Development of an Automated Assist System for the Creation of Behavior Support Plans Based on Functional Assessment

Abstract

Evidence for the effectiveness of behavior support plans based on functional assessment for the behavior problems of children with developmental disabilities has accumulated, and research is underway on the implementation of the findings in school settings. In order for teachers, who are not behavior analysis experts, to be able to implement these plans, however, issues remain, such as the handling of information and planning based on the three-term contingency and validation through evaluation. The purpose of the present study was to develop an assist system that helps teachers create behavior support plans based on functional assessment through digitization of behavioral information. The assist system that was developed uses Microsoft Excel (ver. 2016); teachers can use it on their own devices. When behavioral information for a child is inputted, three-term contingencies are displayed for each scene. When the teacher selects the function of the behavioral problem from those contingencies, support methods based on the function are proposed. Behavioral data for the child are entered into a graph, so that any changes following implementation of the support can be examined. Data are automatically accumulated and can be shared. Trials and evaluations of the system were done when training 10 pairs of special education coordinators and regular classroom teachers to create behavior support plans, with each pair developing a support plan for 1 child. The effectiveness and weaknesses of the system are discussed based on the results of trials and evaluations reported in the present article.