Crisis Prevention and Safety 1 Flashcards

A client's behavior plan includes a crisis protocol. Who is ultimately responsible for developing and approving that protocol?

Answer: The Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) supervising the case

Developing, approving, and overseeing behavior intervention plans—including crisis protocols—falls within the scope of a BCBA. RBTs implement these procedures but do not create or approve them independently.

Which of the following is an example of a setting event that may increase the likelihood of a behavioral crisis during a session?

Answer: The client did not sleep well the night before

Setting events are background conditions that alter the impact of immediate antecedents. Poor sleep is a physiological state that can lower a client's threshold for frustration, making crisis behavior more likely even before any demand is presented.

During a session, a client begins escalating rapidly and the BCBA supervisor is not immediately reachable. What is the MOST appropriate action for the RBT?

Answer: Implement the crisis procedures outlined in the approved behavior intervention plan

RBTs must follow the approved BIP at all times, including during crises. The plan's crisis procedures exist precisely for situations when a supervisor cannot be reached in the moment. Improvising or using unapproved techniques is outside the RBT's scope of practice.

After a behavioral crisis, which action BEST supports the client's return to a calm and regulated state?

Answer: Providing access to preferred items or activities once the client is calm and safe

Offering preferred items or activities in the post-crisis recovery phase helps the client de-escalate fully and re-engage with the environment. This approach is consistent with trauma-informed and behavior-analytic principles of supporting regulation after a crisis.

An RBT observes that a client's behavioral crises most often occur in a loud, crowded environment. Which preventive strategy directly addresses this pattern?

Answer: Ignoring all problem behavior that occurs in loud settings

Modifying the physical environment to reduce aversive stimulation is an antecedent intervention. Because the pattern links crises to loud, crowded settings, moving sessions to a calmer environment targets the identified antecedent and reduces crisis likelihood.

Which piece of information is MOST critical to include when documenting a crisis incident involving a client?

Answer: An objective description of the behaviors observed, the antecedents, and the consequences applied

Accurate incident documentation must be objective and factual—describing what was observed (antecedents, behaviors, consequences) without interpretation or speculation. This information is used by the supervising BCBA to analyze the incident and update intervention plans as needed.