Mount Etna Global Behaviour Academy
Clinical training
BCBA Test Content Outline · 6th edition

Visual Task List & Training Guide

Concept graphics for supervision, fieldwork and study. Every one of the 104 tasks across the nine domains, drawn to a single visual system, with a worked clinical example on each page.
Mount Etna Global Behaviour AcademyClinician

The nine domains

BCBA TCO 6th ed.
ABehaviorism and philosophical foundations5 tasks · 8 questions
BConcepts and principles24 tasks · 24 questions
CMeasurement, data display and interpretation12 tasks · 21 questions
DExperimental design9 tasks · 13 questions
EEthical and professional issues12 tasks · 22 questions
FBehavior assessment8 tasks · 23 questions
GBehavior-change procedures19 tasks · 25 questions
HSelecting and implementing interventions8 tasks · 20 questions
IPersonnel supervision and management7 tasks · 19 questions
104Tasks in total175 scored questions on the examination
Eight teaching cards first, then one graphic per concept, in domain order.
Part one

Concept cards

The eight teaching cards from the front of the guide: naturalistic teaching, language support, prompting and consequence systems.
Naturalistic teaching

Decision tree: least to most support

ESDM
1Wait for the responseSet up the activity, pause, and give the child room to act on their own.
2PromptAdd the lightest prompt that will produce the response.
3Change the materialsSwap in a higher preference item before you add more support.
4Change the promptMove up the hierarchy, then fade back down as soon as the child succeeds.
Functional spontaneous behaviour first
The goal of every step is a response the child produces for a natural reason, in a real activity.
ExampleBubbles are closed on the table. Wait 5 s, hold them up, then swap for the wand, then model “open”.
Move up one step at a time, and step back down the moment the child responds.
Naturalistic teaching

Joint attention framework

ESDM
01
Orient the response
Get the child looking towards you before you say anything.
ExampleHold the car at eye level and wait for Ava to look up.
02
Introduce the object
Bring the toy into the shared space between you both.
ExamplePlace the car on the mat directly between you.
03
Dyadic engagement
Back and forth turns with the object between you.
ExampleRoll the car to Ava, she rolls it back, eight times.
04
Support engagement
Add words and repetition to hold the episode longer.
ExampleSay “car” on every roll, then “fast car” once the turns are steady.
Each step builds on the one before, inside an activity the child chose.
Language support

The one up rule

Modelling
Add one or two words to whatever the child said
Your model sits one step above their current level, so it stays reachable.
One up1 word2 words3 words
Child“Car”“Drive car”
Child“Up”“Pick me up”
Child“More juice”“I want more juice”
Jumping three or four words above the child leaves the model out of reach, so keep the step small.
Model the next step up, and give access to the item either way.
Language support

Gestalt language processing

Echoic scripts
What it looks like
Whole chunks of language are learned and used as single units
“Where is the toilet?” “Où sont les toilettes?” “Time to go now”
The learner has the whole phrase before the individual words, in the same way a traveller learns one useful sentence in a new language.
“Where is the toilet?” is used for every request, not only for the bathroom.
1. Accept the script
Respond to the intention behind the phrase rather than correcting the form.
2. Model a new chunk
Give a phrase that fits the moment: “I need the toilet”, “I want a turn”.
3. Mix and match
As the chunks build, the learner starts recombining parts into flexible phrases.
Record which scripts the learner already has, and pick the next chunk from the activities they choose most.
Meaning first, grammar later.
Naturalistic teaching

The spotlight

ESDM
Shared focus
Adult
The activity the child chose
Child
Both people attend to the same object or action at the same time. That overlap is the spotlight.
The adult sits where the child is already looking
Position yourself face to face, at the child's eye level, with the materials between you. Your face and the toy share the same spotlight, so attending to the activity means attending to you.
Face to face
Sit opposite, not beside or behind.
Eye level
Drop to the floor or use a low chair.
Materials in front
Keep the toy in the shared space.
One activity
Clear the table of competing items.
ExampleBlowing bubbles while seated on the floor opposite the child, holding the pot at chin height.
Where you sit is a teaching decision.
Behavior-change procedures

Token economies and response cost

G.4
Token economy
Tokens are earned for target behaviour and exchanged for a backup reinforcer. Keep the exchange rate reachable.
1. Define the behaviour that earns a token
2. Set the exchange rate and the menu
3. Deliver tokens immediately, with praise
4. Thin the rate as the skill becomes fluent
ExampleFive tokens for completed maths items buys ten minutes on the scooter.
Response cost
Earned tokens are removed after the target behaviour. This is negative punishment, so it needs a strong earning system underneath it.
Never let the balance fall below zero
Keep earning opportunities far more frequent than losses
Pair every removal with a reminder of how to earn back
ExampleOne token is removed for grabbing, with two more available in the next five minutes.
Build the earning side first, and use cost sparingly.
Interaction strategies

ROCK: it takes two to talk

Hanen
R
Repeat what you say and do
Same words, same actions, so the pattern becomes predictable.
“Ready, set, go!” every single push of the swing.
O
Offer a chance to take a turn
Pause, look expectant, and wait long enough for a response.
Hold the bubble wand still and count silently to five.
C
Cue the child to take their turn
Add a gesture, a look, or a partial word to prompt the turn.
Lean in and say “ready, set…”.
K
Keep it fun, keep it going
Stay in the activity while the child is enjoying it, then stop before they do.
Eight swing pushes with a turn each time.
Two people, taking turns, in an activity the child chose.
Prompting

Say, show, do

Least to most
1
Say
Give the instruction once, clearly, then wait five seconds.
Example“Get your shoes.”
2
Show
Model the response, or point to what the learner needs.
ExamplePick up your own shoes while they watch.
3
Do
Provide physical assistance, then fade the contact on the next trial.
ExampleGuide the hand to the shoes, then release.
Then fade
Record the level used on every trial, and aim for the level below it next time.
Stop at the first level that works.
A
Domain A

Behaviorism and philosophical foundations

Five tasks, 8 exam questions. The goals of the science, its philosophical assumptions, and what separates the four levels of the field.
Behaviorism & philosophical foundations

The three goals of behaviour analysis as a science

A.1
Goal 01
Description
Systematic observation, recorded in a way that can be quantified and classified. It produces the facts the other two goals depend on.
Goal 02
Prediction
Repeated observation reveals correlation between events, so one can be used to anticipate the other. Correlation is not yet a cause.
Goal 03
Control
A functional relation is demonstrated: changing one variable reliably changes the behaviour. This is what makes intervention possible.
Description supports prediction, and only control demonstrates a functional relation.
Behaviorism & philosophical foundations

Five philosophical assumptions of the science

A.2
01SelectionismBehaviour is selected by its consequences, in the same way traits are selected in evolution.
02DeterminismThe universe is lawful and orderly, so events have causes that can be discovered.
03EmpiricismClaims rest on objective observation and measurement, not on opinion or authority.
04ParsimonySimple, logical explanations are ruled out before more complex ones are considered.
05PragmatismA concept is judged by whether it works, and by whether it produces useful outcomes.
These assumptions are what make behaviour analysis a natural science rather than a set of techniques.
Behaviorism & philosophical foundations

Mentalism, and how to avoid it

A.3
Hypothetical construct
An unobserved process or entity that is assumed to be present.
Example“Conscience.”
Explanatory fiction
A fictional variable used to explain the behaviour it is meant to describe.
Example“Tim is well behaved: he follows his conscience.”
Circular reasoning
Faulty logic in which the effect that is observed is mistaken for the cause.
Example“Tim is well behaved because he follows his conscience, and I know he follows his conscience because he is well behaved.”
Instead write“Tim completed 9 of 10 tasks without a prompt”, which is observable, measurable, and open to intervention.
Describe what the person did and what followed, not what they supposedly have.
Behaviorism & philosophical foundations

The four domains of behaviour analysis

A.4
01
Philosophy and conceptual analysis
Radical behaviourism is the underlying philosophy, and it informs the other three domains. Public and private behaviour follow the same principles.
02
Experimental analysis of behaviour
Theory-driven research on basic processes, run in laboratory or contrived settings and across species, with tight experimental control. It discovers the principles.
03
Applied behaviour analysis
Applied research in the natural environment, mostly with people, aligned to the seven dimensions. It develops the technologies practitioners use.
04
Behaviour service delivery
Professional practice: using those technologies to meet a client's immediate needs, with socially valid methods and results. This is the work we do in clinic and in homes.
Moore & Cooper (2003): the domains inform each other from philosophy through to service.
Behaviorism & philosophical foundations

The seven dimensions of applied behaviour analysis

A.5
01AppliedBehaviour of social significance: dressing, asking for help, crossing a road safely.
02Behavioural“Hits with an open hand”, rather than “is frustrated”: observable and countable.
03AnalyticA reversal design shows the token board, and only the token board, raised on-task time.
04TechnologicalThe protocol names the prompt, the delay in seconds and the reinforcer, so anyone can run it.
05Conceptually systematicThe plan is described as differential reinforcement, tied to the principles it comes from.
06EffectiveTantrums fell from 40 to 4 per week, and the family now eats out together.
07GeneralityThe skill holds six months later, at home, at school and with the grandparents.
Baer, Wolf & Risley (1968): the standard a programme is judged against.
B
Domain B

Concepts and principles

Twenty-four tasks, 24 exam questions. The largest concept domain: contingencies, schedules, stimulus control, verbal behaviour and response allocation.
Concepts & principles

Behaviour, response and response class

B.1
The widest term
Behaviour
Anything a living organism does that involves action and interaction with the environment. The whole category.
One instance
Response
One single instance of behaviour. A specific occurrence, at a specific time, that can be counted.
Same function
Response class
A group of responses that differ in form but produce the same effect on the environment, so they serve the same function.
Programmes target response classes, and data are taken on individual responses.
Concepts & principles

Stimulus and stimulus class

B.2
Single event
Stimulus
An energy change that affects the organism through its receptors. One specific event the learner can detect.
Grouped by shared property
Stimulus class
A group of stimuli that share a formal, temporal or functional property, and that occasion the same response.
Teaching to a stimulus class is what makes a skill usable outside the teaching setting.
Concepts & principles

Respondent conditioning

B.3
Before conditioningUSloud fire alarmURstartle, hands over ears
During conditioningNS + USassembly bell, then alarmURstartleRepeated pairing, with the bell presented just before the alarm.
After conditioningCSassembly bell aloneCRstartle, hands over ears
Reflexive relations are elicited by antecedents. Operant relations are strengthened by consequences, which is why the same behaviour can need two different plans.
Pairing builds the relation, and repeated unpaired presentations extinguish it.
Concepts & principles

Reinforcement and punishment

B.4 & B.5
Behaviour increases
Behaviour decreases
+Stimulus added
Positive reinforcement
Something is added after the response and the response becomes more likely.
ExamplePraise and a sticker follow hand raising, and hand raising increases.
Positive punishment
Something is added after the response and the response becomes less likely.
ExampleAn extra tidying task follows throwing, and throwing drops.
−Stimulus removed
Negative reinforcement
Something is removed after the response and the response becomes more likely.
ExampleSaying “break please” removes the demand, and the request increases.
Negative punishment
Something is removed after the response and the response becomes less likely.
ExampleTwo tokens are removed after grabbing, and grabbing drops.
Extinction sits outside the grid: the response stops producing its reinforcer at all.
Concepts & principles

Decoding a scenario in three questions

B.4 & B.5
1
Which behaviour changed?
Read who the question is asking about. That person's behaviour is the one with a consequence and a future frequency.
2
What was the consequence?
Something was added, or something was removed. Added is positive, removed is negative. Nothing to do with good or bad.
3
Did the behaviour increase or decrease?
Increase means reinforcement, decrease means punishment. Read it from what happened next time.
Added
Positive
Removed
Negative
Increased
Reinforcement
Decreased
Punishment
Worked scenario
A staff member hands over the iPad when Sam screams. Sam screams more often at the next tidy-up.
1. Sam's screaming.
2. The iPad was added.
3. Screaming increased.
Positive reinforcement of screaming
Same three questions every time, in the same order.
Concepts & principles

Automatic and socially mediated contingencies

B.6
No mediator
Automatic
The consequence follows directly from the behaviour, with no other person involved. Example: scratching an itch relieves it.
Another person delivers it
Socially mediated
Another person delivers the consequence. Example: asking for a snack, and a staff member hands it over.
This distinction decides whether an intervention can work through the people in the room.
Concepts & principles

Unconditioned, conditioned and generalised

B.7 & B.8
Unconditioned
Conditioned
Generalised
Reinforcers
Effective without any learning history, because of phylogeny. Example: food, water, warmth.
Became reinforcing by being paired with an existing reinforcer. Example: praise, a favourite song.
Paired with many different reinforcers, so it works under many conditions. Example: tokens, money.
Punishers
Suppress behaviour without learning history. Example: intense heat, a painful impact.
Became punishing through pairing. Example: the word “no”, a particular tone of voice.
Paired with many punishers, so it suppresses across conditions. Example: losing tokens already earned.
Generalised means paired with many, not stronger. Effect is always defined by what happens to the behaviour.
Concepts & principles

Basic schedules of reinforcement

B.9
Ratio: counted responses
Interval: elapsed time
Fixed
FRevery fifth response
Steady high rate, with a pause straight after each reinforcer.
ExampleFR 5: a token after every five completed maths items.
FIfirst response after 2 min
Responding builds as the end of the interval approaches.
ExampleFI 2 min: the first hand raise after two minutes earns attention.
Variable
VRon average every fifth
High steady rate, and the most resistant to extinction.
ExampleVR 5: praise after 3, then 7, then 5 responses.
VIon average every 2 min
Low steady rate that persists over long sessions.
ExampleVI 2 min: the teacher checks in at 90 s, then 3 min, then 2 min.
Post-reinforcement pause
Fixed schedules are predictable, so responding pauses after each reinforcer.
Limited hold
A set time to respond once the interval ends, before the next one begins.
Thinning and thickening
Thinning raises the ratio or interval; thickening lowers it.
Reinforce densely to teach a skill, then thin to a variable schedule to maintain it.
Concepts & principles

Seven compound schedules of reinforcement

B.10
Read each one on two featuresHow many response classes?Is an SD signalling which schedule is in effect?
Concurrent
2+ classesSignalled
Two or more behaviours on independent schedules, available at the same time. This is where matching law applies.
Multiple
1 classSignalled
Independent and successive schedules, presented in random order, each with its own SD.
Mixed
1 classNo SD
Exactly like a multiple schedule, except no SD tells the learner which schedule is running.
Chained
1+ classSignalled
Independent and successive schedules that must be completed in a specified order.
Tandem
1+ classNo SD
A specified order like a chained schedule, but with no SD marking the components.
Alternative
1 classRatio + interval
A ratio and an interval schedule run together, and reinforcement follows whichever is met first.
Conjunctive
1 classRatio + interval
Also a ratio and an interval together, but both must be met before reinforcement is delivered.
Quick test
Alternative is “either”. Conjunctive is “both”. Mixed and tandem are the unsignalled twins of multiple and chained.
Cooper, Heron & Heward (2012): compound schedules combine the basic schedules with DRO variants and extinction.
Concepts & principles

Behaviour contrast

B.10
Responding changes in one unchanged component of a multiple schedule, because something changed in another component.
Positive contrast
Intervention decreases the behaviour in one setting, and it increases in another
School: DRA in place, shouting falls
Home: nothing changed, shouting rises
Nothing was done at home, so the rise there is contrast, not a new problem.
Negative contrast
Intervention increases the behaviour in one setting, and it decreases in another
Clinic: requesting is reinforced richly, requests rise
School: unchanged, requesting falls
Check the other settings before you conclude a programme has failed or succeeded.
Mayer, Sulzer-Azaroff & Wallace (2014): take data in every setting the behaviour occurs in.
Concepts & principles

Extinction: what to expect

B.11
The pattern on the graph
BaselineBurst and recoveryExtinction
The burstWhen reinforcement stops, intensity, rate and variability of the behaviour usually increase first.
Spontaneous recoveryA previously extinguished behaviour reappears even though it has not been reinforced. Stay calm and keep the plan in place.
ResurgenceAn older behaviour returns when the behaviour that replaced it goes on extinction.
Before you implement it, check
Have earlier extinction attempts failed and taught the learner that persistence pays? Was the behaviour on an intermittent schedule? Does it take low effort to produce? Any of these predicts resistance.
Extinction is never used on its own here: pair it with a reinforced replacement behaviour that gets the same outcome.
Mayer, Sulzer-Azaroff & Wallace (2014): plan for the burst before it happens.
Concepts & principles

Stimulus control and discrimination

B.12 & B.13
B.12
Stimulus control
A behaviour occurs more often in the presence of a particular stimulus, because that stimulus has been correlated with reinforcement for it.
SD presentresponding is likely
SΔ presentresponding is unlikely
ExampleAsking for a snack when a staff member is in the kitchen, but not when the room is empty.
B.13
Stimulus discrimination
Responding differs across two or more stimuli, because reinforcement has been available in the presence of one and not the other.
SD
ExamplePressing the green button, which opens the door, and not the red one, which does nothing.
Discrimination training builds the control; the goal is responding under the right conditions, not more responding.
Concepts & principles

Stimulus and response generalisation

B.14
Stimulus generalisation
Novel stimuli evoke the trained response
Stimulus 1Stimulus 2Stimulus 3Stimulus 4
One response
ExampleTrained to wash hands at the clinic sink, Ana washes her hands at the school sink and at home.
Response generalisation
A trained stimulus evokes novel responses
One stimulus
Response 1Response 2Response 3Response 4
ExampleTaught to ask “can I have a turn?”, Ana also says “my turn now” and “can I play?”.
Baer, Wolf & Risley: generalisation should be programmed, rather than expected or lamented.
Concepts & principles

Motivating operations, and how they differ from stimulus control

B.16 & B.17
Establishing operation
Value goes up, behaviour goes up
Deprivation raises the value of the reinforcer, and behaviour that has produced it becomes more frequent. Example: a missed lunch makes snack requests more likely.
Abolishing operation
Value goes down, behaviour goes down
Satiation lowers the value of the reinforcer, and behaviour that produced it becomes less frequent. Example: after free access to the iPad, requesting it drops.
Telling them apart
MOAlters how much the consequence is worth right now.
SDSignals whether the consequence is available right now.
A thirsty child walking past a water fountain: thirst is the MO, and the fountain is the SD. Remove the thirst and the fountain no longer occasions the behaviour.
Check the MO before every teaching trial: no motivation, no learning opportunity.
Cooper, Heron & Heward: MOs are value-altering, discriminative stimuli are availability-signalling.
Concepts & principles

Rule-governed and contingency-shaped behaviour

B.18
Learned by doing
Contingency-shaped
The behaviour was shaped by direct contact with its consequences, over repeated exposure. It is usually smooth, fast and hard to describe.
ExampleA staff member who has run hundreds of sessions adjusts pacing without thinking about it.
Learned by being told
Rule-governed
The behaviour is controlled by a verbal statement of the contingency, so the learner does not have to contact the consequence first.
ExampleA new employee follows the written protocol on their first day and gets it right.
Rules get behaviour started quickly; contact with the actual consequences is what makes it fluent.
Concepts & principles

Six elementary verbal operants

B.19
Antecedent controlThe operant it produces
Motivating operationMandA request for a reinforcer. Example: “bubbles” when the bubbles are out of reach.
Non-verbal stimulusTactNaming or identifying something present. Example: seeing a dog and saying “dog”.
Verbal stimulusIntraverbalAnswering questions and holding conversation. Example: “How was school?” “We did painting.”
Vocal stimulusEchoicRepeating what was heard, point to point. Example: “say ball”, “ball”.
Written stimulusTextualReading written words aloud. Example: reading “stop” from a sign.
Vocal stimulusTranscriptionWriting what is heard. Example: writing a spelling word that was read out.
Skinner (1957): verbal behaviour is reinforced through the mediation of another person.
Concepts & principles

Multiple control in verbal behaviour

B.20
Many variables, one response
Convergent multiple control
A single response is controlled by more than one antecedent variable at the same time.
Sees a ballHears “what is it?”Wants a turn“ball”
One variable, many responses
Divergent multiple control
A single antecedent variable evokes more than one different response.
Sees a dog“dog”“animal”“that is Rex”
Most everyday utterances are multiply controlled, which is why single-variable teaching often fails to generalise.
Concepts & principles

Stimulus equivalence

B.21
Equivalence is accurate responding to untrained, non-reinforced stimulus relations, which emerges after some other relations have been reinforced.
ReflexivityA = AGeneralised identity matching, and a prerequisite for the rest.
SymmetryA = B, so B = AAfter one direction is trained, the reverse direction is derived.
TransitivityA = B, B = C, so A = CTwo trained relations produce a third that was never taught.
Worked example
.51/250%
Taught: .5 = 1/2 and .5 = 50%.
Derived: 1/2 = .5, 50% = .5, 1/2 = 50% and 50% = 1/2.
Teach two, get four free
Two taught relations produced four more without further teaching, and the three stimuli now form one equivalence class.
Plan teaching to exploit derived relations, then probe them before scoring mastery.
Concepts & principles

Behavioural cusps and pivotal behaviours

B.21
Behavioural cusp
Opens access to a new environment
The behaviour gives immediate access to new environments, stimuli and contingencies, and it competes with less appropriate behaviour.
DrivingEverywhere you can now go
In practiceIndependent toileting, or asking for help: one skill and the day changes shape around it.
Pivotal behaviour
Produces changes in untrained responses
Teaching it produces collateral change in behaviours that were never taught, and those untrained responses create new reinforcement opportunities.
Joint attention is established
The adult points to a card and says “find the same”
The learner points to the match in the array
Reinforcer delivered, and matching now generalises
A single behaviour can meet the criteria for both a cusp and a pivotal behaviour.
Rosales-Ruiz & Baer (1997): choose targets that unlock the most, not the easiest to measure.
Concepts & principles

Behavioural momentum and response persistence

B.22
Momentum describes how strongly behaviour persists when conditions change. A behaviour with a rich reinforcement history keeps going, in the same way a heavy object keeps moving.
Two components
Mass, or resistance to change
Built by rate, magnitude and quality of reinforcement over time.
Velocity, or current rate
How often the behaviour is happening right now.
Why it matters in session
A problem behaviour with years of dense reinforcement has high mass, so it will persist through the first weeks of a new plan.
High massLow mass
So build the replacement behaviour's mass deliberately: reinforce it densely, immediately and generously before thinning.
Momentum predicts persistence, so plan for it rather than reading early persistence as failure.
Concepts & principles

Matching law

B.23
On concurrent schedules, responses are allocated in line with the rate of reinforcement each option produces.
Two options, available at once
Response A6 reinforcers per minute
Response B2 reinforcers per minute
75%25%
Responding is distributed A to B on a 3:1 ratio, matching the reinforcement available.
The published example
Vollmer & Bourret (2000) applied matching law to college basketball players, and the allocation of two-point and three-point shots tracked the rate of reinforcement each shot produced.
Why it matters in session
Problem behaviour and a replacement behaviour are usually two options on a concurrent schedule. If the problem behaviour pays more often, faster or bigger, that is where responding will go.
So make the replacement behaviour the better deal: richer, quicker and less effort than the behaviour you are trying to reduce.
Rate, immediacy, magnitude and effort all decide which option wins.
Concepts & principles

Imitation and observational learning

B.24
Matched to a model
Imitation
The model is the antecedent, the response matches its form, and the match happens immediately after. Formal similarity and immediacy are both required.
ExampleA staff member claps, and the child claps straight after.
Learned from someone else’s consequence
Observational learning
New behaviour is acquired by watching someone else contact the consequence, without the observer being reinforced directly at the time.
ExampleA child sees a peer earn a token for tidying up, and starts tidying up at the next opportunity.
Imitation copies the form; observational learning acquires the contingency.
C
Domain C

Measurement, data display and interpretation

Twelve tasks, 21 exam questions. Defining behaviour, choosing a measure, checking it is trustworthy, and reading the graph.
Measurement & data

Writing an operational definition

C.1
Three tests it must pass
Objective — only observable events and their properties.
Clear — unambiguous, so it can be read and repeated.
Complete — boundaries stated, including what does not count.
Two observers reading the same definition should score the same event the same way, without asking you what you meant.
Not a definition
“Sam gets frustrated during maths.”
Frustration is a private state, so no two observers will agree on when it started or stopped.
A definition
“Sam pushes materials more than 15 cm across the desk, or leaves his seat without asking.”
Both parts are observable, countable, and have a clear start and stop.
Write the definition before the first data point, and check it with a second observer.
Measurement & data

Direct, indirect and product measures

C.2
Watch it happen
Direct
The behaviour itself is observed and recorded as it happens, by someone present.
ExampleTallying hand raises during a lesson.
Ask about it
Indirect
Information comes from someone’s report rather than observation, so it is filtered by memory and interpretation.
ExampleA caregiver interview or a behaviour rating scale.
Measure what it left behind
Product
A permanent result of the behaviour is measured after the fact, rather than the behaviour itself.
ExampleCounting completed maths items, or photographing a tidied room.
Direct measures are the strongest; indirect measures generate hypotheses rather than confirm them.
Measurement & data

Dimensional qualities of measurement

C.3 & C.4
01Repeatability
The response can occur again and again, so you can count it.
CountRateCeleration
Example
Mia raised her hand 12 times in a 30 minute lesson: a rate of 0.4 per minute.
02Temporal extent
The response occupies time, so you can measure how long it lasts.
Total durationDuration per occurrence
Example
Jonah stayed in his seat for 14 of the 20 minute work block, in three separate stretches.
03Temporal locus
The response occurs at a point in time, so you can measure when.
LatencyInter-response time
Example
After the instruction “get your shoes”, Ava started moving 9 seconds later: a latency of 9 s.
Each dimension answers a different question: how many, how long, when.
Measurement & data

Continuous vs. discontinuous measurement

C.5 & C.6
ContinuousEvery instance
Every occurrence in the observation period appears in the data.
Event recording
Frequency · rate · percentage · trials to criterion
Timing
Duration · latency · inter-response time
Example
23 hand flaps counted across the full 15 minute play session.
DiscontinuousSampled
Only some intervals are scored, which builds a known bias into the data.
Partial intervalOverestimates
Whole intervalUnderestimates
Momentary time samplingApproximates
Example
Partial interval scores 8 of 15 intervals on-task (53%), though Sam was on task 4 minutes.
Sample when continuous recording is impractical, then state the bias it introduces.
Measurement & data

Derivative measures

C.7
Data you already collectedA derivative measure is calculated from data on hand, so it costs no extra observation time.
01Percent of occurrence
8÷10=80%
Responses divided by opportunities. Bounded 0 to 100%, so it conceals the number of opportunities. Always report the denominator.
Example
Leo handed over the picture card on 8 of 10 requesting opportunities during snack: 80% independent mands.
02Trials to criterion
14 trials to three consecutive correct
Opportunities needed to reach a set performance level. The cleanest way to compare two teaching procedures.
Example
Errorless prompting taught tooth brushing in 14 trials; least-to-most prompting took 31.
Calculated from data on hand, and always reported alongside the raw counts.
Measurement & data

Interobserver agreement

C.8
MeasureHow agreement is calculatedWorked example
Event recordingTotal count, mean count-per-interval, exact count-per-interval, or trial-by-trial.92%Observer A counted 23, observer B 25: 23 ÷ 25.
TimingTotal duration, or mean duration per occurrence, compared between observers.95%190 s and 200 s of crying recorded.
Interval methodsInterval-by-interval, scored-interval, or unscored-interval agreement.87%Both observers agreed on 13 of 15 intervals.
20%Collect IOA on at least a fifth of sessions, across observers and conditions, and choose the calculation before you look at the data.
Agreement measures consistency between observers, and accuracy is a separate question.
Measurement & data

Trustworthy measurement

C.8
01
Accuracy
The observed value matches the true value of the event.
ExampleA video recount confirms the 23 hand flaps scored live.
02
Reliability
Repeated measurement of the same event yields the same value.
ExampleThree RBTs score the same session tape within one count of each other.
03
Validity
The data are directly relevant to the question being asked.
ExampleMands per hour answers a communication goal; seat time does not.
Believable data
All three qualities hold at once, and the clinical decision rests on them.
Check all three before a graph reaches a parent meeting.
Measurement & data

Measurement artifacts

C.9
Data that misrepresent what actually happened. Three usual suspects, each one a flaw in how the system was designed.
01
Discontinuous measurement
Sampling misses instances, or credits a whole interval to one brief response.
Example
One 2 second shout scores the full 5 minute interval, so the graph reads 100%.
02
Poorly scheduled observations
Observing when the behaviour is unlikely, or only when it is at its worst.
Example
Aggression data collected only during preferred free play shows a flat baseline.
03
Insensitive or unrepresentative scales
A scale too coarse to show real change, or a ceiling the learner has already reached.
Example
A 3 point rating hides a drop from 40 to 12 tantrums per week.
Ask of every graph: could the method itself have produced this shape?
Measurement & data

Graphing and interpreting data

C.10 & C.11
Choosing the display
Equal-interval line graph — the default. Shows level, trend and variability over time.
Bar graph — for comparing discrete conditions with no time series.
Cumulative record — total responses only ever rise; slope shows rate.
Reading it: four questions
Level
Where on the y-axis is the data sitting within this phase?
Trend
Which direction is it moving, and how steeply?
Variability
How much do points bounce around that trend?
Change across phases
How quickly did it change at the phase line, and do the phases overlap?
Label the axes, mark every phase change, and never join data points across a phase line.
Measurement & data

Precision teaching

C.10 & C.11
Ogden LindsleyA measurement-led approach: pinpoint the behaviour, chart it daily, and let the data decide what changes.
Pinpoints
The target is directly observable, measurable and active. Something the learner does, not something they are.
Learning channels
The input and output pair is named: see-say, hear-write, see-do.
Standard celeration chart
A semi-logarithmic chart, so rate changes are read the same way by everyone.
Fluency
Accuracy plus speed. Fluent performance brings retention, endurance, stability and application.
Aims
A stated rate range that counts as fluent for this behaviour, set before teaching starts.
The learner is always right
If the data are not moving, the programme changes, not the learner. Decisions come from the chart.
Binder & Watkins (1990): pick a target the learner can actively do, and chart it every day.
Measurement & data

Measuring procedural integrity

C.12
Procedural integrity is the extent to which the plan is delivered as written. Without it, a flat graph cannot tell you whether the intervention failed or was never run.
Dimensions to measure
Accuracy — were the steps performed correctly?
Dosage — how many opportunities were delivered, out of how many planned?
Consistency — was it the same across staff, settings and days?
A step-by-step integrity checklist
Materials set out before the session
SD delivered once, as scripted
Prompt delivered at the planned delay
Reinforcer delivered within 3 seconds
Data recorded before the next trial
80%Four of five steps correct. Retrain the prompt-delay step before drawing any conclusion from the client’s data.
Take integrity data on the same schedule as client data, not only when something looks wrong.
D
Domain D

Experimental design

Nine tasks, 13 exam questions. Variables, validity, the single-case designs, and the analyses that answer a specific question.
Experimental design

Dependent and independent variables

D.1
The cause you control
Independent variable
What you manipulate. The intervention, the schedule, the prompt level. It is under the practitioner’s control.
ExampleIntroducing a 4 minute FT reinforcement schedule.
The effect you measure
Dependent variable
What you measure. The behaviour of interest, which is expected to change because the independent variable changed.
ExampleRate of shouting per hour.
Functional relationDemonstrated when the dependent variable changes reliably with the independent variable, and with nothing else. That is the whole purpose of the design.
Only one independent variable changes at a phase line, or the relation cannot be attributed.
Experimental design

Three kinds of validity

D.2
IV
to DV
Internal
The change in the dependent variable can be attributed to the independent variable alone.
Example
On-task time rises when the token board goes in, drops when it is withdrawn, and rises again on return.
Who
else?
External
The finding generalises to other people, settings, behaviours and times.
Example
The same token procedure works for four other learners in two different classrooms.
Worth
it?
Social
The goals, the procedures and the outcomes are acceptable to the client and the family.
Example
Dad rates the plan 5 of 5 for fit with the family routine at bedtime.
A confounding variable moves with the IV, and it is the reason a strong effect can still mislead.
Experimental design

Threats to internal validity

D.3
History
An event outside the study occurs between phases and could explain the change.
ExampleA medication change starts the same week as the intervention.
Maturation
The participant changes over time through development or fatigue, independent of the intervention.
ExampleA four-year-old’s language grows over a six-month baseline.
Instrumentation
The measurement itself changes: a new observer, a revised definition, a different recording sheet.
ExampleA second observer scores partial interval more loosely.
Attrition
Participants drop out, so the remaining data no longer represent the original group.
ExampleTwo of four children leave the programme mid-study.
Testing and reactivity
Repeated measurement itself changes the behaviour being measured.
ExampleStaff perform differently while being observed.
Regression to the mean
An extreme baseline drifts back toward typical levels on its own.
ExampleIntervention starts on the worst week of the term.
Internal validity is about ruling out rival explanations, and design is how you rule them out.
Experimental design

Defining features of single-case designs

D.4
01Individuals as their own controlsEach participant is compared against their own performance under a different condition, not against a group average.
02Repeated measuresThe dependent variable is measured many times per condition, so trend and variability are visible.
03PredictionA stable baseline lets you state what would happen next if nothing changed.
04VerificationReturning to the prior condition shows the predicted pattern really was under baseline control.
05ReplicationThe effect is reproduced at least once more, so it is not a one-off.
Prediction, verification and replication are the three-part logic every single-case design rests on.
Experimental design

Single-case and group designs

D.5
Single-case designs
Strengths
Answers what works for this client
Ongoing data allow the plan to change mid-course
Works with the small numbers real practice provides
The individual’s pattern is never averaged away
Weaker on generality: results have to be replicated across people to extend beyond the case.
Group designs
Strengths
Supports generality across a population
Random assignment controls many threats at once
Comparison across treatments at scale
Statistical estimates of effect size
Weaker for practice: an average effect does not tell you what to do for the person in front of you.
Group data inform what to try; single-case data tell you whether it worked for this client.
Experimental design

Four single-case experimental designs

D.7
A-B-A-B
Reversal
Conditions alternate between baseline and intervention. Withdrawing the intervention should return responding to baseline, which verifies the effect.
Staggered starts
Multiple baseline
The intervention is introduced at staggered times across behaviours, settings or participants. No reversal is needed, so it suits irreversible skills.
Rapid alternation
Multielement
Two or more conditions alternate rapidly, each signalled by its own stimulus, so their effects can be compared side by side. This is the functional-analysis design.
Stepped criteria
Changing criterion
One behaviour, and the criterion for reinforcement is raised in planned steps. The effect is shown when responding tracks each new criterion.
Pick the design by whether the behaviour can reverse, and by how many conditions you need to compare.
Experimental design

Three ways to analyse a treatment

D.8
Parametric
The value of the independent variable is manipulated. The intervention stays the same; only its size changes.
FT 2 minute NCRFT 3 minute NCRFT 4 minute NCR
QuestionHow much of it do we need?
Nonparametric
The independent variable is either part of the phase or it is not. The intervention is simply on or off.
Visual schedule usedNo visual scheduleVisual schedule used
QuestionDoes it work at all?
Component
One component is removed from a treatment package at a time, to find out whether it is necessary.
DRA + extinction + tokensDRA + extinctionDRA
QuestionWhich parts are carrying the effect?
Name the analysis before you change a phase, so the graph can answer the question you asked.
E
Domain E

Ethical and professional issues

Twelve tasks, 22 exam questions. The core principles, confidentiality, boundaries, cultural humility and the requirements we work under.
Ethical & professional issues

The four core principles

E.1
Principle 01
Benefit others
Work to maximise benefit and do no harm, protect the welfare and rights of clients above all else.
ExampleChoosing the less intrusive procedure that the data support.
Principle 02
Treat others with compassion, dignity and respect
Consider each person’s needs and perspective, and behave toward them as you would want to be treated.
ExampleAssent is sought and honoured, not assumed.
Principle 03
Behave with integrity
Be truthful, follow through on obligations, and hold yourself to the same standard you hold others.
ExampleCorrecting your own error in a report before anyone finds it.
Principle 04
Ensure competence
Practise only within the boundaries of your training and experience, and keep that competence current.
ExampleDeclining a case type you have never been supervised in, and referring on.
BACB Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts: these four principles sit underneath every specific standard.
Ethical & professional issues

Who is harmed when conduct slips

E.2
Risk to
The client
Ineffective or harmful services, lost progress, breached privacy, and a loss of trust that outlasts the case.
ExampleA plan run without integrity delays a skill by months.
Risk to
Yourself
Certification and licensure action, legal liability, loss of employment, and lasting reputational damage.
ExampleA confidentiality breach reported to the certifying body.
Risk to
The profession
Public confidence in behaviour analysis falls, funding and access narrow, and every practitioner is affected.
ExampleOne widely reported case shaping how families view ABA.
The cost is rarely contained to one person, which is why reporting obligations exist.
Ethical & professional issues

Developing and maintaining competence

E.3
01Read the literatureStay current with the research relevant to the populations and procedures you actually work with.
02Seek consultationBring difficult cases to a colleague with expertise in that area, before you are out of your depth.
03Establish mentorsA longer-term relationship with someone more experienced, who can see patterns in your practice.
04Attend trainingContinuing education, conferences and workshops, chosen for relevance rather than convenience.
05Record and reflectTrack your professional development activity and review whether it changed what you do.
Competence is a scope, not a certificate: it is specific to population, procedure and setting.
Ethical & professional issues

Collecting, protecting and disclosing information

E.4
Collect
Gather only what is needed for the service being delivered. Do not collect information you have no clinical use for.
Protect
Store records securely, limit access to those who need it, and de-identify data used for training or presentation.
Disclose
Only with consent, or where law or a duty to protect requires it. Disclose the minimum necessary, to the right person.
Everyday breaches
Discussing a client in a corridor or a car park. A name left on a whiteboard. Session notes photographed to a personal phone. A group chat used for scheduling.
Before you share anything
Is there consent on file for this recipient?
Is this the minimum information needed?
Is the channel secure and approved?
Would the family expect this to be shared?
When any answer is no, the disclosure waits until it is yes.
Ethical & professional issues

Making public statements about our work

E.5
Do
Represent credentials exactly
Use your certification and licence as they are granted, with no implied scope you do not hold. Never imply a degree, credential or specialism you have not earned.
Example“Board Certified Behavior Analyst”, not “behaviour doctor” or “ABA specialist certified”.
Do
Represent outcomes honestly
Describe what the evidence supports. No guarantees, no cure language, and no claims that outrun the data.
Example“Reduced by 60% over eight weeks in clinic”, not “fixed his behaviour”.
Remember
Social media is a public statement
Anything posted from a personal or clinic account is covered, including comments, reactions and reshares.
ExampleA client photo posted with a caption, even in a private group.
Remember
Client material needs consent
Written consent before any client image, video, quote or case detail is used publicly, with the right to withdraw it later.
ExampleA testimonial reused in an advertisement two years on.
If it would embarrass the family or mislead a funder, it does not go out.
Ethical & professional issues

Discontinuing services and transitioning clients

E.6
When to discontinue
Goals are met and services are no longer needed
The client is not benefiting, and modification has not changed that
The need falls outside your competence
A barrier prevents effective service, or a relationship makes it unethical to continue
Funding or authorisation ends
Steps when transitioning
01Give notice as early as the situation allows
02Discuss the reasons and options with the client and caregivers
03Identify and offer suitable referrals
04Prepare a transition plan and a written summary of progress
05Transfer records with consent, and stay available during handover
Abrupt withdrawal is the harm to avoid: continuity of care is the obligation.
The same steps apply to ending supervision, not only to ending client services.
Ethical & professional issues

Multiple relationships and conflicts of interest

E.7
A multiple relationship exists when you hold a second role alongside the professional one, with a client, supervisee or their close contacts.
Common types
Social: friendship with a client’s family
Familial: supervising a relative
Financial: bartering, lending, or a business interest
Employment: a supervisee who is also a friend or partner
Romantic: prohibited with current clients or supervisees
The risk
Impaired objectivity, exploitation of the power difference, and difficulty holding a clinical boundary when the second relationship is at stake.
If it is genuinely unavoidable
Disclose it, in writing, to everyone affected
Document the conflict and the plan to manage it
Add oversight: a second supervisor or reviewer
Set explicit boundaries and review them on a schedule
Refer or reassign as soon as it becomes avoidable
Small communities make some overlap unavoidable; undisclosed overlap is never acceptable.
Ethical & professional issues

Interpersonal skills that hold relationships together

E.8
Accepting feedback
Listen without defending, ask what a better version looks like, and act on it visibly. The response to feedback is what determines whether you get more.
Example“Thank you, I will change the prompt delay from tomorrow.”
Listening actively
Let the other person finish, reflect back what you heard, and check you have it right before you respond.
Example“So the mornings are the hard part, not the sessions themselves?”
Seeking input
Ask the people who see the client daily what they think, and ask before you decide, not after.
ExampleAsking the classroom EA which prompt they can realistically deliver.
Collaborating
Share the goal and the data, adjust for the other person’s constraints, and give credit for what they contribute.
ExampleRewriting a plan around the SLP’s session times rather than over them.
These are trainable, measurable skills, and they decide whether a technically good plan is ever implemented.
Ethical & professional issues

Cultural humility and responsive practice

E.9 & E.10
Cultural humility is not cultural competence
Competence implies you arrive knowing. Humility means you arrive assuming you do not, and you keep asking. It is a lifelong practice of self-examination, not a training you complete.
Three commitments
Self-examination — notice your own assumptions about what a good outcome looks like.
Redress the power difference — the family holds expertise about their own life.
Institutional accountability — fix the practices, not just your own manner.
Responsive in practice
Goals are chosen with the family’s values, not only developmental norms
Materials, food, greetings and routines reflect the home
Interpretation and translated documents are offered, not waited for
Home language is maintained rather than replaced
Session times work around the family’s actual week
Supervision applies the same standards to every supervisee
Ask what matters to this family, then design around the answer.
Wright (2019) and Fong et al.: humility is the stance, responsiveness is what changes in the plan.
Ethical & professional issues

Identifying personal bias

E.11
Where bias enters the work
Which behaviours get called a problem in the first place
Which goals are treated as socially significant
How ambiguous data are scored under time pressure
Which families are described as engaged or difficult
Who gets hired, supervised closely, or promoted
Confirmation bias is the one to watch on a graph: seeing the improvement you expected.
Countermeasures that actually work
Operational definitions tight enough that a stranger scores the same
IOA taken routinely, not only when a result is doubted
Goals confirmed with the client and family in their own words
Decision rules written before the data come in
A colleague asked to argue the opposite reading of the graph
Bias is not a character flaw to confess; it is a source of measurement error to control.
The point is not to feel unbiased, it is to build systems that do not depend on being unbiased.
Ethical & professional issues

Legal, regulatory and practice requirements

E.12
Licensure and certification
Hold and maintain the credentials your jurisdiction requires, practise only within the scope they grant, and meet the renewal and CE requirements on time.
ExampleOntario: RBA registration alongside BCBA certification.
Jurisprudence
Know the legislation that governs practice where you work: privacy, consent, duty to report, restraint, and the rights of the people you serve.
ExamplePHIPA for health information, and mandatory reporting under child-protection law.
Funding requirements
Deliver, document and bill in the way the funder requires, and never let a funding rule override a clinical or ethical obligation.
ExampleService authorisation limits that must be tracked before hours are delivered.
Employer policy
Follow the organisation’s own procedures, and raise the conflict formally when policy and ethics do not agree.
ExampleA documentation deadline that would require signing off work you did not observe.
Where law, funder rules, employer policy and the ethics code conflict, the client’s welfare decides and the conflict gets documented.
F
Domain F

Behavior assessment

Eight tasks, 23 exam questions. Records, culture, skills, preference, descriptive assessment and functional analysis, then what the data mean.
Behavior assessment

Reviewing records at the outset

F.1
Source
Medical
Diagnoses, medication and dose changes, sleep, seizures, pain, allergies, and any recent investigation.
ExampleA medication change three weeks ago that overlaps your baseline.
Source
Educational
IEP goals, placement, accommodations, previous assessments, and incident or exclusion records.
ExampleAn IEP goal that duplicates one of your proposed targets.
Source
Historical services
What has been tried before, by whom, for how long, and why it stopped.
ExampleA prior extinction plan that was abandoned mid-burst.
Source
Cultural and family context
Household make-up, languages spoken, routines, priorities, and what the family has already told other providers.
ExampleTwo languages at home, and the plan written only in English.
Records are read before the first observation: they rule out medical variables and stop you repeating a failed plan.
Behavior assessment

Integrating cultural variables into assessment

F.2
01LanguageWhich language is assessment conducted in, and does the result reflect the skill or the language of testing?
02Norms of the settingBehaviour that is expected at home may be scored as a problem at school. Ask whose norm the target reflects.
03Family prioritiesWhat the caregivers want changed first, in their words, before your list is written.
04Who is consultedExtended family, elders or community members may hold decision-making roles in this household.
05Assessment toolsWas the instrument normed on a population resembling this client? If not, interpret with caution and say so.
Culture is not a section at the end of the report; it changes which behaviours are targets at all.
Behavior assessment

Assessing skill strengths and areas of need

F.3
Indirect
Interviews, checklists and rating scales
Fast, broad, and shaped by the informant’s memory. Use to generate hypotheses and set priorities.
Direct observation
Watch the skill in the setting it is needed
Shows what the learner actually does, and what the environment currently supports.
Criterion-referenced probes
Test the specific skill directly
Present the opportunity and record the response, unprompted, across several trials.
Reading the result
Strength
Performs it independently, across people and settings. Use it as a teaching foothold.
Emerging
Performs it with prompts, or in one setting only. This is the priority teaching band.
Absent
Not in the repertoire. Check the prerequisites before targeting it directly.
A skill deficit and a performance deficit look identical on a checklist. Probe with a reinforcer available to tell them apart.
Assess strengths as deliberately as deficits: the strengths are what the teaching plan is built on.
Behavior assessment

Preference assessments: five formats

F.4
Free operantNo trialsThe learner is observed in the natural environment and you record what they engage with, and for how long. Nothing is presented or withheld.
Single stimulusOne item is presented per trial and you record approach or no approach. Repeat until every item has been presented.
Paired stimulusTwo items are presented together and the learner picks one. Repeat until all combinations have been run, then rank by selections.
Multiple stimulus, with replacementAn array is presented, the learner picks one, and the chosen item is replaced with an identical one. The data show how often each item is selected.
Multiple stimulus, without replacementThe chosen item is removed and the array is presented again. Because items drop out one by one, the result is a preference hierarchy.
Pick the format by how much time you have and whether you need a ranking or a single answer.
Behavior assessment

Running a trial-based assessment

F.4
Five itemsThe same five candidate reinforcers run through every format, so the results can be compared.
Trial 1Trial 2Trial 3Trial 4Trial 5
Single stimulus
Paired stimulus
Multiple, with replacement
Multiple, without replacement
Selections are recorded per trial, and preference is read from the totals.
Behavior assessment

Reinforcer assessments

F.4
A preference assessment tells you what the learner picks. A reinforcer assessment tells you whether it actually changes behaviour, so do not assume, assess.
Multiple schedule
One potential reinforcer, presented contingently in one condition and non-contingently in another. An SD signals which schedule is in effect.
1 reinforcerSuccessive
FT2FR1FT2FR1
AnswersIs this specific item a reinforcer?
Concurrent schedule
Two or more matched response choices, each with its own reinforcer, available at the same time.
2+ reinforcersSimultaneous
Response A → attentionResponse B → time on the iPad
AnswersWhich of these is the stronger reinforcer?
Progressive schedule
One reinforcer with a systematically increasing response requirement, until responding stops. That point is the breaking point.
1 reinforcerRising criteria
AnswersAt what work requirement is this no longer worth it?
Assess the reinforcer before you build a programme on it.
Behavior assessment

The ABC teaching procedure

F.5
A
Antecedent
What happens immediately before: the instruction, the materials, the setting event.
ExampleThe therapist holds up two cards and says “touch red”.
B
Behaviour
What the learner does, written so two observers score it the same way.
ExampleNoor touches the red card within 5 seconds.
C
Consequence
What follows, and therefore what the learner is likely to do next time.
Example“Yes, red!” plus 20 seconds with the bubbles.
Next trial
The consequence you deliver becomes part of the antecedent conditions for the trial that follows.
Change the antecedent or the consequence, and measure the behaviour in the middle.
Behavior assessment

The four functions of behaviour

F.6
01Socially mediated positive
Access to tangibles
The behaviour produces an item or activity.
ExampleScreaming at the checkout produces the sweets.
02Socially mediated negative
Escape
The behaviour removes, delays or avoids a demand.
ExampleThrowing the worksheet ends the maths task.
03Socially mediated positive
Attention
The behaviour produces social interaction of any kind, including reprimands.
ExampleCalling out brings the teacher straight over.
04Automatic
Sensory stimulation
The behaviour produces its own consequence, independent of other people.
ExampleRocking continues at the same rate whether or not anyone is in the room.
Function drives the plan: two children can hit for entirely different reasons.
Behavior assessment

Functional behaviour assessment

F.5 & F.6
01Preliminary assessmentRecords, medical review, existing data, and a clear operational definition of the target behaviour.
02Indirect assessmentInterviews, rating scales and checklists with the people who see the behaviour. Example: the teacher reports it happens during maths.
03Direct observationABC data in the natural setting. Example: 9 of 11 incidents followed a written demand and ended the task.
04Functional analysisTest conditions with the consequence controlled. Example: rates are highest in the demand condition, confirming escape.
ThenWrite the hypothesis as a sentence: when a written demand is presented, Sam tears the worksheet, which ends the task, so the behaviour is maintained by escape.
The function you identify decides the procedure you choose.
Behavior assessment

From assessment data to prioritised goals

F.7 & F.8
First decision: is this ours?
Behaviour-analytic service is indicated
Refer alongside: SLP, OT, medical, mental health
Refer instead: the need is outside our scope
No service: the concern does not warrant intervention
Rule out medical causes before writing a behaviour plan for a behaviour that started suddenly.
Then prioritise, on five filters
Safety — risk of harm to the client or others comes first
Social significance — will this change the person’s access and quality of life?
Client-informed — does the client, and the family, want this?
Culturally responsive — is it valued in this household and community?
Cusp or pivotal — does it unlock further learning on its own?
Prioritising is a decision you can defend in writing, not an ordering of your own preferences.
The report should make it obvious why these goals, in this order, for this person.
G
Domain G

Behavior-change procedures

Nineteen tasks, 25 exam questions. Reinforcement, prompting, shaping, chaining, generalisation, maintenance and punishment.
Behavior-change procedures

Designing a reinforcement procedure

G.1
Positive reinforcement
Something is added, and the behaviour increases
Example: handing over the requested item when the child signs for it, and signing becomes more frequent.
Negative reinforcement
Something is removed, and the behaviour increases
Example: a two minute break follows “break please”, and asking for breaks becomes more frequent.
Five design decisions
What — identified by preference assessment, then confirmed by reinforcer assessment
How much — magnitude large enough to matter, small enough to repeat
How soon — immediacy, within a few seconds while learning
How often — schedule: dense to teach, thinned to maintain
For what exactly — contingency stated so every implementer delivers the same
Deprivation and satiation change the value of all of it, so check the MO before the trial.
Positive and negative describe whether something was added or removed, never whether it was pleasant.
Behavior-change procedures

Differential reinforcement

G.2
TopographyReinforce a different behaviour and withhold reinforcement for the target.
DRAAlternative behaviourReinforce a functionally equivalent replacement. Example: “break please” earns a two minute break, and throwing earns none.
DRIIncompatible behaviourReinforce a behaviour that cannot occur at the same time. Example: hands on the table, which rules out hitting.
DROOther behaviourReinforce the absence of the target for a set time. Example: a token for every 5 minutes with no shouting.MomentaryInterval
RateKeep the behaviour and change how often it happens.
DRLLower ratesReinforce fewer responses per period. Example: three or fewer questions per ten minutes earns teacher time.IRTFull sessionInterval
DRDDiminishing ratesA DRL in which the criterion lowers step by step based on performance, rather than sitting at one fixed rate.
DRHHigher ratesReinforce more responses per period. Example: eight or more peer greetings across a lunch break.
Every variant pairs reinforcement for one class of responding with extinction for another.
Behavior-change procedures

Non-contingent reinforcement

G.3
Rationale
Reinforcement is delivered on time, not on responding. That breaks the dependency between the behaviour and the reinforcer, so the behaviour becomes less probable.
What it manipulates
Motivating operations. Free access works as an abolishing operation and reduces the value of that reinforcer.
Disadvantage
NCR teaches no new skill and no new way to access reinforcement. It can also produce accidental pairings and make behaviour more resistant to extinction.
Setting the schedule
Calculate the average inter-response time for the target behaviour, then set the delivery interval below that average.
Average IRT6 minSet at4 min
Fixed time (FT)
The reinforcer is delivered every four minutes, independent of responding.
Variable time (VT)
The reinforcer is delivered on average every four minutes, independent of responding.
Pair NCR with something that teaches a replacement, or the skill gap stays open.
Behavior-change procedures

Designing a token economy, in order

G.4
1
Select the tokens
Something durable, easy to deliver immediately, and safe for this learner.
2
Identify target behaviours and rules
State exactly what earns a token, in observable terms the learner understands.
3
Develop a menu of backup reinforcers
Build it from a preference assessment, and keep more than one option on it.
4
Establish the exchange rate
Set how many tokens buy each item, starting dense enough to be reachable.
5
Write the exchange and delivery procedures
Who delivers a token, when, and when and where exchange happens.
6
Field test before implementation
Run it briefly, check the rate of earning, and adjust the exchange rate before rollout.
Response costOnly include a token-loss procedure when the ethical guidelines have been met, and never before the earning side is producing tokens reliably.
Cooper, Heron & Heward (2007): six steps, and the field test is not optional.
Behavior-change procedures

Building motivating operations and SDs into a procedure

G.5
01Contrive the MOArrange the environment so the reinforcer has value before the trial begins, rather than waiting for motivation to appear.
02Withhold access brieflyShort, ethical deprivation of the target item, so a request has something to produce.
03Deliver a clear SDOne instruction, once, in the form the learner responds to. Signal that reinforcement is available now.
04Avoid accidental SDsYour position, gaze or materials can become the real cue, so vary them deliberately.
05Check satiation mid-sessionIf responding drops, the reinforcer may have lost value. Rotate rather than push on.
A missing MO looks exactly like a skill deficit on the data sheet. Rule it out first.
Behavior-change procedures

Simple and conditional discriminations

G.6
Two-term
Simple discrimination
One stimulus, one correct response. The SD is present and responding is reinforced; the SΔ is present and it is not.
“Touch red”
ExampleTouching the red card and not the grey one.
Three-term
Conditional discrimination
A second stimulus determines which response is correct, so the right answer changes with the context. This is matching to sample.
Sample: red
Sample: green
ExampleThe same array, but which card is correct depends on the sample shown.
Conditional discriminations are the foundation for receptive language, categorisation and equivalence.
Behavior-change procedures

Prompting and prompt fading

G.7
Response prompts
Act on the learner: verbal instruction, gestural cue, model, physical guidance.
Stimulus prompts
Act on the materials: position, movement, or an exaggerated relevant feature.
Least to most
Start light, add support only when the learner waits.
1Independent, 5 s wait
2Verbal cue
3Model
4Hand over hand
ExampleHand washing: wait, say “turn the tap”, model, then guide.
Most to least
Start with enough support for success, then withdraw it stepwise.
1Full physical guidance
2Partial guidance
3Light touch at the elbow
4Independent
ExampleSignature writing: full guidance on trials 1 to 3, then fade contact.
Plan the fade with the prompt: a prompt that stays becomes part of the skill.
Behavior-change procedures

Stimulus prompts and response prompts

G.7
SD“Turn on the TV”A prompt is a supplementary antecedent stimulus that occasions the correct response in the presence of the SD, and every prompt is planned to be faded.
Response prompts
Act on the learner's behaviour
VerbalVocal or written instruction: “press the red button”.
ModelDemonstrating the correct response first.
Physical guidancePhysically guiding the movement so the response occurs.
These make the correct response more likely.
Stimulus prompts
Act on the materials
MovementTapping, pointing to or looking at the correct stimulus.
PositionPlacing the correct stimulus closer to the learner.
RedundancyPairing a colour, size or shape with the correct stimulus.
These make the correct stimulus more obvious.
Cooper, Heron & Heward (2012): decide which one you are using before the trial starts.
Behavior-change procedures

Prompt fading: transferring stimulus control

G.8
Stimulus fading
The prompt itself is gradually removed until the intended SD alone evokes responding.
pinkpinkpinkpinkpink
Least to most
Start with the least intrusive prompt and increase support only until the correct response occurs.
Most to least
Start with the most intrusive prompt and reduce it as correct responding becomes reliable.
Delayed prompting
A time delay is inserted between the SD and the prompt. Constant delay keeps the wait the same; progressive delay lengthens it as responding improves.
SD2 s4 sPrompt
Graduated guidanceThe instructor shadows the learner's movement, prompting only when needed, and gradually increases the distance between their hand and the learner.
Mayer, Sulzer-Azaroff & Wallace (2014): fading is planned with the prompt, not after it.
Behavior-change procedures

Designing a modelling procedure

G.9
What makes a model work
Attending first — the learner is watching before you start
An imitative repertoire — the learner already copies simpler actions
Correct and complete — no shortcuts, shown at the learner’s pace
Immediate opportunity — the learner performs it straight after
Reinforcement for the match — and a plan to fade the model
A peer model is often more effective than an adult one, and generalises better.
In vivo
Live demonstration, in the setting
The model performs the behaviour in front of the learner, in the real context. Easiest to run, hardest to keep identical across staff.
Video modelling
A recorded model, replayed exactly
Identical every time, needs no second person present, and can be watched before the opportunity arises.
Video self-modelling uses footage of the learner performing the skill correctly, edited to remove the prompts.
Model, opportunity, reinforcement, fade. A model with no immediate opportunity teaches nothing.
Behavior-change procedures

Direct instruction

G.10
Siegfried EngelmannScripted, fast-paced group teaching, designed so that mastery is built before the programme moves on.
Small groupsGrouped by skill level rather than by grade or age.
Instructor scriptsWording is scripted, so every learner gets the same clear instruction.
Signals and choral respondingA signal cues the group to answer together, which raises the number of active learning trials per minute.
New and mastered materialNew content is interspersed with mastered content, so the session keeps a high success rate.
Mastery before progressionThe programme only advances once the current material is mastered, and lessons are field tested to confirm they work.
The teaching load sits with the programme design, not with the learner: if a learner is not progressing, the instruction is what gets changed.
Engelmann (1999): extensive research supports DI, including Project Follow Through.
Behavior-change procedures

Shaping: across and within a topography

G.11
Across topography
The form of the response changes
Successive approximations look progressively more like the terminal behaviour, and each new form replaces the last.
ExampleVocal requesting: “buh” earns the ball, then “ba”, then “ball”, then “ball please”.
Within topography
One dimension of the same response changes
The response stays the same and the criterion moves along one measurable dimension: duration, volume, force or accuracy.
ExampleTolerating the dentist chair: 10 seconds, then 30, then 2 minutes.
Reinforce the closest approximation available, then raise the criterion once it is stable.
Behavior-change procedures

Creating and assessing a task analysis

G.12
What it is
A complex skill broken into smaller component steps, in temporal order, then taught with a chaining procedure.
Three ways to build one
Observe a competent performerAsk an expertPerform the skill yourself, repeatedly
Worked example: putting on shoes
1 Get shoes2 Loosen laces3 Foot in4 Pull heel5 Tie
Single opportunity assessment
Assess each step in order. At the first error the assessment stops, and every remaining step is scored as a non-occurrence.
1 Get shoes2 Loosen laces3 Foot in4 to 6 scored as errors
Multiple opportunity assessment
Assess each step in order. On an error the clinician completes that step and the learner resumes at the next one, so every step is measured.
1 Get shoes3 Foot in, clinician completes4 Pull heel, learner resumes
The assessment you choose decides which steps you can teach next.
Behavior-change procedures

Trial-based and free-operant procedures

G.13
Discrete trials
Trial-based
The instructor presents discrete opportunities, each with a clear beginning and end. High trial density, tight control, easy data.
SDResponseR+Inter-trial
SDResponseR+Inter-trial
ExampleTen receptive-identification trials at the table, scored plus or minus.
Naturalistic
Free-operant
The learner responds at their own rate, with no discrete trial structure. Better motivation and generalisation, harder to keep trial counts high.
ExampleRequesting during play, whenever the learner wants the next piece.
Most programmes use both: trial-based to acquire the skill, free-operant to make it usable.
Behavior-change procedures

Three group contingencies

G.14
DependentReinforcement for the whole group depends on one person, or a small group, meeting the criterion. Everyone gains from that performance.
IndependentThe contingency is presented to the group, and anyone who meets the criterion earns reinforcement. Each person's outcome is their own.
InterdependentReinforcement depends on the whole group meeting the response criterion together. All for one, and one for all.
ExampleDependent: the group earns extra outdoor time if Leo finishes his reading.
ExampleIndependent: every child who packs away in two minutes chooses a song.
ExampleInterdependent: the room earns the game only if every child packs away.
Check for social side effects before you use a dependent or interdependent contingency: no child should be blamed for the group's outcome.
Name the contingency type in the plan, so everyone delivers it the same way.
Behavior-change procedures

Programming for generalisation and maintenance

G.15 & G.16
01
General case analysis
Identify the common stimuli, response requirements and relevant features of the natural environment first.
02
Teach loosely
Vary your wording, position and materials. Example: “shoes on”, “put your shoes on”, “time for shoes”.
03
Multiple exemplars
Teach with several examples of the same class. Example: six different cups before “cup” is scored as mastered.
04
Common stimuli
Bring a feature of the natural setting into teaching. Example: the school lunch tray used in the clinic room.
05
Negative examples
Include inappropriate responses and conditions in which responding should not occur.
06
Indiscriminable contingencies
Thin and delay reinforcement so the learner cannot tell which response pays. Example: a VR 4 token schedule.
07
Mediating and natural communities
Train a stimulus that can be carried across settings, and teach the learner to recruit reinforcement. Example: “look what I made”.
08
Programme maintenance
Schedule maintenance probes and booster sessions. Example: a probe at 1, 3 and 6 months after mastery.
Stokes & Baer (1977): plan generalisation from the first teaching session.
Behavior-change procedures

Positive and negative punishment procedures

G.17
Negative punishment
Time-out
Access to reinforcement is removed for a brief period, contingent on the behaviour. Negative punishment.
ExampleTwo minutes away from the group game after hitting.
Negative punishment
Response cost
A specified amount of an already-earned reinforcer is removed. Negative punishment.
ExampleTwo tokens removed from the board.
Positive punishment
Overcorrection
The learner performs an effortful, related activity contingent on the behaviour. Positive punishment.
ExampleWiping the whole table after deliberately spilling on part of it.
Side effects to plan for
Escape and avoidance of the person delivering it, aggression, emotional responding, imitation of the punishment, and suppression that does not generalise.
Before any of these are considered
Reinforcement-based procedures have been tried and documented, a functionally equivalent replacement is being taught, consent is in place, and the least restrictive option is chosen with oversight.
Punishment suppresses; it teaches nothing. It is never used without a reinforcement programme running alongside it.
Behavior-change procedures

Emotional and elicited effects of our procedures

G.18
Procedure
Extinction
The burst, plus frustration, aggression and emotional responding as reinforcement stops.
ExampleCrying and throwing in the first sessions of an extinction plan.
Procedure
Punishment
Escape, avoidance, fear responses conditioned to the setting or the person, and reduced approach afterwards.
ExampleA learner who stops approaching the staff member who runs response cost.
Procedure
Reinforcement changes
Thinning too quickly, or a preferred item withdrawn, elicits emotional responding of its own.
ExampleDistress when a dense token schedule is thinned in one step.
These are respondent, elicited effects, so measure them, plan for them, and treat them as data about the procedure.
Behavior-change procedures

Procedures that promote emergent relations

G.19
01Matching to sampleTeach conditional discriminations in both directions, then probe the untaught ones before scoring mastery.
02Multiple exemplar instructionTeach across several examples and both response directions, which is what produces the derived relations.
03Instructive feedbackAdd a secondary target into the consequence for a known response, and it is often acquired without direct teaching.
04NamingTeach speaker and listener responses to the same stimulus, so each supports the other.
05Probe, do not assumeTest derived relations under no reinforcement. Untested is not the same as emerged.
Teach two, get four free — but only if you probe the four.
H
Domain H

Selecting and implementing interventions

Eight tasks, 20 exam questions. Turning assessment into a plan, mitigating what could go wrong, and deciding from data.
Selecting & implementing interventions

Writing goals in observable, measurable terms

H.1
Four parts of a usable goal
The behaviour — observable and measurable
The condition — when and where, and what the opportunity is
The criterion — the level that counts as mastery
The generality — across how many people, settings and days
If two staff would collect different data from the same session, the goal is not finished.
Not measurable
“Ava will improve her communication and be more independent at school.”
No behaviour, no condition, no criterion, and nothing anyone could score.
Measurable
“Given a preferred item out of reach, Ava will request it using a 2-word phrase, unprompted, in 80% of opportunities across 3 consecutive days, with 2 staff.”
Behaviour, condition, criterion and generality are all present.
Write the goal so the data sheet writes itself.
Selecting & implementing interventions

Recommending an intervention: four inputs

H.2 & H.3
Input 01
Assessment results
The function, the current repertoire and the environment as it actually is.
Input 02
Scientific evidence
Procedures with empirical support for this behaviour, this function and this population.
Input 03
Client preference
What the client and family will accept, want, and be willing to run every day.
Input 04
Contextual fit
The expertise, time, materials and staffing actually available in that setting.
Always pair a decrease with an increase
When a behaviour is targeted for reduction, name the socially valid alternative to be established. It should serve the same function, take less effort, and be reinforced more richly.
The best plan on paper
A technically superior procedure that the team cannot run daily is worse than a simpler one they will. Contextual fit is a clinical variable, not a compromise.
Evidence tells you what can work; the other three inputs tell you what will work here.
Selecting & implementing interventions

Elements of a behaviour contract

H.2
A contract states who is to do what, with or to whom, by when, and with what outcome.
1
Informed consent
Voluntary consent is obtained from the person with the authority to grant it.
2
Negotiate the terms
Goals, procedures and criteria are agreed by the team, and that team includes the client.
3
Final contract
Written with the who, what, when and how, and signed by the client and everyone with a role in it.
What is the objective, and how is it measured?
Behaviour in observable, measurable terms, with the measurement system and data frequency named.
Who is involved?
The client, the behaviour-change agent, and every party who plays a role in the contract.
What is the outcome?
The reinforcer or privilege available, plus any optional bonus or penalty.
When is it in effect?
Start and end dates, and how often the contract will be reviewed.
Why botherIt reduces goal conflict, defines individual roles and sets clear expectations. Goals only include behaviours already in the person’s repertoire, at a level the current data support.
Mayer, Sulzer-Azaroff & Wallace (2014): the contract is a working document, not a formality.
Selecting & implementing interventions

Planning for unwanted effects

H.4
Risk
Reinforcement
Satiation, dependence on a contrived reinforcer, and accidental reinforcement of the wrong response.
ExampleRotate reinforcers, thin gradually, plan the move to natural reinforcers.
Risk
Extinction
The burst, spontaneous recovery, resurgence, aggression, and staff abandoning the plan mid-burst.
ExamplePair with DRA, brief the whole team on the burst, agree a safety plan first.
Risk
Punishment
Escape and avoidance, conditioned fear of the setting, aggression, and imitation of the procedure.
ExampleLeast restrictive option, consent, oversight, and a reinforcement programme running alongside.
Name the likely side effect and its countermeasure in the plan, before the first session.
Selecting & implementing interventions

Planning for relapse

H.5
Three ways behaviour comes back
Spontaneous recovery
The extinguished behaviour reappears after time away, without reinforcement.
Resurgence
An older behaviour returns when the replacement stops paying.
Renewal
The behaviour returns when the context changes — a new room, a new staff member, a return after a break.
Mitigation, written into the plan
Teach the replacement to fluency, not just to criterion
Keep the replacement richly reinforced long after the target drops
Thin slowly, and never at the same time as another change
Train across staff, rooms and times to reduce renewal
Schedule booster sessions and maintenance probes
Brief the team, so a spike is met with the plan rather than panic
Relapse is expected, not a sign of failure. What matters is whether the response to it was planned.
Wathen & Podlesnik: build persistence into the replacement behaviour rather than hoping the target stays down.
Selecting & implementing interventions

Making the data-based decision

H.6 & H.7
Ask integrity first
01Was the plan run as written, at the planned dosage?
02Are the data reliable, and is IOA acceptable?
03Only then: what does the graph show?
Changing an intervention that was never delivered correctly discards a plan that might have worked.
Improving, criterion met
Move on
Thin the schedule, programme generalisation, and set maintenance probes.
Improving, criterion not met
Continue unchanged
The trend is in the right direction. Give it more sessions before changing anything.
Flat or variable
Change one thing
Reinforcer value, schedule density, prompt level or criterion. One variable, so you can read the effect.
Getting worse
Stop and reassess
Re-examine the function. The hypothesis may be wrong, or a new variable has entered.
Write the decision rules before the data arrive, and review on a set schedule rather than on impression.
Selecting & implementing interventions

Collaborating to support client services

H.8
Who is at the table
Caregivers, teachers and EAs, SLP, OT, physician, social worker, and the client themselves.
ExampleA feeding goal written with the OT and SLP rather than beside them.
What you bring
The data, the operational definitions, and a plain-language account of the function and the plan.
ExampleOne graph and one paragraph, not a 40-page report.
What you ask for
Their expertise, their constraints, and what they can realistically deliver in their own setting.
Example“How many prompts can you give during morning routine?”
How it stays working
Shared goals, one agreed plan, agreed language, and a standing time to review the data together.
ExampleA fortnightly 15-minute review with the classroom team.
Drop the jargon and share the data: collaboration fails on communication far more often than on disagreement.
I
Domain I

Personnel supervision and management

Seven tasks, 19 exam questions. Why supervision works, how to structure it, and how to know whether it is working.
Personnel supervision & management

The benefits of behaviour-analytic supervision

I.1
Benefit 01
Better client outcomes
Plans are run with integrity, errors are caught early, and decisions are made from data rather than impression.
Benefit 02
Better staff performance
Skills are trained to fluency, feedback is frequent and specific, and expectations are explicit.
Benefit 03
Better retention
Staff who are trained, supported and given feedback stay. Turnover is expensive and it lands on the client.
Supervision is a behaviour-change programme, with the supervisee’s performance as the dependent variable.
Personnel supervision & management

Establishing an effective supervisory relationship

I.2
01A written contractHours, structure, expectations, responsibilities and how disagreements will be handled, signed by both parties.
02Clear expectationsWhat competent performance looks like, stated in observable terms, before it is evaluated.
03Frequent feedbackSpecific, timely, behaviour-focused, and delivered often enough that no session is a surprise.
04Accepting feedback tooThe supervisor asks for feedback on their own supervision, and visibly acts on it.
05DocumentationEvery meeting recorded: what was observed, what was decided, and what happens before next time.
The contract is what makes the relationship reviewable rather than personal.
Personnel supervision & management

Promoting equity in supervision

I.3
Where inequity shows up
Who gets offered supervision hours, and on what schedule
Who gets the complex cases that build a portfolio
How directly feedback is delivered, and to whom
Whose questions are treated as curiosity, and whose as gaps
Who is recommended for progression
What to put in place
One written competency standard, applied to everyone
Structured observation forms rather than impressions
Case assignment tracked, so opportunity can be audited
Materials in accessible formats and, where needed, other languages
A route to raise concerns that does not go through the supervisor
Equity is produced by the system, not by good intentions inside it.
If you cannot show the standard was the same, you cannot claim it was.
Personnel supervision & management

Selecting supervision goals

I.4
Input 01
Assess the skills
Observe performance directly against a written competency list, rather than asking what they feel confident about.
ExampleA 12-item DTT integrity checklist, scored live.
Input 02
Account for culture and context
The supervisee’s language, background, prior training and the setting they actually work in.
ExampleA supervisee whose first placement is in-home rather than clinic.
Input 03
Account for the environment
Caseload, available time, who else can model the skill, and what the setting will let them practise.
ExampleNo second staff member available, so peer modelling is out.
Then write the goal the same way you would a client goal: behaviour, condition, criterion, generality.
Personnel supervision & management

Performance management procedures

I.5
01Task clarificationState exactly what is expected, in observable terms, and check it was understood.
02ModellingDemonstrate the skill in the real setting, at the real pace.
03RehearsalThe supervisee practises, with the client absent, until the response is fluent.
04FeedbackSpecific and behaviour-focused, delivered soon after, and always paired with what to do instead.
05ReinforcementAcknowledge correct performance often enough to maintain it, not only when it is exceptional.
06Manipulate response effortMake the correct performance easier than the incorrect one: better forms, prepared materials, shorter steps.
This is behaviour skills training: instruct, model, rehearse, feed back — and repeat until criterion.
Personnel supervision & management

A function-based approach to supervisee performance

I.6
Four questions before you retrain
Antecedents
Do they know what to do, and is there a cue when it is needed?
Equipment and processes
Are the materials, forms and time available to do it correctly?
Knowledge and skills
Can they do it when asked, with no client present?
Consequences
What follows correct performance, and what follows the shortcut?
Performance diagnostics identify why the performance is not happening, so the intervention matches the cause. Most performance problems are not training problems.
Worked example
Data sheets are being completed at the end of the day rather than during the session.
Knows the expectation — yes
Can do it on request — yes
Materials: one shared clipboard for three staff — no
Consequence: nobody checks until Friday
So the fix is a clipboard each and a same-day check — not another training on data collection.
Carr et al., Performance Diagnostic Checklist: diagnose the function, then pick the intervention.
Personnel supervision & management

Evaluating your own supervisory practice

I.7
Measure
Supervisee performance data
Competency checklists scored over time, procedural integrity in session, and independence on tasks that once needed support.
ExampleDTT integrity rising from 68% to 95% across six weeks.
Measure
Client outcome data
The graphs of the clients that supervisee runs. If supervision is working, this is where it shows.
ExampleAcquisition rate across that supervisee’s caseload.
Measure
Supervisee feedback
Structured, routine, and safe to give honestly. Ask what is useful and what is not.
ExampleA short anonymous survey each term.
Measure
Your own behaviour
Observations completed, feedback delivered within target time, meetings held as contracted.
ExampleFeedback delivered within 24 hours in 90% of observations.
Hold your supervision to the same evidentiary standard you hold a client programme.
Use in supervision

One graphic, one worked example, one decision.

Take one page per supervision session. Ask the trainee to write a fresh example from their own caseload underneath, then check it against the definition on the page.
Mount Etna Global Behaviour Academy