The development of an instrument to evaluate treatment intrusiveness for individuals with severe and challenging behavior.

Matson et al. (2009) built a short checklist that scores how heavy-handed a behavior plan feels.

Raters look at items like physical holds, time-out rooms, or loss of toys.

They tried the draft with staff who serve people with severe problem behavior.

The staff could use the tool and put plans in clear low-to-high intrusiveness order.

The study found positive results, showing the checklist works for quick ratings.

Sturmey (1994) warned that most behavior scales have shaky reliability and weak payoff.

Matson et al. (2009) answers that gap by giving a simple, reliable way to judge plans before use.

Symons et al. (2012) also built a new rating scale for medical students’ attitudes.

Both papers share the same recipe: write clear items, test them with users, and check consistency.

You now have a one-page sheet to spot the most intrusive parts of a plan before parents sign.

Use it in team meetings to swap harsh procedures for milder ones that still work.