What’s a Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP)?

A behavior intervention plan, or BIP, is a set of customized instructions written specifically for the purpose of increasing desirable behavior and decreasing undesirable behavior. It defines what needs to be done in order for an individual to either learn a new skill or perform a known skill at the necessary level.

A behavior plan describes actions someone can take to 1) prevent future occurrences of the problem behavior from ever occurring in the first place, and 2) respond to an occurrence of the problem behavior in the way that is least likely to encourage future occurrences.

A behavior plan includes:

• a clear description of the problem behavior
  • what does it look like?
• the function of the behavior (determined during the FBA, or functional behavior assessment)
  • how does engaging in the behavior benefit the individual?
• a list of things to be done that make engaging in the problem behavior less necessary or attractive
  • prevention of the problem behavior occurring in the first place
• a list of ways others can respond when the problem behavior does occur
  • making sure the problem behavior is not rewarded