ABA and behaviour therapy discharge summary format and sample
An ABA discharge summary format with sample entries for outcomes by goal, a maintenance plan, handover and return signs.
✓Covers discharge and step-down transitions
✓Maintenance plan families can reread
✓Handover table records consent
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What's inside
Reason for Discharge or Transition
Therapy Provided
Outcomes by Goal
Behaviours of Concern at Discharge
Maintenance Plan
Handover and Onward Referrals
When to Contact the Clinic Again
Clinician Summary
+ 1 more sections
Preview · 9 sections
Behaviour Therapy Discharge and Transition Summary
Name
Date of Discharge
Date of Birth
Therapy Start Date
Therapist
Supervising Clinician
Reason for Discharge or Transition
Reason for discharge or transition
How the decision was made and who was involved
Therapy Provided
Dates, frequency, and settings
Main approaches and supports used
Outcomes by Goal
Goal
Baseline
At Discharge
Outcome
Where the Skill Is Used
Behaviours of Concern at Discharge
Behaviour
At Start
At Discharge
Supports Still Needed
Maintenance Plan
Strategies to keep using
Who will continue them and where
Handover and Onward Referrals
Service / Setting
Contact
Information Shared (With Consent)
Onward referrals
When to Contact the Clinic Again
Signs that support may be needed again
Clinician Summary
Clinician summary
Therapist Sign-off
Therapist
Designation
Registration
Date
How to fill it in
1
Reason for Discharge or Transition
Why therapy is ending or changing, and how the decision was made.
More guidance
State the reason plainly: goals met, change of provider, relocation, family choice, a planned pause, or something else. Record how the decision was reached and who was involved, including the person themselves where they could take part. If therapy ended without planning, say so factually.
2
Therapy Provided
Dates, frequency, settings and main approaches, so the next provider sees what was tried.
More guidance
Give the dates of the episode of care, session frequency and any changes to it, settings, and the main approaches used, such as visual supports, functional communication training or parent coaching. Name other services involved. A future provider can then see what has been tried, and for how long.
3
Outcomes by Goal
Baseline, result at discharge, and where each skill is now used.
More guidance
List each goal from the latest plan with its baseline, the result at discharge, the outcome in your clinical judgement, and where the skill is now used. Use the same measures as the progress reports. A skill used at home and at school is more secure than one seen only in the clinic, and the last column makes that visible.
4
Behaviours of Concern at Discharge
Levels at the start and at discharge with sources, and supports still needed.
More guidance
For each behaviour in the BIP, give the level at the start and at discharge with the source of each figure, and the supports still needed to keep it low. Be specific about those supports, because they are what the next team must keep in place. If a behaviour was never measured at the start, say so rather than estimating it now.
5
Maintenance Plan
Strategies to keep using, how often, who leads them, and what can fade.
More guidance
Describe the strategies the family and school should keep using, how often, and who leads each one. Note which supports can be faded gradually and which should stay. Write this section in plain language, because it is the part the family will reread most.
6
Handover and Onward Referrals
Who receives what, with consent, and any onward referrals with reasons.
More guidance
List each service or setting receiving information, the contact person, and what was shared with the family's consent. Record onward referrals with the reason for each. Check that the family knows what was sent and to whom.
7
When to Contact the Clinic Again
Specific signs that more support may help, and how to get back in touch.
More guidance
Give the family specific, observable signs that more support may help: a behaviour of concern returning, a skill being lost, or a big change such as a new school or a move. Include how to get back in touch. Families value knowing that coming back is welcome.
8
Clinician Summary
A short closing view drawn from the outcomes above, with the main recommendation.
More guidance
Write a short closing paragraph with the clinician's overall view of the episode of care, drawn from the outcomes above, and the main recommendation going forward. Keep it plain and consistent with the rest of the document. The supervising clinician reviews it before release.
ABA and behaviour therapy discharge summary format and sample: filled sample
Fictional entries, initials only, showing the level of detail to aim for. Impression and summary sections are left for the treating clinician.
Reason for Discharge or Transition
Planned step-down agreed at the review on 15 March with both parents and the supervising clinician. S. starts Class 1 in June with a shadow teacher.
Therapy Provided
June 2025 to March 2027. Three sessions a week at the clinic for 12 months, then two a week with monthly school visits. Picture exchange, visual schedules, parent coaching. Speech therapy alongside.
Outcomes by Goal
Asks for a break using a card or word: baseline 0 of 10 (June 2025); at discharge 9 of 10 independently (February 2027). Used at home, school and the clinic.
Behaviours of Concern at Discharge
Biting: 3 to 4 a week at home (caregiver ABC records, June 2025); none recorded in the last 8 weeks. Still needed: two-minute warnings before transitions.
Maintenance Plan
Keep the morning picture schedule until the end of Class 1, then review with the class teacher. Mother continues the help card at homework time.
Handover and Onward Referrals
Class teacher, primary school: one-page support note, shared 20 March with parents' written consent. Referral to the clinic's social skills group for six weeks.
When to Contact the Clinic Again
Contact us if biting returns more than once a week for two weeks, or if S. stops using the help card at school.
Discharge summary vs progress report
Discharge summary
Progress report
When
At the end of an episode of care or a major transition
At regular intervals during therapy
Looks at
The whole episode, from first baseline to discharge
One review period
Ends with
A maintenance plan, handover and return signs
Goals and priorities for the next period
Readers
Family, then school and next provider with consent
Family and therapy team
Tone
Closing and forward-looking
Ongoing and adjusting
Tips and mistakes to avoid
Do
Write discharge criteria into the treatment plan from the first month.
Step down gradually: fewer sessions, then reviews, then discharge.
Hold a handover meeting with the school and the family before sending the document.
Give the family a one-page version to hand to each new class teacher.
In healhab, the discharge summary sits in the patient's record beside every earlier report.
Avoid
Ending therapy without a written maintenance plan.
Sending the summary to a school or new provider without the family's consent.
Listing outcomes without the data source.
Leaving the family unsure whether, or how, they can come back.
About this discharge summary
An ABA discharge summary records why behaviour therapy is ending or changing, what was achieved against each goal, how behaviours of concern changed, and what the family, school or next provider should keep doing. This template adds a maintenance plan, a handover table that notes consent, and clear signs for when to contact the clinic again.
Goals are met and the family agrees to step down
The family is moving, changing provider or pausing
Support is moving to the school team
Sessions are reducing to occasional reviews
Read more
Discharge in behaviour therapy is often a transition: monthly reviews, mainstream school with a shadow teacher, or a move to another city. The summary records where things stand for everyone who continues the work.
The treating therapist writes it from the last progress report and recent data, and goes through it with the family first. US clinics often frame this as a behavior transition plan.
Questions
When should ABA therapy end?+
When the goals agreed in the treatment plan are met and skills hold across settings, or when the family's needs or circumstances change. Plan it with the family and step down gradually where you can.
What are ABA discharge criteria?+
Conditions written into the treatment plan that signal readiness to step down, such as goals met in two settings for a set period, behaviours of concern staying low, and caregivers using the strategies on their own. Each clinic sets these for each person.
Is there a filled sample of this discharge summary?+
Each section guide shows a fictional sample entry, using initials only, from the reason for discharge to the return signs. The clinician summary has guidance only, because the treating clinician writes it from the outcomes.
What is the difference between discharge and transition?+
Discharge ends the episode of care with your service. A transition changes the type or amount of support, for example from clinic sessions to school-based support with occasional reviews. This template covers both.
Who receives the discharge summary?+
The family first. Schools, doctors or the next provider receive it only with the family's consent, often as a shorter version.
Can a family come back after discharge?+
Yes. The template has a section listing signs that more support may help and how to get in touch again.
Should the summary include strategies for school?+
Yes, if the child attends school. Include the strategies that work, in plain language, so the class teacher or shadow teacher can keep using them.
