A well-written intervention plan allows anyone on the team to know what to work on, how to work on it, and when the child has learned it. A vague plan leads to different session data collection for the same skill and decisions that are difficult to justify.

Goal, target, and step

Three levels organize the plan:

  • Goal: the skill the child will learn, linked to an assessment item. Example: "Responds to verbal instructions to give, point to, and show objects".
  • Target: the concrete way the skill will be taught. In the example, "give" and "point to" may be different targets.
  • Step: the step within the target, from most help to independence. Example: "gives occasionally", "gives with gestural support", "gives independently".

How to write a good goal

A useful goal answers four questions:

  1. What the child will do, in observable terms.
  2. Under what conditions: with which materials, people, and environments.
  3. With what criterion: for example, 8 out of 10 trials independently.
  4. With what generalization: with 2 or more people, in 3 or more environments.

Include instructions for the therapist: materials, how to present the trial, and what type of prompt to use.

The mastery criterion

Each step needs a criterion that the entire team knows. Common formats:

  • Fixed quantity: a minimum number of trials with a number of successful responses, such as 10 trials with 8 successful.
  • Percentage: a success rate over a period.

Also define how many consecutive sessions the criterion must be met before advancing.

How many goals at the same time

More goals do not mean more progress. Prioritize what unlocks other skills and what makes a difference in the child's and family's daily life. A lean plan, worked on frequently, usually moves faster.

When to revise the plan

  • When a step stays stuck for several sessions without progress.
  • When the child meets the criterion and the step is mastered.
  • After each re-administration of the protocol.
  • When the family or school brings up a new need.

The plan in Proaba

In Proaba, the plan is organized into goal, target, and step, each step with its criterion, and edited in place, with automatic saving. You import goals directly from the child's assessment or from the bank with more than 2,000 ready-to-use goals, linked to protocol items. Plans can be separated by clinic, school, or home, with responsible professionals, and the plan charts show the progress of each goal based on recorded sessions.