Target Behaviors

Select or create the Target Behavior that will be addressed by this Simple BIP.

Behavior Advantage Best Practice

Simple BIPs are generally most effective when they focus on a single, high-priority Target Behavior. Starting with one behavior keeps the plan practical, manageable, and easier for staff to implement consistently. As progress is made, the team can update the plan or address additional behaviors as needed.

If needed, click Add Another Behavior to include additional Target Behaviors. When a student exhibits multiple interfering behaviors, consider prioritizing the behavior that has the greatest impact on learning, socialization, safety, or classroom functioning.

If multiple Target Behaviors are added and saved in a Simple BIP, they will automatically be combined as Grouped Behaviors. See Grouping Target Behaviors for additional guidance.

Click Add Custom Behavior to create your own Target Behavior.

Note: A Target Behavior must be selected and saved before completing the remaining sections of the Simple BIP.

Operational Definition

Define the target behavior in specific, observable, and measurable terms. A clear definition helps ensure that team members consistently recognize and respond to the behavior.

Tip: Describe the behavior as if a video camera were recording the student. What would the camera see and hear?

Examples

Preferred: Disruption = making inappropriate or off-topic comments during instructional activities.

Not Preferred: Disruption = will not pay attention and wants to control the classroom.

Baseline

Document the degree to which the target behavior currently occurs before implementing the behavior plan. This may be based on existing data or a reasonable team estimate. Baseline information can be measured by frequency (times per hour, day, or week), duration (length of time each occurrence lasts), and/or severity/intensity.

Establishing a baseline helps teams monitor progress and evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention over time.

Example: The student engages in work refusal approximately 2–3 times per day, with each occurrence lasting 5–30 minutes.

Students often exhibit multiple behaviors that interfere with learning, socialization, and/or safety. When this occurs, consider prioritizing the highest-impact behavior first or grouping related behaviors when appropriate.

Prioritize Target Behaviors

When a student exhibits numerous interfering behaviors, it may be impractical to assess and address all of them at once. Consider focusing on the highest-priority behavior(s) first.

Successfully reducing priority behaviors may:

• Improve related behaviors as well.
• Create momentum for future intervention efforts.
• Provide a foundation for addressing additional behaviors later.

Example: If a student engages in aggression, property destruction, work refusal, inappropriate comments, repetitive questioning, and other disruptive behaviors, the team may choose to focus initial assessment and intervention efforts on aggression due to its impact on safety.

Grouping and Managing Target Behaviors

Behavior Advantage allows users to group multiple Target Behaviors so they can be assessed and/or behavior planned together.

For simplicity, when two or more Target Behaviors are saved in a Simple BIP, they are automatically combined as Grouped Behaviors. Prevention Strategies, Teaching New Skills, and Response Strategies entered while Grouped Behaviors is selected will apply to all behaviors in the group.

Click Enable Grouping to group Target Behaviors (note: if strategies have already been selected under one Target Behavior, they will still display only under that Target Behavior and will not automatically carry over to the Grouped Behaviors).

Select the Target Behaviors you would like to group by checking the boxes next to each behavior.

Use the Up and Down arrows to adjust the order in which behaviors will appear on the printed report.

Click Save.

Planning for Grouped Behaviors

After grouping behaviors, the blue Target Behavior drop-down menu will display Grouped Behaviors.

Any information entered while Grouped Behaviors is selected will apply to all behaviors within the group and will appear as grouped information on the printed report.

You may also continue to plan for individual Target Behaviors within the group. Simply select a specific Target Behavior from the drop-down menu and enter information that applies only to that behavior.

Example

A School Psychologist groups three Target Behaviors: aggression, vocal/verbal outbursts, and work refusal.

She completes the Simple BIP using Grouped Behaviors, creating one plan that applies to all three behaviors.

However, she also wants to recommend one Prevention Strategy and a Teaching New Skills plan that apply only to aggression. She selects Aggression from the Target Behavior drop-down menu and enters those recommendations.

The aggression-specific recommendations will appear separately in the aggression section of the printed report, while the shared recommendations remain associated with the Grouped Behaviors.