Behavioral Intervention Plan (BIP)

Behavioral Intervention Plan (BIP)
(This is an excerpt from a paper I did in a graduate course at Johns Hopkins in 2006.)


If a child's behavior interferes with his or her learning, a behavior plan is required and must be part of the IEP (IDEA, 1997). The first step is to do a Functional Behavior Analysis (FBA). A thorough assessment of a student’s learning traits can help the school team and parents plan a program that takes into account the student’s strengths, concerns, idiosyncrasies, and how the student perceives the world around him (Myles, 2001).

Functional assessment determines why a behavior or set of behaviors occur. The idea behind functional assessment is that once we understand the behavior, the environment, the student’s perceptions and reactions, and peer’s and adult’s perceptions and reactions, we can plan an intervention that will be effective. Without a sound understanding of these factors, some interventions actually make behaviors worse (O’Neill et al., 1997).

The success of a well-designed behavioral intervention program rests on the completion of a thorough functional analysis of behavior. Functional analysis serves as the blueprint for identifying the behavioral interventions that are most likely to influence the antecedent and consequent factors responsible for maintaining maladaptive patterns of behavior. By providing an assessment methodology that can often pinpoint the causes of problem behavior, functional analysis permits the design of a treatment plan that is specifically tailored to address maladaptive behavior (Pelios, Morren, & Tesch, 1999). Studies have shown that the more comprehensive and precise the functional assessment, the greater the likelihood that successful intervention strategies will be identified (Didden et. al., 1997).


Six steps make up a functional assessment:

1. Identify and describe student behavior- This is so that everyone who comes in contact with the student will recognize that behavior which an intervention is to be structured for.

2. Describe setting demands and antecedents- Describe what happens before, during, and after the behavior. Identify where the behavior occurs and does not occur.

3. Collect baseline data and/or work samples- The student must be observed in different environments and observational data should be collected to document behavior frequency, duration and/or intensity.

4. Complete functional analysis measures and develop a hypothesis- To understand the causes or functions of that behavior and to develop a list as to why the problem behavior occurs.

5. Develop and implement a behavioral intervention plan- Once the team understands the cause of the behavior(s) they can plan effective interventions.

6. Collect data and follow up to analyze the effectiveness of the plan- A plan of data collection and schedule is established for the team to meet to determine the effectiveness of the intervention (Myles, 2001).



Once functional assessment data has been collected, reviewed, and analyzed, the team must assimilate the information to understand the cause of behavior(s). Typically there is a pattern in the occurrence of the behavior. Once this pattern is identified, effective interventions can be designed and presented in a behavioral intervention plan. This plan includes a written description of specific interventions to be used with the student to promote behavioral, social, and academic success. In addition, the persons who will be responsible for implementing the plan must be listed (Myles, 2001).

The BIP may include ways to change the environment to keep behavior from starting in the first place, provide positive reinforcement to promote good behavior, employ planned ignoring to avoid reinforcing bad behavior, and provide supports needed so that the student will not be driven to act out due to frustration or fatigue (Mauro, 2004). The BIP should also include curriculum modifications and supplementary aids that are required to address the behaviors of concern (Fitzsimmons, 1998).


Once you have a Behavioral Intervention Plan (BIP) make sure you do the following:

• Have training and supports for staff included in the IEP.

• Make sure the BIP covers specific areas your child needs to work on and does not include globally applied words like “appropriate.”

• Have a predetermined schedule to compare the student’s baseline data to intervention data to determine the effectiveness of the intervention.

• If the intervention is not effective, reexamine the behavior function and develop and implement a new behavioral intervention plan.