A task analysis data sheet format with example steps, your own prompt level key and a seven-session record.
✓Twelve steps across seven sessions
✓Prompt key you fill in
✓Sample handwashing steps included
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What's inside
Skill and Teaching Method
Prompt Level Key
Task Steps and Session Record
Steps Completed Independently
Changes to Steps or Prompts
Preview · 5 sections
Task Analysis Data Sheet
Learner
Skill / Routine
Therapist
Start Date
Setting
Chaining Method
Skill and Teaching Method
Skill or routine being taught
Chaining methodForward chaining, backward chaining, or total task, as agreed with the supervising clinician.
Materials and setting
Prompt Level Key
Code
Prompt Level
What It Looks Like for This Learner
Task Steps and Session Record
Step
Step Description
Session 1
Session 2
Session 3
Session 4
Session 5
Session 6
Session 7
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Steps Completed Independently
Session
Date
Steps Independent
Total Steps
Notes
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Changes to Steps or Prompts
Changes to step wording, prompts, or materials, with dates
How to fill it in
1
Skill and Teaching Method
The skill, chaining method, materials and setting agreed with the supervising clinician.
More guidance
Name the skill, the chaining method, the materials and the setting. In forward chaining you teach the first step first. In backward chaining the learner completes the last step and gets to finish the task each time. In total task you prompt through every step each session. The supervising clinician usually decides which suits the learner and the skill.
2
Prompt Level Key
Your team's prompt levels, most to least support, with codes and descriptions.
More guidance
List the prompt levels your team uses, from most to least support, each with a short code and a description of what it looks like for this learner. Put independent as the last level. A clear key means two therapists, or a therapist and a parent, record the same step the same way.
3
Task Steps and Session Record
One observable action per step, then the least support needed each session.
More guidance
Write each step as one observable action starting with a verb, in the order the learner does it. Most self-care routines need ten to fifteen steps; split any step the learner finds hard into two. In each session column, record the code for the least support the learner needed on that step.
4
Steps Completed Independently
The count of independent steps against the total, for each session.
More guidance
After each session, count the steps completed independently and write the count against the total, for example 6 of 12. This single figure is easy to graph and to share with families, while the step record above shows where to focus teaching next.
5
Changes to Steps or Prompts
Dated changes to step wording, prompts or materials.
More guidance
Record any change to how a step is worded, split or taught, and any new material, with the date. Data from before and after a change can then be read correctly. Make changes in line with the plan and your clinic's supervision arrangements.
Task analysis data sheet with example steps: filled sample
Fictional entries, initials only, showing the level of detail to aim for. Impression and summary sections are left for the treating clinician.
Skill and Teaching Method
Skill: washing hands at the basin after using the toilet. Method: backward chaining. Materials: liquid soap, hand towel on a low hook. Settings: home bathroom and clinic washroom.
Prompt Level Key
FP: hand-over-hand through the whole step. PP: light touch at the wrist to start the movement. G: point to the soap. V: say “soap”. I: completes the step with no help.
Task Steps and Session Record
1. Turn on the tap. 2. Wet both hands. 3. Press the soap pump once. 4. Rub palms together. 5. Rub the backs of both hands.
Steps Completed Independently
Session 3, 14 July: 6 of 12 steps independent. Needed gestural prompts for the soap and drying steps.
Changes to Steps or Prompts
18 July: split step 3 into “press pump” and “hold hands under the soap”; switched to a pump bottle with a wider top.
Forward vs backward chaining
Forward chaining
Backward chaining
Step taught first
The first step in the sequence
The last step in the sequence
Other steps
The adult prompts or completes the later steps
The adult prompts or completes the earlier steps
Main advantage
Follows the natural order of the routine
The learner finishes the task every time and enjoys the natural result
Often suits
Routines where the early steps are easier
Routines with a clear end, such as dressing or making a snack
Total task alternative
Prompt through every step each session
Suits learners who already do several steps
Tips and mistakes to avoid
Do
Watch the routine at home, or ask for a short video, before writing steps.
Use the family's words and objects in the steps, such as “take the mug”.
Record the prompt actually used, even when it differs from the plan.
Put a photo strip of the steps on the bathroom wall.
In healhab, a clinic can keep this sheet as a template so every therapist starts from the same layout.
Avoid
Writing steps that combine several actions, such as “wash hands”.
Using a prompt key only one therapist understands.
Recording the planned prompt instead of the one the learner actually needed.
Changing the steps without dating the change.
About this data sheet
A task analysis data sheet breaks a routine such as handwashing or dressing into small steps and records how much help the learner needed on each step in each session. You fill in your own prompt level key, choose a chaining method, and track the number of steps completed independently over time. It prints or fills in online.
Teaching handwashing, toothbrushing or dressing
Teaching multi-step play or household skills
Finding which steps still need support
Coaching parents on the same steps at home
Read more
Task analysis is how behaviour therapists teach skills with many steps, such as handwashing or dressing. You break the routine into small steps and record the support needed on each, session by session.
Write the steps from how the routine is done in this learner's home. The prompt key is blank so you can add your team's levels. US programmes list it among their behavior data sheets.
Questions
What is a task analysis in ABA?+
A breakdown of a complex skill into small, ordered steps that can be taught and measured one at a time. It is used for self-care, household, play and community skills.
How many steps should a task analysis have?+
As many as the learner needs. Most self-care routines have between 8 and 15 steps. Split a step into smaller ones if the learner finds it hard.
Which prompt levels should I use?+
Use the prompt hierarchy your team has agreed, for example full physical, partial physical, model, gestural, verbal and independent. Fill them into the key with a description for this learner.
Should I use forward or backward chaining?+
It depends on the skill and the learner, and the supervising clinician usually decides. Backward chaining suits routines with a clear finish, forward chaining follows the natural order, and total task suits learners who already do several steps.
Can parents use a task analysis at home?+
Yes. Show them each step and prompt, and give them a simple copy with the steps and a column for each day of the week. Parents often spot which step is hardest.
Is there a filled task analysis example?+
Each section guide shows a fictional example, including the first steps of a handwashing routine and a sample prompt key. Count the steps completed independently each session to track progress over time.
What if the learner does the steps in a different order?+
If the order does not affect the result, such as which hand is dried first, accept it and rewrite the steps. If order matters for safety or hygiene, such as rinsing after soaping, keep teaching the agreed order and note swaps.
