The learner has hit, bitten or kicked someone and there is an injury

• Aggression causing injury

The situation

During a session the learner strikes, bites, kicks or throws something at another person — you, a peer, a family member — and that person is hurt, or you cannot yet tell whether they are. The behavior may or may not be continuing.

Contact now

• Nurse or medical staff
• Immediate: Emergency services (911)
• Your site supervisor
• Your supervising BCBA
• Parent or guardian

Right now

Get help from another adult immediately, attend to the injured person, and call emergency services if the injury could be serious. What staff may do to keep the learner and others safe is set by the learner's plan, your site's crisis procedure and your certified training, and by nothing else.

Write down

• Record what happened immediately before, what the learner did, and what happened immediately after, using objective language.
• Record every injury, to whom, and what care was given.
• Record who you contacted and when.
• Complete the incident report and any injury forms your employer requires before leaving for the day.

Physical management is governed by employer policy, certified training and state law. Any injury to a client or a staff member is reported to your supervisor the same day, however minor, and most employers require a written incident report.

Terms used here

• Incident Report
• Objective Language
• Function of Behavior