Behavior Intervention Plans & Templates

How to Write a Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP): Templates and Examples

A Behavior Intervention Plan is the document that translates assessment findings into actionable strategies. When written well, it gives every adult working with a learner a clear, consistent set of instructions for responding to challenging behavior, teaching replacement skills, and modifying the environment to prevent problems from occurring in the first place. This guide walks through every component of an effective BIP, with examples and practical tips for implementation.

What Is a Behavior Intervention Plan?

A Behavior Intervention Plan is a written document that outlines evidence-based strategies for addressing a specific challenging behavior. It is developed following a Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA) and is grounded in the hypothesis about why the behavior is occurring. A BIP does not simply list consequences for unwanted behavior; it identifies what the learner is communicating through behavior, what skills they need to learn, and how the environment can be modified to reduce the conditions that set the stage for the behavior.

BIPs are living documents. They should be reviewed regularly, updated as data indicate progress or lack thereof, and revised whenever a significant contextual change occurs (new setting, new staff, change in medications, transitions in placement). A BIP that sits in a file unreviewed is not a functional plan.

When Is a BIP Needed?

In school settings, IDEA requires a BIP when a learner's behavior impedes their learning or the learning of others, and the behavior is determined to be a manifestation of the learner's disability. Many districts require an FBA and BIP whenever a learner faces disciplinary removal beyond ten cumulative days. In clinical ABA settings, a BIP is indicated whenever a behavior is targeted for reduction as part of a treatment plan.

Even when not legally mandated, a BIP is good practice any time a challenging behavior is severe enough, frequent enough, or persistent enough to interfere with a learner's quality of life, access to learning, or safety. Informal "behavior plans" that exist only in a therapist's head are not BIPs and do not provide the consistency across staff and settings that effective intervention requires.

Components of a Behavior Intervention Plan

A well-structured BIP includes the following components. Each is described in detail below.

Target Behavior

The target behavior is the specific behavior the BIP is designed to address. One BIP should typically focus on one primary behavior, though related topographies that serve the same function may be grouped together. For example, hitting, kicking, and biting may be addressed in a single BIP if the FBA indicates they share the same function and often occur in the same response chain.

Operational Definition

The operational definition describes the target behavior in observable, measurable terms. It must be specific enough that two observers who have never met could independently observe the learner and agree on whether the behavior is occurring. A strong operational definition includes what the behavior looks like (topography), its beginning and end points, and examples and non-examples to resolve common ambiguities. Example: "Aggression is defined as any instance in which the learner makes physical contact with another person's body or clothing with sufficient force to cause displacement of the contacted person or a vocalization of pain. This includes hitting, pushing, scratching, pinching, and biting. It does not include incidental contact during gross motor activities or high-fives initiated by the learner."

Replacement Behaviors

The replacement behavior is the skill the learner will be taught to use instead of the target behavior. Effective replacement behaviors share the same function as the target behavior, are at least as efficient for the learner to perform, and are socially acceptable. This last point is crucial: if the replacement behavior takes significantly more effort than the problem behavior, learners will continue using the path of least resistance.

If the function of hitting is escape from non-preferred tasks, an appropriate replacement behavior might be requesting a break using a verbal phrase, a PECS card, or an AAC device. The BIP should specify exactly what the replacement behavior looks like, what it sounds like, and how staff should respond when the learner uses it correctly.

Antecedent Strategies

Antecedent strategies are proactive modifications to the environment or instructional conditions that reduce the likelihood of the target behavior occurring. Because behavior is influenced by what happens before it, modifying antecedents is one of the most powerful levers in any BIP. Antecedent strategies should directly address the conditions identified in the FBA.

Common antecedent strategies include:

• Adjusting task difficulty or length to reduce aversiveness of demands
• Offering choices within non-negotiable activities
• Providing precorrections and priming before transitions or difficult tasks
• Increasing the density of reinforcement during challenging activities
• Modifying the physical environment to reduce sensory triggers
• Using visual schedules and timers to increase predictability
• Embedding preferred activities within less preferred ones

Consequence Strategies

Consequence strategies specify how staff should respond when the target behavior occurs and when the replacement behavior occurs. There are two categories: responses to the problem behavior, and responses to the replacement behavior.

Responses to the problem behavior should be planned, predictable, and function-based. If the function is escape, consequence strategies should minimize how much escape the behavior produces while maintaining safety. If the function is attention, strategies should minimize the attention delivered following the behavior. Extinction is often a component of consequence strategies, though it must be implemented carefully with a plan for extinction bursts.

Responses to the replacement behavior should be immediate, enthusiastic, and function-matched. If the learner uses their break card, they should get a break. If they request attention appropriately, they should receive it. Replacement behaviors that are not reliably reinforced will be extinguished before they can compete with the problem behavior.

Data Collection Plan

The BIP should specify exactly how the target behavior will be measured, who will collect data, when, and using what method. Frequency recording, duration recording, interval recording, and ABC data collection are all potentially appropriate depending on the behavior and the question being answered. Define the minimum data collection frequency required (every session, daily, weekly) and identify who is responsible for graphing and reviewing data against decision rules.

Crisis Plan

If the target behavior poses a risk of physical harm to the learner or others, the BIP must include a crisis plan. The crisis plan specifies the threshold at which a behavior escalates to crisis level, the specific steps staff should take in sequence, how the environment should be managed, what should be communicated to whom, and when the event should be documented. If the agency uses any physical management procedures, these must be referenced here with appropriate training requirements noted. The crisis plan should be reviewed separately with all staff before they work with the learner.

BIP Template Walkthrough

A functional BIP template typically opens with identifying information (learner name, date of birth, diagnosis, date of plan, review date, supervising BCBA, settings addressed) and a brief summary of the FBA findings that inform the plan. This summary should state the function hypothesis clearly and reference the assessment data that supports it.

The body of the template then follows the component structure above: target behavior with operational definition, replacement behavior with teaching plan, antecedent strategies organized by the setting in which they will be applied, consequence strategies with specific staff response scripts when applicable, data collection instructions, and the crisis plan.

Close the template with a section for progress monitoring: decision rules for modifying the plan (e.g., "if frequency has not decreased by 20% within four weeks, the plan will be reviewed"), scheduled review dates, and signature lines for all team members who have been trained on the plan. Training documentation is not optional; untrained staff implementing a BIP inconsistently can undermine even a well-designed intervention.

Professionally designed BIP templates from the ABA Collective marketplace include prompts for each section, editable operational definition fields, staff training acknowledgment sections, and data collection forms formatted to match the plan.

Common BIP Mistakes

• Writing a BIP without a completed FBA. A BIP without an FBA is a list of consequences. Without a function hypothesis, antecedent strategies cannot be function-matched, and replacement behaviors cannot be selected appropriately.
• Using generic strategies that are not function-matched. Ignoring a behavior maintained by escape is very different from ignoring a behavior maintained by attention. Function-mismatched consequences can inadvertently reinforce the behavior or worsen the situation.
• Selecting replacement behaviors the learner does not yet have in their repertoire. If the replacement behavior requires a skill the learner has not been taught, the BIP must include a teaching plan for that skill. Telling a learner to "use their words" when they do not yet have reliable manding is not a plan.
• Writing antecedent strategies that are not practical for the setting. Strategies that require more staff time, materials, or physical space than the setting can provide will not be implemented with fidelity.
• No decision rules for plan modification. A BIP without specified criteria for when to change the plan leaves the team guessing. Decision rules create accountability and ensure data are actually used.
• Not training all staff before implementation begins. Inconsistent implementation is one of the most common reasons BIPs fail. Every person who interacts with the learner in relevant settings must be trained and should demonstrate competency before working independently.

BIP Examples

Implementation Tips

• Train staff using behavior skills training (BST): explain, model, practice with feedback. Reading the plan is not sufficient training.
• Post a brief, laminated summary of key staff responses in the setting so staff do not need to recall strategies from memory in the moment.
• Hold brief weekly fidelity checks during the first month of implementation. Fidelity problems caught early are easier to correct than drift identified months later.
• Graph behavior data weekly and review with the team at scheduled intervals. Data that are collected but never reviewed do not improve outcomes.
• When a plan is not working, first rule out fidelity problems before concluding the strategies are ineffective. Many failed BIPs are actually BIPs that were never consistently implemented.
• Involve caregivers and, where appropriate, the learner in the development and review of the plan. Generalization is more likely when the plan is understood and supported outside the clinical setting.