How can educators know if interventions are effective?

Data indicate that interventions have been successful, as evidenced by both:

• Strong decreases in the target behavior
• Strong increases in the replacement behavior

The team should consider fading one or more aspects of the intervention to increase the student’s independence. Fading might take different forms such as:

• Reducing the number of prompts or reminders
• Adjusting antecedent-based interventions to more closely mirror the natural environment
• Increasing the criteria for reinforcement (e.g., requiring five tokens instead of three to earn a reinforcer)
• Lengthening the time between reinforcement opportunities (e.g., providing a reinforcer only at the end of the day rather than twice per day)
• Transitioning responsibility for aspects of the intervention to the student through strategies such as self-monitoring and self-reinforcement

All forms of fading should be implemented gradually, and teams must continue to carefully monitor the data to ensure the student remains successful.

Data indicate that interventions have been inconsistently successful, as evidenced by:

• Decreases in the target behavior in some contexts but not others (e.g., during reading but not math, with a classroom teacher but not a paraeducator)
• Increases in the replacement behavior in some contexts but not others

The team should continue implementing the BIP as designed and should consider additional ways to support generalization of the replacement behavior. For example, the team might:

• Adapt a skill-based intervention to explicitly teach the student how and when to use the replacement behavior in different settings or with different people
• Collaborate with educators to ensure that antecedent-based interventions are being implemented consistently across contexts
• Provide additional training and coaching to ensure all educators are using reinforcement-based interventions as designed

Data indicate that interventions have not been successful, as evidenced by either:

• No change in the target and replacement behaviors
• Insufficient change in the target and replacement behaviors

The team should examine the BIP and determine which aspects need to be changed or strengthened. In doing so, they should consider:

• Implementation fidelity: Is the BIP being implemented as intended in all settings and by all educators?
• Functional equivalence: Do the replacement behavior and interventions align with the function of the target behavior?
• Dosage: Has the student had enough opportunities to practice the replacement behavior and receive feedback? Is additional instruction or a booster session needed?
• Antecedent conditions: Has the environment been modified in such a way that the target behavior has become irrelevant? Are there additional triggers contributing to the target behavior that are not currently addressed by the BIP?
• Quality and timing of reinforcement: Is the replacement behavior producing reinforcement more effectively and efficiently than the target behavior? Is the reinforcement motivating and meaningful for the student?

The team should also seek the student’s input. If an intervention is not working, the student might be able to contribute valuable information as to why.