Behavioral Assessment Interviews

Description of the Strategy

Behavioral assessment interviews are one means of obtaining information that can be used for development of a behavior support plan. Information obtained during a behavioral assessment interview is a verbal representation of past or current events or of perceptions, motivations, or interpretations of these events.

Behavioral assessment interviews typically rely on three types of interview questions. Structured questions provide the interviewee with a set of choice responses. For example, “Do you think the problem behavior is maintained by: escaping tasks or demands, obtaining tasks or activities, escaping social interactions, obtaining social interactions, or sensory stimulation?” The advantage of this format is the presentation of clearly defined and mutually exclusive technical terms that reduce bias on the part of the ...