QABA QASP-S flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Informed Consent

Agreement to assessment or treatment given after the person receives a clear explanation of the procedures, risks, benefits, alternatives, and the right to withdraw at any time without penalty.

Multiple Relationship

A situation in which a behavior analyst holds a second, nonprofessional relationship with a client, supervisee, or family member that could impair objectivity or create risk of exploitation.

Scope of Competence

The boundaries of a practitioner's education, training, and supervised experience; behavior analysts practice only within those limits and refer out when a case exceeds them.

Mandated Reporting

A legal duty to report suspected child abuse, neglect, or vulnerable-adult mistreatment to designated authorities, regardless of confidentiality, within the timeframe set by state law.

Least Restrictive Alternative

The principle that intervention should use the least intrusive effective procedure available, with more restrictive or punishment-based procedures requiring added justification, consent, and peer review.

Confidentiality Exceptions

Client information may be disclosed without consent only when required by law, such as suspected abuse, imminent serious harm, a court order, or a medical emergency, and only to necessary parties.

Conflict of Interest

A circumstance in which personal, financial, or other interests could bias professional judgment; it must be disclosed and avoided or resolved before services continue.

Operational Definition

A written description of a target behavior in observable, measurable, and objective terms that specifies examples and non-examples so independent observers can record it consistently.

Partial Interval Recording

A discontinuous method in which the observer scores the interval if the behavior occurs at any point during it; it typically overestimates behavior and suits behaviors that are hard to count.

Whole Interval Recording

A discontinuous method in which the interval is scored only if the behavior occurs throughout the entire interval; it generally underestimates behavior and suits continuous, duration-based behaviors.

Momentary Time Sampling

A discontinuous method in which the observer records whether the behavior is occurring at the exact moment the interval ends; efficient for groups but insensitive to brief or low-rate behavior.

Interobserver Agreement

The degree to which two independent observers record the same behavior; calculated as a percentage of agreement and typically considered acceptable at 80 to 90 percent or higher.

Paired Stimulus Preference Assessment

Each item is presented with every other item in pairs, the person selects one, and selection percentages are ranked, producing a preference hierarchy more reliable than single-stimulus methods.

Functional Analysis

An assessment in which antecedents and consequences are systematically manipulated across controlled conditions to identify the variables maintaining problem behavior and to test hypotheses about its function.

Extinction Burst

A temporary increase in the frequency, intensity, or variability of a response at the start of extinction; it must be anticipated, planned for, and monitored for safety.

Differential Reinforcement of Alternative

A procedure in which reinforcement is delivered for a specified alternative behavior while reinforcement for the target problem behavior is withheld, so the alternative competes with the problem behavior.

Differential Reinforcement of Other Behavior

Reinforcement is delivered after an interval in which the target behavior did not occur; it reduces behavior but does not teach a specific replacement skill.

Time Delay Prompting

A fading procedure in which a brief constant or progressive delay is inserted between the instruction and any prompt, giving the learner a chance to respond independently first.

Backward Chaining

A chaining method that teaches the last step of a task analysis first, then adds preceding steps in reverse order, with the learner completing the sequence to the end each trial.

Shaping

Reinforcing successive approximations of a target behavior while no longer reinforcing earlier approximations, used when the terminal response is not yet in the learner's repertoire.

Variable Ratio Schedule

Reinforcement follows an unpredictable number of responses averaging around a set value; it produces high, steady response rates and is highly resistant to extinction.

Behavior Skills Training

A staff training package of instruction, modeling, rehearsal, and feedback that continues until the trainee meets a predetermined performance criterion in role play and then in vivo.

Treatment Integrity

The extent to which an intervention is implemented as written, measured by direct observation or self-report checklists and expressed as a percentage of correctly completed components.

Performance Feedback

Specific information about observed staff performance, delivered promptly and including both praise for correct steps and corrective guidance for errors, followed by re-observation.

Task Clarification

A written or verbal description of exactly what a staff member must do, when, and how, often provided as a checklist of intervention steps before the performance period begins.

Pyramidal Training

A model in which an expert trains a small group of staff who then train others, extending limited supervision resources; each level should be checked for integrity of the training delivered.

Supervision Documentation

Written records of supervision contacts including date, duration, activities, observed performance, feedback given, and follow-up plans, demonstrating that required supervision hours and content were met.

Caregiver Training

Structured teaching of family members to implement procedures using instruction, modeling, rehearsal, and feedback, with adherence and child outcomes measured to confirm the training worked.

Plain Language Reporting

Presenting assessment and intervention information in everyday wording, avoiding jargon and subjective labels, so families and non-behavioral team members can understand and act on it.

Minimum Necessary Standard

The HIPAA rule that only the least amount of protected health information needed for a specific purpose should be shared with other providers or parties.

Interdisciplinary Collaboration

Working with teachers, therapists, and medical providers toward shared goals by clarifying each discipline's role, sharing data, and agreeing on consistent responses across settings.

Discharge Planning

A planned process of fading services, teaching skills to natural caregivers, and building maintenance and generalization supports so gains persist after behavioral services end.