Prioritizing Behavior

Website icon Prioritizing Behavior Scoring Guide.

Website icon iGuide: ePortfolio.

Consider the following three potential target behaviors that have been identified for Jackson, a five-year-old boy with developmental disabilities:

When walking to the bus with his teacher, Jackson will run across the street toward the bus to touch the bus wheels.
When eating lunch, Jackson will chew with his mouth open, allowing some food to fall out of his mouth.
When playing in the sandbox at recess, Jackson will grab toys from other children and screams when they resist or try to reclaim the toy.

Part 2

Prepare an electronic version of the Worksheet for Prioritizing Potential Behaviors (Figure 3.5 on page 64 in the Applied Behavior Analysis text) to prioritize Jackson''s behaviors for treatment. You may use MS Word or MS Excel to create your worksheet. Use the key as identified on page 64 of your Applied Behavior Analysis text to carefully rank each of Jackson''s potential target behavior by the extent to which it meets or fulfills each prioritization criterion. You may add "NA" (not applicable) and "UNK" (unknown) to the key.

Part 3

Explain, for each of the three target behaviors, why you gave each rating (on the 0-4 scale) for each of the nine points to consider when prioritizing behavior (that is, health and safety, longevity, likelihood of success, and so forth). Please note that Part 3 of this assignment is only asking how you would prioritize each behavior for eventual assessment and treatment. You are not to write an assessment or treatment plan. You are only to describe your decisions for determining priorities.

Other Assignment Requirements

Written communication: Written communication is free of errors that detract from the overall message.

Format: Use current APA 6th edition style and formatting guidelines.

Length: 2-3 pages minimum, double-spaced.

References: A sufficient number of scholarly sources. Resources should include the course texts, and a combination of seminal works

Font: Times New Roman or Arial, 12 point.