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ABA Data Collection Made Easy

Free Workshop

Increase Talking &
Decrease Tantrums

in Young Children with

Autism &/or Speech Delays

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I often talk about data and the importance of tracking behaviors and skills to understand and change the progress of your student or child. In this solo episode, I am talking about making data collection easy. With use from my Turn Autism Around, free book resources and these 4 easy ABA Data Collection Methods, you can find simple ways to track the data on whatever you’re working with for your child.

Taking Baseline Data ABA

There are 4 steps in my Turn Autism Around approach that you can find in my book, Turn Autism Around or on TurnAutismAround.com; Assessment, Plan, Teach or Implement, and Take Easy Data. The first step, Assessment, is crucial for getting baseline data to understand a child’s deficits and learn about other problem areas. In my book resources, I include a One-Page Assessment that takes a wide scope of skills and breaks it into chunks for easy data collection. I also recommend and include Dr. Mark Sundberg’s Self-Care Checklist, and I recommend taking at least 2 videos of your child for permanent products. These videos should demonstrate a couple of minutes of the child’s solo play, (what they do when left alone) and a few minutes of teaching or parent based interaction at table time. You may also want to include a video of a specific medical problem or behavior problem you are working with.

ABA Data Collection Methods

Calendar System – Use a physical calendar and color coded pens, (I share my process with a pencil and red pen), to notate changes, incidents for medical and behavior related problems. This is great for documenting medicines, dosages, times of medications, etc.

ABC Data – Antecedent, Behavior, Consequence. These three words give context and explanation to incidents that can help with problem behavior prevention. Antecedent: What was happening when the behavior occurred? Behavior: What was the behavior? (throwing, hitting, headbanging, etc.) Consequence: What happened next? How was the behavior resolved or how did the incident end?

Rate Data – I explain Rate Data with the use of clickers, this is where you’re tracking the amount of a behavior by counting with a clicker. This is great for more positive data tracking, such as language samples.

Partial Interval Data – This is a more complex version of Rate Data in which behaviors are tracked via minor or major incidents at specific intervals and timetables. This can alert if there are certain times of day or activities that trigger more or less of the specific behaviors.

Do’s, Don’ts, and Other Tips for Taking Easy Data

  1. The behavior and skills of the child should match the data. If these two don’t match, data is not being tracked regularly or scored properly.
  2. Do not take data that you are not going to use or analyze.
  3. Do not assign difficult, lengthy data collection for parents. Try the calendar system or rate data for simple, easy collection.
  4. Schedule consistent time to review and analyze the data.
  5. Use the data to make changes. There is no point in taking data if you’re not changing the environment and other factors to reflect the data and behavior.

You’ll Learn

  • How to collect and analyze data.
  • How to collect baseline data.
  • What assessments can you use for baseline data?
  • 4 ABA data collection methods.
  • Is graphing data important?
  • The dos and don’ts of data collection.

Resources

Free Workshop

Increase Talking &
Decrease Tantrums

in Young Children with

Autism &/or Speech Delays

Register for Free Training