Skills(R) Behavior Intervention Plan Builder Now Available as a Stand-Alone Web-Based Program

The innovative tool gives clinicians, educators, and behavior professionals the ability to efficiently develop effective behavior intervention plans (BIPs) for individuals who display challenging behavior. End Quote

Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA (1888PressRelease) January 10, 2014 - The Skills® Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP) Builder is available for the first time as a stand-alone program that is designed to treat the root cause of challenging behavior. The BIP Builder offers newly-enhanced features and is the ultimate tool for efficiently designing effective BIPs to decrease challenging behavior using the principles of applied behavior analysis (ABA). The program utilizes evidence-based practices and emphasizes least-intrusive procedures.

The Skills® BIP Builder has been available as a component of the Skills® Online Autism tool, which is comprised of comprehensive skills assessment, treatment planning, and progress tracking and reporting. Now, professionals have the option to access the Skills® BIP Builder as a stand-alone program in order to address challenging behaviors commonly displayed by individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and other developmental and behavioral disorders.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) one in every 88 children in America is diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder, making it more prevalent than juvenile diabetes, pediatric cancer and pediatric AIDS combined. Moreover, in the study "Symptom Severity and Challenging Behavior in Children with ASD," published in the November 2010 journal Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 94 percent of the children with ASD who participated in the study exhibited some form of challenging behavior. These behaviors include repeated and unusual vocalizations, aggression toward others, property destruction, leaving the supervision of a caregiver without permission, and repeated and unusual body movements.

"We are pleased to offer professionals an easy-to-use tool that streamlines the process of conducting a functional behavioral assessment, designing a BIP, and implementing that plan, allowing more time to working directly with individuals, instead of spending hours creating plans and graphs," said Eliana Ferreira, Skills® director and general manager. "Additionally, the stand-alone version is available for purchase in packages that match the needs of a variety of professional practices and school sizes."

The BIP Builder is based on the principles of applied behavior analysis (ABA), which assumes that challenging behavior is not a part of an individual's diagnosis but, rather, a result of that individual's environment. Clinicians and educators implement BIPs to outline the procedures that will be used to manage challenging behavior and identify replacement behaviors that should be taught. It serves as the means by which the treatment team ensures consistency while safeguarding the individual and those who work with the individual. In treatment, it is vital to address challenging behavior before teaching new skills.

According to a randomized controlled study, "Randomized Evaluation of a Web-Based Tool for Designing Function-Based Behavioral Intervention Plans," published in the December 2013 journal of Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, the Skills® BIP Builder had a positive impact on the behavior intervention plans designed by professionals working with children with autism.

"We found that, by simply using the online BIP Builder, professionals produced substantially higher quality behavior intervention plans," said Jonathan Tarbox, PhD, BCBA-D, the lead author of the study and executive director of Autism Research Group. "We were very encouraged to see that an improvement in quality could be produced merely by the provision of a computer program for staff to use."

Skills® BIP Builder is comprised of the following four steps: 1) answer a series of core questions about the challenging behavior; 2) design your BIP by selecting antecedent modifications, replacement behaviors, and consequence manipulations; 3) customize and store the BIP for easy access and update as needed, and 4) graph and analyze your data to evaluate the effectiveness of the BIP.

For more information, visit www.SkillsBIPBuilder.com/info or call 877-975-4559.

About Skills®:
The Online Autism Solution is a web-based tool that gives users the ability to assess an individual's strengths and weaknesses, design individualized and comprehensive treatment and teaching plans, and track progress. The program is based on the scientifically-proven principles of applied behavior analysis (ABA). Although Skills® will automate lessons, it also allows users the flexibility to tailor the program to an individual's unique needs. Each of the nearly 4,000 lessons also includes worksheets, visual aids, tracking forms, and video lessons. Launched in 2011, Skills® is used in over 14 countries worldwide, in several school districts, autism treatment providers and insurance companies nationwide. For more information, visit www.skillsforautism.com.

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