Antecedents can be factors in a individual’s external environment such as an instruction by a teacher or a comment from another peer. What? Terms and Conditions checkbox is required. Visit my site if you want to learn more about Behavior Data Collection [http://www.whatisiep.com], Behavior Intervention plans and Individualized Education Plans. It’s important to try to avoid having this come out in your collection of data. Similarly don’t describe the function IN PLACE OF describing the behavior. https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Jennifer_Fuller_James/1261486, http://ezinearticles.com/?Behavior-Data-Collection---What-Is-ABC-Data?&id=6837783. The first is objective and measurable. Looking at ABC’s Antecedents-an antecedent is an event that sets the occasion for a behavior or what happens right before a behavior occurs. Submitted On January 24, 2012. The "C" represents the word Consequences. You will often hear educators referring to ABC Data in IEP meetings. To gain a better understanding one must know what happened right before and right after the behavior in order to change the behavior. https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Jennifer_Fuller_James/1261486, Home and Family: Special-Education We can take frequency counts where we count each time the behavior occurs. But hey, that’s the easy part, right? Here are some thoughts about what you record when taking data for challenging behavior and describing events around it. However, like any kind of data, ABC data is only as good as what is recorded. When we say, “he kicked her because he wanted her attention,” we may or may not be right. Objectives, surveillance population, case definitions, data collection forms, lab characterization, surveillance evaluation, special studies, enhanced pertussis surveillance... An interactive tool to analyze and visualize ABCs data…, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This usually takes the form of Antecedent-Behavior-Consequence data or ABC data. It’s important to remember that all of these factors should apply to describing the behavior as well as describing the environment and what happened before and after the behavior. Imagine a parent reviewing the data, or worse a hearing officer in a due process. It’s more precise to say, “he kicked her and then made eye contact with her and laughed” (which might indicate he was looking for a reaction). Same emotion-different behavior. Antecedents can sometimes be difficult to assess in the moment so having an outside person observe may be helpful. Jennifer Fuller James | In describing behavior, it is important to record exactly what the child did or did not do rather than include statements of opinion or statements that can be interpreted differently. We can take scatterplot data where we record if the challenging behavior occurred in a specific time period of the day. However, the real crux of using data for decision making in this situation is that these types of data focus on the form, but they don’t tell us about the function of the behavior. And this brings us to direct assessment of the behavior. Let’s talk cookies. We can take that same frequency data and divide it by how long we observed and collected the data to get a rate data that we can compare across time periods. There is a big difference to someone reviewing the data to read the examples on the left vs. the examples on the right. For those of us who get that there is a purpose for challenging behaviors and they serve a function, it’s hard for us to remember that when taking data we need to just record what happened and not try to figure out why. The word "consequence" does not necessarily mean it was something negative. Linking to a non-federal website does not constitute an endorsement by CDC or any of its employees of the sponsors or the information and products presented on the website. Better to describe just what was observed–that he kicked the student. And we know that FBAs are all about function rather than form. Platinum Author Behavior data collection is important in changing unwanted behaviors. Recall that the ABC model is used to identify the antecedents (A) that set the stage for the problem behavior (B) to occur and the consequences (C) that appear to be maintaining the problem behavior. Understanding this acronym may help parents to affect positive behavior changes in the home, too. Find yearly information for each ABCs pathogen, including demographics, number of cases, and deaths, Download ABCs case report form, neonatal sepsis surveillance, and neonatal infection expanded tracking forms…, Analyze and visualize ABCs data by creating custom graphs and tables for each bacterium…, Learn about the populations under surveillance for each pathogen and area…. An observer might collect data over several sessions before obtaining enough information for a clear ABC pattern to emerge. However, like any kind of data, ABC data is only as good as what is recorded. Challenging behavior makes the best of us emotional at times because we are frustrated, upset or just because we are having trouble figuring it out. To make the most of our time we want to make sure that the data that is being collected is the data that we actually need to use and that will help us figure out what to do. We’re using these cookies to find out how you use our site, so we can make it even more relevant to you. The second is a generalization and not objective because it puts your interpretation of the situation into what actually happened.