Data Display

When conducting a behavioral data display, a graph is applied to offer a visual display of refusal behavior over a particular time (Miltenberger, 2016). There exist various forms display the collected data on behavior, and the intervention plans such as line graphs, cumulative records, semi-logarithmic charts, scatter plots, and bar graphs. A bar graph applies bars of various heights relying on the data that are essential when comparing two groups over time. Second, a scatter plot graph is applied to plot two or more variables on the vertical and horizontal axis. It outlines any correlation between the variables. Third, semi-logarithmic charts are applied for exponential correlations. Fourth, cumulative records are regarded as representations of operant behavioral rates. Lastly, a line graph applies markers associated with segments of lines to plot the facts or figures to outline some alterations over time.

Kubina, Kostewicz, Brennan, and King (2017) indicate that line graphs outline behavioral data analysis by outlining the demonstration of a statistical impact through the most appropriate magnitude of behavioral alteration over time. The researcher has decided to display the refusal behavior data of Liam during the phase of baseline and that of an intervention applying a line graph. The researcher selected a line graph in that this graph offers a clear analysis of Liam’s refusal behavior after and before the implementation of DRA intervention. In the graph below, the line graph offers a visualization of Liam’s frequency of refusal behavior that took place 6 days before the intervention and 9 days after applying DRA to minimize his refusal behavior.

Besides, a line graph is most recommended in this case in that it outlines the changes and levels in refusal behavior associated with applying the DRA intervention. Over a particular time, the data path will outline a picture of whether the intervention achieved its purpose as the best treatment method or not. This presented line graph below outlines that the intervention of DRA is an efficient treatment method to lower Liam’s refusal behavior and better his on-task behavior in that the trend is sloping downwards. This result outlines that Liam’s refusal behavior is reducing. This line graph will be applied to present decisions on Liam’s case.

Data-Based Decisions

The selection of data display is significant in enabling skills for data-relied on decision-making in this case. Data-relied on decisions is used to come up with decisions relying on the graph’s visual interpretation. Applying the data display of this graph offers a visual that can be applied to revise or design an intervention for learners such as instructional alterations to attain their wants (Hojnoski, Gischlar, & Missall, 2009). The researcher settled for a line graph for Liam’s refusal behavior data display to outline the baseline of his actions after and before implementing the DRA intervention.

The primary responsibility of this data display for behavioral data is meant to determine quantitative correlation that indicates that in the data are in the figure, their associations would be presented on the graph. For instance, if the behavior is reducing after an intervention is applied, and all environmental aspects have been considered, then it would be essential to conclude that intervention is correlated to the reduction in behavior. Besides, reliability, accuracy, and validity are essential aspects of quantitative correlations. Validity represents how data outlines the observed behavior. Accuracy is the true nature of data collection. Reliability outlines the measurement’s consistency (Cooper, Heron, & Heward, 2020).

During the phase of baseline, the researcher gathered a stable and reliable baseline between the frequency of four and three occurrences of Liam’s refusal behavior. In the phase of the intervention, the repeated approximation outlined a consistent figure of a gradual reduction in refusal behavior. The line graph presented above accurately outlines the frequency of Liam’s refusal behavior against time. This line graph will enable the researcher to come up with decisions regarding refusal behavior. The decisions would be whether the DRA intervention should be implemented, modified, or continued.

Conclusion

The display of a line graph and data collection frequency will accurately outline the frequency at which the refusal behavior of Liam occurred during intervention and baseline phases. Analysis from the graph outlines a correlation between the reduction of Liam’s refusal behavior and DRA intervention. This DRA intervention is an efficient intervention to minimize this refusal behavior in that the frequency of this refusal behavior reduces gradually when DRA was applied.

References

Cooper, J.O., Heron, T.E., & Heward, W.L. (2020). Applied behavior analysis. (3rd ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Pearson Education Inc.

Hojnoski, R. L., Gischlar, K. L., & Missall, K. N. (2009). Improving child outcomes with data-based decision making: Graphing data. Young Exceptional Children, 12(4), 15-30. doi:10.1177/1096250609337696

Kubina, R. M, Jr, Kostewicz, D. E., Brennan, K. M., & King, S. A. (2017). A critical review of line graphs in behavior analytic journals. Educational Psychology Review, 29(3), 583-598. doi:http://dx.doi.org.library.capella.edu/10.1007/s10648-015-9339-x

LeBlanc, L. A., Raetz, P. B., Sellers, T. P., & Carr, J. E. (2016). A proposed model for selecting measurement procedures for the assessment and treatment of problem behavior. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 9(1), 77-83. doi:10.1007/s40617-015-0063-2

Miltenberger, R. G. (2016). Behavior Modification: Principles and Procedures (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.