Behavior reduction focuses on decreasing harmful or interfering behaviors while teaching appropriate alternatives. RBTs implement behavior intervention plans, modify environmental factors, and use evidence-based procedures to support positive behavior change. These interventions promote safety and create opportunities for skill development.
This guide covers documentation and reporting procedures essential for certification and prepares you for RBT certification practice tests. You will learn communication strategies, clinical reporting requirements, session note writing, and compliance procedures that support professional practice and client outcomes.
1. Understanding Behavior Intervention Plans
Behavior Intervention Plans (BIPs) provide systematic approaches for addressing challenging behaviors. These written documents ensure consistency across all team members implementing interventions. BCBAs create individualized plans based on functional assessment results and client-specific needs.
Effective BIPs include operational behavior definitions, responsible implementation personnel, identified behavior functions, preventative strategies, consequence procedures, and crisis intervention protocols. These components create comprehensive frameworks for behavior modification.
Behavior Reduction Process Flow
Assessment
Development
Implementation
Monitoring
Modification
Systematic behavior reduction requires ongoing assessment and plan refinement
2. Identifying Functions of Behavior
All behaviors serve specific functions or purposes for individuals. Understanding why behaviors occur guides intervention development and strategy selection. Functional assessment identifies what individuals gain or avoid through their behavioral choices.
Four primary behavior functions explain why individuals engage in specific actions. These functions apply to all behaviors, including both appropriate and challenging responses. Teams use functional assessment results to create targeted intervention strategies.
The Four Functions of Behavior
Automatic reinforcement occurs when behaviors produce inherent sensory consequences without social mediation. These behaviors feel good or provide internal stimulation. Examples include hand-flapping, rocking, humming, or nail-biting behaviors.
Escape or avoidance functions involve behaviors that remove or prevent unpleasant experiences. Individuals engage in these behaviors to get away from demands, activities, or situations they find aversive or challenging.
Four Functions of Behavior
Automatic Reinforcement
Behaviors that feel good internally. Examples: stimming, humming, rocking, nail-biting.
Escape/Avoidance
Getting away from unpleasant situations. Examples: tantrum to avoid tasks, leaving difficult activities.
Social Attention
Gaining interaction with others. Examples: calling out, acting silly, disruptive behavior for notice.
Access to Tangibles
Obtaining desired items or activities. Examples: crying for toys, asking for preferred snacks.
Social Attention and Tangible Functions
Social attention functions involve behaviors that gain interaction with others. Individuals may engage in attention-seeking behaviors when they want social engagement, conversation, or acknowledgment from caregivers, peers, or staff members.
Access to tangibles functions involve behaviors that obtain desired items or activities. These behaviors help individuals gain access to preferred objects, food items, toys, or enjoyable activities they cannot access independently.
Attention: Child screams when parent talks on phone (gains parent attention)
Escape: Student throws materials to avoid difficult math work
Tangible: Client hits staff to gain access to preferred iPad
Automatic: Individual rocks back and forth for soothing sensation
3. Antecedent Modification Strategies
Antecedent modifications change environmental conditions before behaviors occur. These proactive strategies prevent challenging behaviors by addressing triggers and setting up conditions for success. Environmental arrangement supports positive behavior choices.
Common antecedent modifications include visual supports, choice provision, high-probability request sequences, priming procedures, non-contingent reinforcement, and timer usage. These strategies create predictable environments that reduce behavior triggers.
Motivating Operations
Motivating Operations (MOs) temporarily increase or decrease the value of specific consequences. Establishing Operations (EOs) increase reinforcer effectiveness by creating deprivation states. Abolishing Operations (AOs) decrease reinforcer effectiveness through satiation.
Understanding MOs helps teams predict when behaviors are most likely to occur. Deprivation increases motivation for specific reinforcers, while satiation decreases interest in those same consequences. Teams can arrange MOs strategically to support intervention success.
Visual Supports
Schedules and cues that structure environments
Choice Making
Offering options within structured parameters
High-P Sequence
Easy tasks before challenging ones
Priming
Advance preparation and expectation setting
NCR Delivery
Free reinforcement to reduce motivation
Timer Usage
Structured time management support
Discriminative Stimuli
Discriminative Stimuli (SDs) signal when specific behaviors will be reinforced. These environmental cues help individuals predict reinforcement availability and choose appropriate responses. SDs develop stimulus control through consistent reinforcement history.
Examples of SDs include restroom signs indicating bathroom availability, green traffic lights signaling safe driving conditions, or teacher instructions indicating learning expectations. Environmental cues guide behavior choices throughout daily activities.
EO: Client hasn’t had break in 2 hours (increases value of escape)
AO: Client just finished preferred activity (decreases motivation for that activity)
SD: “Time for math” consistently followed by math work (signals demand context)
4. Differential Reinforcement Procedures
Differential reinforcement combines extinction of target behaviors with reinforcement of appropriate alternatives. These procedures decrease challenging behaviors while simultaneously increasing desired responses. Strategic reinforcement delivery shapes behavior repertoires effectively.
Two primary differential reinforcement procedures address different intervention goals. Teams select specific procedures based on behavior function, client abilities, and environmental considerations. Both approaches require consistent implementation for maximum effectiveness.
DRO and DRA Implementation
Differential Reinforcement of Other Behaviors (DRO) reinforces any behavior except the target behavior. Individuals receive reinforcement for engaging in appropriate activities while target behaviors are placed on extinction. This procedure reduces problem behaviors broadly.
Differential Reinforcement of Alternative Behaviors (DRA) reinforces specific replacement behaviors that serve the same function as target behaviors. Teams teach functionally equivalent appropriate responses while eliminating challenging alternatives.
DRO (Other Behaviors)
Reinforce: Any behavior except target behavior
Schedule: Time-based intervals (e.g., every 5 minutes)
Example: Praise for any activity except screaming
Best for: Reducing behaviors without specific replacements
DRA (Alternative Behaviors)
Reinforce: Specific replacement behaviors
Schedule: Response-based (each occurrence)
Example: Attention for appropriate help-seeking instead of hitting
Best for: Teaching functional communication
5. Extinction Procedure Implementation
Extinction involves withholding reinforcement for previously reinforced behaviors. This procedure reduces behavior frequency by removing maintaining consequences. Extinction works by breaking established reinforcement patterns that support challenging behaviors.
Extinction procedures must match identified behavior functions. Teams withhold the specific type of reinforcement that maintains target behaviors. Successful extinction requires identifying and eliminating all sources of reinforcement for problematic responses.
Extinction Considerations
Extinction bursts commonly occur when extinction procedures begin. Behaviors may temporarily increase in frequency, duration, or intensity before decreasing. These bursts represent natural responses to reinforcement schedule changes rather than intervention failure.
Teaching replacement behaviors alongside extinction reduces burst likelihood and provides appropriate alternatives. Teams combine extinction with differential reinforcement to create comprehensive behavior change programs that promote positive alternatives.
Attention Function: Ignore attention-seeking behaviors (no eye contact, verbal response)
Escape Function: Continue demands despite escape behaviors
Tangible Function: Withhold requested items following inappropriate requests
Automatic Function: Block sensory consequences when possible and safe
6. Crisis and Emergency Procedures
Crisis plans outline emergency procedures for dangerous behaviors that threaten client or staff safety. These individualized protocols provide step-by-step instructions for managing high-risk situations. Not all clients require crisis plans, but safety planning is essential when needed.
Crisis procedures address both behavioral and medical emergencies. Teams develop plans for elopement, aggression, self-injury, and medical conditions like seizures or allergic reactions. Individualized planning ensures appropriate responses to specific risks.
Crisis Plan Components
Effective crisis plans include trigger identification, de-escalation strategies, safety procedures, communication protocols, and post-incident requirements. Teams review and practice crisis procedures regularly to ensure competent implementation during emergencies.
Crisis planning involves collaboration between BCBAs, caregivers, medical professionals, and emergency services when appropriate. Comprehensive planning addresses immediate safety needs while maintaining therapeutic relationships and client dignity.