Generalization and maintenance data sheet with contextual examples

Write the transfer and time questions separately

Generalization concerns performance beyond the conditions where it was taught or previously observed. Maintenance concerns performance over time. FCT and naturalistic-intervention resources discuss planning and monitoring across contexts [FCT1] [NET1]. A clinician decides whether a probe is appropriate and what it can show for the individual.

Name what changes and what stays constant: person, setting, materials, routine, response definition, accommodations and additional prompts. If a change makes the task inaccessible, the resulting record is not simply evidence that the person lacks the skill. No fixed percentage, probe frequency or mastery rule is supplied here.

Plan and complete the blank probe record

The pack has one page for transfer across contexts and another for follow-up over time. Both preserve actual support and participation, including when an observation did not occur.

1. Record the meaningful activity, goal and definition version, reference conditions and clinician-approved probe question.
2. Specify the changed context and allowed accommodations; state the response and opportunity rules.
3. Record the actual date and time since the reference observation or teaching period, without assuming teaching stopped.
4. Record independent, assisted and other valid observed outcomes separately, plus decline, no opportunity and missing observations.
5. Calculate only the stated outcome over its valid comparable opportunities; disclose the full planned-versus-observed coverage.
6. Record the clinician’s interpretation and next review decision. If support is needed, document it rather than preserving an “unprompted” label at the person’s expense.

Completed fictional generalization record

Client H uses speech or the agreed communication symbol to request help with a chosen puzzle. Definition HELP1 accepts either form. The reference activity uses accessible materials and the usual clinician. Each row below contains all three planned opportunities under the fictional recording rule.

Swipe or scroll sideways to view all table columns.

Fictional follow-up while teaching continues

The invented team reviews HELP1 again in the same reference conditions. Teaching continues as documented in the existing plan; these rows show follow-up while teaching continues and do not establish response maintenance after teaching conditions change. A maintenance question needs clinician-defined follow-up conditions, including any planned reduction of teaching support. Necessary communication access and accommodations remain available. Record the actual interval and current support.

Swipe or scroll sideways to view all table columns.

Avoid misleading mastery and progress summaries

In the generalization example, independent and assisted direct observations stay separate by context. The home row is a caregiver report with incomplete coverage; do not combine it into a clinician-observed percentage. The inaccessible puzzle row has a zero valid denominator, not 0% skill.

For follow-up B, 50% describes one independent response among two observed opportunities. It should appear with two-of-three coverage and the ongoing teaching context. It is not directly equivalent to an unprompted three-opportunity probe or proof that the skill was lost.

For an Excel or practice-approved Google Sheets observation sheet, related goal resources provide blank and fictional-example CSVs. The independent-request resource is one such example. Import the header and rows together, then retain the definition, unit, denominator, prompt and version context. Use the grapher’s mapping preview before applying imported observations, and do not pool changed contexts merely because a spreadsheet formula accepts them.

Common mistakes include calling a prompted response independent, reusing a criterion after the definition changes, pooling different contexts, and treating a missed follow-up as failure. Compare source counts, support and opportunities before interpreting apparent change. Define mastery and follow-up rules in the individual plan rather than in a generic goal bank.

Use the sheet, tools and clinical record together

Use fictional or deidentified information in the public tools. Keep identifiable observations and completed forms in the practice-approved clinical record under the clinic’s access, retention and amendment policies.

A public worksheet helps prepare and inspect a recording format. It does not authorize a treatment, decide mastery, replace consent or turn a draft into a reviewed clinical record. A clinician should confirm definitions, denominators and interpretation before the team uses the form.

TherapyCRM serves English-language practices in Canada outside Quebec. It is practice management software with a clinical record, not a physician EMR, and has no EMR certification. It has no telehealth or video visits and does not submit insurance or government claims, including Ontario Autism Program claims.

Sources and scope of this original resource

The blank record and every worked entry are original TherapyCRM examples. Sources explain the professional topic; they do not endorse this template. School resources and research studies require interpretation by a qualified clinician for a real clinic. No standardized assessment, publisher form or licensed guideline is reproduced.

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