Tara Hamilton

ED 217
January 22, 2016
Behavior Change Plan
(Part 1)
Context:
My nephew is 7 years old and when it comes to getting to the dinner table on time it is a
struggle daily. He often wants to continue playing his video games or watching TV and wont
come to the table when asked to. The expectation of his parents is that when told it is dinner time
he would come to the table within a reasonable amount of time (2-3 minutes). Often however his
mother has to call for him a second time she says and sometimes she even has to send his father
to get him. His family places an emphasis on sharing this one meal together so that they can
check in with one another about how their day went. They also want to eat their food before it
gets cold.
Baseline Data and Explanation:
Day

When did he arrive at the table (minutes after being

Monday

Arrived 7 minutes after called, mom had to call a 2nd time

Tuesday

Arrived 10 minutes after called, mom called a second time,

Wednesday

Arrived within 3 minutes of mom calling for him, no

Thursday

Arrived within 1 minute of mom calling for him, no reminder

Friday

Arrived 18 minutes after mom initially called for, she called a

I chose to record the length of time between when his mother called for him and when he
arrived. I also made notes on if she called again or if his father had to go get him. I stayed over
for dinner during the week (typical for me) to collect the data from Monday through Friday. I
collected data based on dinner time as this is when they are all home together and expected to eat
a meal together as a family. I chose this behavior as it is something that is important to the family
and yet an almost daily struggle. Currently there is no defined consequence to him not arriving at
the table within a reasonable amount of time.
One thing that I noticed is that on the night that they had pizza for dinner, he arrived to
the table almost immediately. Friday night was the worst night it took his father and an
argument that resulted in power being cut to the game system to get him to come to the table.
ABC Chart

Now

Desire
d

Antecedent
Called to dinner table
by mom

Called to dinner table

Behavior
Arrives whenever he
chooses
Argues with parents
about finishing
activity before coming
Arrive at the dinner
table within 3 minutes
of mom calling that
dinner is ready
without objections

Consequence
No defined or explicit
consequence currently
for him
Everyones food gets
Cold
For each day he
arrives on time with
no arguments he earns
1 point. There are
rewards that he can
buy with the points,
like staying up 30
minutes later, a candy
bar, boys day out with
dad, etc.
2 days in a row awards
1 bonus point. 5 good
days in the week earns
3 bonus points.

Change Plan:
Since when dinner is going to be ready is really dependent upon what is being prepared,
changing the antecedent was not really an option that would have worked. The family didnt
want the kids sitting at the table waiting for dinner either, since food can always be delayed, so
they felt a specific timer wasnt a functional plan in the past. That left changing the
consequences.
I decided to build upon an idea that my nephews teacher had incorporated into her
classroom. Students are able to earn points and then buy things with those points. The decision
was to award a point to the children whenever they come to the table quickly and without
arguing. Should they make it multiple days in a row without issue, they get bonus points. At the
end of the week, having mostly good days also earns bonus points. The point carry over, but each
week the good days are reset on Monday morning. The task then became choosing rewards.
I wanted the rewards to be things he doesnt get normally that he would like to have. I sat
down with him and his parents and we brainstormed ideas. First he said he wanted to be able to
stay up later at night. His parents were not okay with this on school nights but agreed to allow for
weekends. He also does not receive candy often so this was also decided to be a good option. His
dad works frequently including many weekends, so his dad suggested that for a large amount
of points that he could buy a Father and Son Day pass that would include a movie and lunch
for just the two of them. I was shocked that my nephew was even more excited over this than the
staying up late! It was then that I realized that this was something that could work. Other rewards
were decided upon as things that could be swapped in and out to keep it fresh.

I created a chart that I laminated for both recording his points (using stickers from the
dollar store) and for listing what the possible rewards were for this week. His parents decided
how many points they felt things were worth. Both were placed on the wall near the table and I
explained how the process would work. I told him he could earn points but his points could not
be taken away unless he bought something with them. I explained that he could save up for as
long as he wanted, but that for some things he may have to give his parents a few days to make it
happen (like the day with dad). I felt it was important for him to realize that some rewards may
not be instant when he bought them. He asked how he would remember, so we decided that he
would get a paper pass to put below the board when he bought something but had to wait
then the parents would take the pass from him when he received the reward.
I spoke with the parents and we decided that based on his age and the situation a
continuous schedule would be necessary but that a fixed ratio would also help to ensure that he
didnt have relapses. We also talked about how the rewards could and may need to be changed
over time. My nephew has some disabilities and I felt that, since this system works in his
classroom, it would be good to use something he was familiar with. As he gets older, the plan is
to wean him off of the system by moving to fixed interval, intermittent, and finally not needing
it at all.
As far as I know and have seen this has been fairly successful. His mother said he
actually saved up for the day with his dad first and that he was so excited when he could afford
it. I believe that they are doing that this weekend. I had thought he would want the candy or
staying up, so am shocked but happily surprised that he put time with his father and a social
interaction above those two things. It gives me hope that this will work for him and his family.