Plan the steps from problem behavior to the skill you want instead

A brainstorming tool for replacement behaviors. Choose a behavior, up to two functions, and what the learner can already do, and it maps a staircase of replacement behaviors from the first step the learner can do now to the behavior you want at the top, and shows what to teach first at each step.

It builds on response efficiency: a replacement has to take no more effort than the problem behavior, pay off as fast, and give the same payoff, and the learner has to have the skills to do it. Steps that cost more are shown with a boost flag instead of being hidden.

Before you use it

1. It supports clinical judgment; it does not replace it. Use it with a completed functional assessment and the learner’s own team. It does not diagnose, assess function, or write a behavior intervention plan.
2. The steps draw on published ABA research and on clinical application. Much of this work is applied rather than studied, so treat the staircases as a starting point for brainstorming, and the scores as estimates. Adjust any step to fit your assessment and the learner.
3. It is not a safety plan. Dangerous behavior needs a crisis and safety plan, and some behaviors need a specific protocol first. The tool flags these, but the staircase never manages an episode.
4. Skill ratings are yours. The starting rung depends on what you enter. The example learner is only a demonstration. Clear it before you plan for a real learner.
5. Your entries stay on this page. The tool does not save or send anything. Leave out names and other identifying details, and use “Copy plan as text” if you want to keep a plan.
6. It is not medical, legal, or educational placement advice, and using it does not earn continuing education credit.
7. Decisions rest with a qualified behavior analyst. Phoenix Rising is not liable for the outcomes of any plan made with this tool.