ABC CHECKLIST.

Client’s Name:
Target Behaviours: (1) (2) (3) (4)
ANTECEDENTS BEHAVIOURS CONSEQUENCES PERCEIVED FUNCTION
D T P N D A D T A O P N T A S N O A T A A Recorder and
at i o e e l e r cti th o e a v e o th t a v u
s g m o n a vit er sit g n o n n er t n o t Comments
e m i a a n i n y ( iv a g i s e ( e g i o
e t t n e a s ( w e ti i d o w n i d m
of i i d o l i w rit At v b s r rit t b / a
D v v o r , t rit e te e l / y e i l e ti
e e r n r i e b nt A e E b o e s c
a A A R o e o b el io t o s el n c /
y t t e a m n el o n t r c o a S
t t q t o o w e A a w p e
e e u t v w ) n c p ) e n
n n e e a ) ti t e s
t t s n l o i s o
i i t ti , n v r
o o o w i y
n n n a t
i y
t
i
n
g
 ABC CHECKLIST (EXAMPLE)

Client’s Name: Joe Smith

Target Behaviours: (1) screaming (2) noncompliance (3) physical aggression (4)

ANTECEDENTS BEHAVIOURS CONSEQUENCES PERCEIVED FUNCTION

D Tim P N D A D T A O s n P N T A S N O A T A A Recorder and Comments
ate e of o e e l e r ct t c o P o e a v e o t t a v u
s g m o n a ivi h n h s g n o n n h t n o t
Day i a a n i n ty e r i a g i s e e e g i o
e c y
t t n e a s ( r t t i d o r n i d m
o s
i i d o l i w ( a i i b s r ( t b / a
v v o r , t rit w m i v v l / y w i l e t
m p c
e e r n r i e r e e e E r o e s i
A A R o e o b i
i l a A A o s i n c c
t t e a m n el t n i l t t r c t a /
t t q t o o e g a a t t A a e p S
e e u t v w b n g e e c p b e e
n n e e a ) e c g n n t e e n
t t s n l l e r t t i s l s
i i t t , o i i v o o
o o i w w
e o o i w r
n n o a ) s n n t ) y
n i s y
t i
i o
n n
g
 TV   mom told him to be quiet
6/2/09 3:35pm
6/2 3:50pm  “   Mom told him she’d play
with him soon.
6/2 4:00pm   “    Waiting for mom, Joe
screamed, then she played
with him.
6/2 6:10pm      Homework; attempted to
scratch mom; she grabbed
his hand and said “no
scratching”; he didn’t do his
homework today.
6-3 4:10  play   dad ignored his screaming.
6-3 4:15  “   Tried to ignore again, but it
got too loud; dad told him
to be quiet.
6-3 5:00  TV    Started screaming; dad
gave him supper.
 Operational Definitions

Antecedents (just before the behaviour occurs)

● Positive Attention: immediately before the behavior, another person interacts non-verbally,
verbally, and/or physically with the child in a positive (ex. smiling, speaking, hugging) or
neutral (pointing, passing of information) fashion. This includes both custodial care and
approval. Does not include demands or requests.

● Negative Attention: immediately before the behavior, another person interacts non-verbally,
verbally, and/or physically with the child in a negative (ex. frowning, restraining, criticizing)
fashion. Does not include demands or requests.

● Demand or request: immediately before the behavior, another person verbally or physically
asks the child to engage in a task or response (ex. when caregiver asks the child to put away
his/her toys or go to bed), presents task materials to the child (ex. hands the child a toothbrush),
or completes a self-care task for the child (ex. washing the child’s face). Includes stop
commands and statements that implicitly direct the child to perform a task.

● Alone or no attention: immediately before the behavior, the child is by him/herself in a room or
is not interacting with another person if alone.

● Denial, removal of, or waiting (for attention, activity, tangible): immediately before the
behavior, another person ignores the child’s attempts to secure attention or stops attending to
the child. another person does not provide the child with desired/requested, object or activity,
or takes it away. Examples: not giving child requested toy, turning off TV; child waiting for
snack..

● Transition in task, person or place: immediately before the behavior, the child changes from
one activity, person, or location to another. Examples: from playing to going to bed; playroom
to bedroom).

● Activity: refers to a situation in which the child is actively engaged in any activity. Examples:
watching TV, playing, eating (specific activity should be indicated in the comments row).

Consequences (just after the behaviour occurs)

● Positive Attention: another person interacts non-verbally, verbally, and/or physically with the
child in a positive manner connoting approval. Examples: speaking in a pleasant voice,
praising, hugging the child immediately after the behavior.

● Negative Attention: another person interacts non-verbally, verbally, and/or physically with the
child in a negative manner, connoting disapproval. Examples: frowning, restraining, yelling,
criticizing the child immediately after the behavior.

1
 ● Tangible or Activity: refers to a situation in which the child obtains an item (examples: food or
a toy) or is actively engaged in any activity (examples: watching TV, playing; eating)
immediately after the behavior. Note that the specific activity should be indicated in the
comments row.

● Avoids/Escapes: the child avoids or escapes performing a task, going to a place, or being with a
person immediately after the behavior.

● Sensory: the behaviour results in the child receiving obvious sensory stimulation either
internally (automatically generated by the behavior – examples: rocking, humming, spinning,
masturbation) or externally (examples: vibration, lights or music going on and off). Does not
include other consequences above with sensory components (ex. hugging, watching TV, eating
food).

● None: refers to a situation in which there is no observed consequence of the child’s behaviour.

Perceived Functions

The observer must choose one of the listed functions that best represents the function (payoff) of the
child’s behavior for each recorded episode: attention, tangible or activity, escape or
automatic/sensory. If the recorder is not sure, then the recorder should make the best guess. Record
functions using all available information including the context of the situation, antecedent events,
affective responses of the child, and other behaviors not being recorded (examples:. eye contact.
laughing).

The function recorded does not necessarily have to be the same as the consequence recorded. In this
section, the observer puts his/her interpretation of the function- what the recorder believes the child
intended. For example, if the recorder believes that a child engaged in a disruptive behavior to try to
escape a task, but she was not successful and had to complete the task, then escape would not be
recorded as a consequence, but escape would be recorded as the function. As another example,
suppose that dad asks the child to brush his teeth. The child hits dad; dad yells at the child, but the
child gets out of brushing his teeth). Both negative attention (dad’s yell) and escape (not brushing his
teeth) would be recorded as consequences of physical aggression, but the recorder may feel that the
function was escape, not attention. Therefore, the recorder would only check escape as the perceived
function.