An ABA session note records one applied behavior analysis session: the targets worked on, the data, the behavior plan used, and what comes next. Copy the free template for RBT and BCBA notes, see a home session and a supervised clinic session example, and check what goes in each part.
Blank ABA session note template
FreeABA SESSION NOTE Client: [Name or ID, age] Date of service: [Date] Start and end time: [Times and total minutes] Setting: [Home, clinic, school, or community, and the room or place] People present: [Caregivers, siblings, or other staff, by name and relationship] Staff: [Name, credential: RBT, BCaBA, or BCBA] Service: [Direct one-to-one treatment, BCBA supervision during the session, or caregiver training] Supervising BCBA: [Name] Plans in use: [Treatment plan and behavior intervention plan, with dates] SESSION START Caregiver report: [Sleep, illness, medication changes, and events since the last session, as the caregiver reported them] Arrival: [What the client was doing and how they engaged with staff, in observable terms] Preference assessment: [Method used, and the items or activities the client chose] Assent: [How the client showed they were willing to take part, any signs of withdrawal, and how staff responded] SKILL ACQUISITION Target 1: [Program and target, teaching method, trials or opportunities, percent correct, prompt level] Target 2: [Program and target, teaching method, trials or opportunities, percent correct, prompt level] Target 3: [Program and target, teaching method, trials or opportunities, percent correct, prompt level] Mastery and maintenance: [Targets that met mastery today, and maintenance probes run] Reinforcement: [Items, activities, and praise used, the schedule in the plan, and any change in preference] BEHAVIOR REDUCTION Target behavior: [Name as defined in the plan, with frequency, rate, or duration] Antecedents: [What happened just before each episode] Plan used: [Procedures from the behavior plan, as written, and what followed] Replacement skill: [The skill taught instead, and how often the client used it, with or without prompts] Crisis procedures: [None used, or the procedure, how long, who was involved, any injury, and who was told] CAREGIVER PARTICIPATION Who took part: [Name and relationship, or not present] Training: [The skill, how it was taught: instruction, modeling, practice, feedback; and how accurately the caregiver did it] Home practice: [What the caregiver will practice before the next session] SESSION SUMMARY AND PLAN Summary: [What happened, in observable terms and numbers] Barriers: [Illness, sleep, schedule changes, setting, or none] Next session: [Date, time, and setting] Focus: [Targets to continue, and anything to raise with the BCBA] Reported to BCBA: [What was reported, when, and how, or nothing to report] BCBA SUPERVISION, WHEN PRESENT Observation: [What the BCBA observed, and the treatment integrity score] Data review: [Trends in the graphed data, and what they show] Program changes: [What changed, why, and from which session] Feedback to staff: [Feedback given, and what the technician practiced] SIGNATURES Staff: [Name, credential, date and time] Caregiver: [Name and date, if your organization or funder requires it] Supervisor: [Name, credential, and date, if the note needs a co-signature]
Use it for
Each one follows the template. Use them to judge how much detail every part needs.
In-home ABA for a 4-year-old autistic boy, RBT session, mother present
Leo, age 4. Tuesday, Nov 3, 2:30 to 5:00 p.m., 150 minutes. Home: living room, kitchen, and bathroom. Present: his mother throughout; his sister, age 7, from 4:00 p.m. Staff: Jordan Lee, RBT. Service: direct one-to-one treatment. Supervising BCBA: Amara Okafor. Treatment plan and behavior plan dated Aug 18.
His mother reported he slept about 9 hours, with no illness or medication changes, and had one toilet accident at daycare this morning. On arrival, Leo was lining up cars on the rug; when greeted, he looked up and handed the RBT a car. Preference assessment, multiple stimulus without replacement, 5 items: bubbles first, then the car ramp and fruit snacks. Assent: came to the table when bubbles were offered. Twice during play he turned away and covered his ears; the RBT paused, offered a break, and he came back within 2 minutes both times.
Manding, 2-word requests such as “want bubbles,” natural environment teaching in play and snack: 26 opportunities, 19 independent, 73%, up from 61% last session; 7 with an echoic prompt. Toilet training, scheduled sits every 30 minutes for 3 minutes: 5 sits, voided in the toilet on 3; 1 accident at 4:10 p.m.; no self-initiated requests. Hand washing, 8-step task analysis by forward chaining: steps 1 to 3 independent, step 4 with a gestural prompt, steps 5 to 8 with full physical prompts. Reinforcement as the plan states: bubbles or the car ramp for each mand, a fruit snack and praise for each void in the toilet, continuous schedule.
Tantrums, defined in the plan as crying or screaming with dropping to the floor or kicking, lasting 5 seconds or more: 4 episodes, 11 minutes in all, longest 5 minutes; last session 6 episodes, 19 minutes. Antecedents: bubbles put away, 2 episodes; asked to leave play for a toilet sit, 2 episodes. Plan used as written: 2-minute visual timer before transitions, no new demands during an episode, and once he was calm for 5 seconds, a prompt to say “my turn” or hand over the break card, which was honored. Replacement skills used 7 times, 4 without a prompt. Crisis procedures: none used. No injuries.
His mother joined at snack for 30 minutes and practiced the routine the BCBA taught her on Oct 27: hold the snack in view and wait 5 seconds for a request before prompting. The RBT modeled it once. 10 opportunities; she waited for a request on 8, 80%. She will run the routine at dinner each night and tally it on the home sheet.
Leo took part in every program and used 2-word requests through the session, 73% without prompts. Voided in the toilet on 3 of 5 sits, 1 accident. 4 tantrums, 11 minutes in all, each after an item was put away or a call to a toilet sit. Barriers: none; when his sister came home, he asked for the car ramp more often. Next session: Thursday, Nov 5, 2:30 p.m., at home. Focus: continue all targets as written. Reported to the BCBA by message at 5:15 p.m.: 2 tantrums began at toilet sits, and no self-initiated toilet requests yet.
Clinic-based ABA for a 9-year-old autistic boy, BCBA present for 60 minutes, father trained
Amir, age 9. Wednesday, Nov 4, 3:30 to 6:00 p.m., 150 minutes; BCBA present 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. Clinic: therapy room 2. Present: his father, 4:30 to 5:00 p.m. Direct treatment by Sam Ortiz, RBT. This note: Maya Chen, BCBA. Service: BCBA supervision during the session, and caregiver training with his father. Treatment plan dated Jul 22; behavior plan updated Sep 30.
His father reported a substitute teacher at school today and a hard evening yesterday after swim practice was moved. No illness or medication changes. Amir arrived talking about his train set and chose train time and a drawing app in a brief preference check. Assent: came to the table on his own; asked for a break once at 4:20 p.m. and came back after 3 minutes.
Reciprocal conversation, asking a question back after answering one: 20 opportunities, 9 independent, 45%, verbal prompt after a 5-second delay. Last 6 sessions: 40% to 50%, with no upward trend; mastery is 80% across 3 sessions. Asking for help with the help card during math: 10 opportunities, 9 independent, 90%; third session at 80% or more, so it meets mastery. Telling time to the nearest 5 minutes: 12 trials, 10 correct, 83%. Reinforcement: token board, 10 tokens for 5 minutes with his train set, and specific praise.
Elopement, defined in the plan as leaving the therapy room or an assigned area without asking: 2 episodes, both during conversation trials, both ended in the hallway within 30 seconds; the last 5 sessions averaged 3. Antecedent both times: a third conversation question in a row. Plan used as written: staff stood between him and the door, prompted the break card, and gave a 2-minute break when he used it, then returned with one easier question. Break card used 5 times, 3 without a prompt. Crisis procedures: none used.
Observation: treatment integrity 85%, 17 of 20 trials; on 3 conversation trials the RBT prompted before the 5-second delay ended. Data review: the conversation program has been flat for 6 sessions, and both elopements came during it, so the task is likely too hard as written. Program change from the next session: teach one step first, answering and then asking “What about you?”, with a visual cue card faded over 3 steps; keep the 5-second delay; mastery 80% across 3 sessions. The help card moves to weekly maintenance probes. Feedback to staff: modeled a silent count for the delay; the RBT then ran 5 trials with no early prompts.
His father joined for 30 minutes. Skill: the help card routine at homework, from the caregiver plan. Taught by behavior skills training: written steps, a model by the BCBA, 3 role-plays, and feedback. Steps done correctly: 6 of 8 in the first role-play, 8 of 8 by the third. He asked what to do if Amir leaves the table; reviewed the break routine from the behavior plan. He will use the help card at homework 3 nights this week and note each use on the home sheet.
Amir took part for the full session and used the help card on his own in 9 of 10 chances. Conversation program at 45% for the sixth session in a row; revised as above. 2 elopements, both under 30 seconds, both during conversation trials. Barriers: a substitute teacher and a change in his after-school schedule this week. Next session: Friday, Nov 6, 3:30 p.m., at the clinic, with the revised program. The BCBA will review the first 3 sessions of new data and call his father on Nov 9.
The facts that show who delivered which service, where, when, and for how long.
Avoid: Rounded or copied times. Write the actual start and end times, and check that they match the schedule and the data sheet.
What the caregiver reported and how the client arrived, before any teaching began.
Avoid: Turning the report into a judgment. “His mother reported he slept about 5 hours” is a fact; “he was tired and dysregulated” is a guess.
The data for each target worked on, in the units the treatment plan uses, and the reinforcement that went with it.
Avoid: “Worked on manding, did well.” Give the count, the percentage, and the prompt level for every target.
Each target behavior as the plan defines it, how often or how long it happened, and what staff did.
Avoid: Guessing the function. The RBT records what happened before and after; the BCBA decides why it happens.
Who took part, the skill they practiced, and how they did.
Avoid: “Parent observed.” If a caregiver took part, record the skill and how they did. If no one was present, say so.
A short, objective account of the session, what got in the way, and what happens next.
Avoid: Words like “happy,” “manipulative,” or “noncompliant.” Describe what you saw: “laughed and asked for more,” or “did not start the task within 10 seconds on 4 of 6 instructions.”
What the behavior analyst observed and decided when they were present. This is where analysis and program changes belong.
Avoid: A program change with no data behind it. Name the trend, such as six sessions at the same level, and what you changed.
“Frustrated and attention-seeking” is a guess. “Cried and dropped to the floor for 3 minutes after the bubbles were put away” is what happened, and it’s what the BCBA needs to see.
The counts, percentages, prompt levels, and times in the note should match the data collected in session. Write the note from the data, not from memory at the end of the day.
An RBT runs the plan as written. If a procedure isn’t working or a new behavior appears, record what you saw and report it to the BCBA the same day.
Each session’s numbers, antecedents, and barriers differ, even when the targets don’t. A note that reads the same every week doesn’t show what happened, and reviewers notice.
If any crisis or restrictive procedure was used, record what it was, how long it lasted, who was involved, any injury, and when the BCBA and the caregiver were told, as your organization’s policy requires.
Write what the child did, respectfully and precisely: “stayed at the table for 10 minutes,” not “was finally compliant.” Use the family’s preferred terms, such as “autistic child.”
Vero Scribe drafts the session note in your template from the session, with the family’s consent, or from your dictation. You review and edit every section, then copy it into your record or export it to Word or PDF. Vero works in 60+ languages.
Start with the facts: date, start and end time, setting, who was there, your credential, and the service. Then give the data for each target, the behavior data with antecedents and the plan used, reinforcement, and any caregiver participation. End with an objective summary, barriers, and the plan for next session. Write it from your data sheet, the same day if you can.
Include what you saw and measured: the data, the procedures you used as written, what happened before and after each behavior, and what you reported to your supervisor. Leave out diagnoses, guesses about why a behavior happens, and program changes. Those belong to the BCBA, who can add them in a supervision note.
It describes behavior someone else could see and count. Write “cried and dropped to the floor for 2 minutes” instead of “had a meltdown because he was upset,” and “started the task within 5 seconds on 8 of 10 instructions” instead of “was compliant.”
What the BCBA observed, a treatment integrity score, a review of the graphed data, any program changes with the reason, and the feedback given to the technician. When the BCBA trains a caregiver, the note records the skill, how it was taught, and how accurately the caregiver did it.
A session note covers one session. A progress report is the BCBA’s summary over several months, usually with graphs, the status of each goal, and recommendations for the next period of treatment.
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