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Each ABC event records the antecedent (what happened just before), the behavior, and the consequence (what followed).
1

Set up and start

Set up an observation and choose ABC. Define the behaviors and check the antecedent and consequence tags. ABC always records the activity, so choose an activity set that fits. Select Start when you begin observing, and change the activity when it changes.
2

Open an event

When the behavior happens, select Record first ABC event, or New event after that. The event keeps the time you opened it, so open it as soon as you see the behavior.
3

Choose tags and add details

Under Antecedent, select every tag that applies. Under Behavior, select every behavior that happened before any consequence and describe the entry in What did it look like?. Under Consequence, select what followed. Add details in any column. If a consequence happened between these behaviors, record them as separate entries.
ABC event form with Task/direction given and Adult attention given selected, an Off-task behavior description, event details in all three columns, and Add entry below.

An event in progress, with a tag selected in Antecedent and Consequence. Shown in demo mode.

4

Add the entry

Select Add entry. The event appears at the top of Event log. Cancel discards an event you opened by mistake.
5

End and save

Add or cancel any open event; an unfinished one isn’t kept. Select End and confirm. If Refine tags appears, answer its questions, then add any final context and save.

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Find or create a tag

Select Search all tags below the tags in the Antecedent or Consequence column and type. If nothing fits, choose the New tag row, such as New tag for Sam: “Peer laughed”. Sightline saves it with that student’s tags for next time. The tag set in setup doesn’t change.

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Edit ABC tags

Refine tags appears after End when an event has Denied access, Adult attention given, or Task ended or reduced, which each have more specific versions, or a consequence tag of your own that you added while recording.
  • For a broad tag, read the event and choose the specific tag that describes it. If none does, or you aren’t sure, leave the Keep answer selected.
  • For your own consequence tag, choose what it delivered: Escape, Attention, Tangible, or Automatic. Choose Unsure: leave uncategorized if your record doesn’t support one.
Skip the rest keeps what you’ve answered. To change an answer, select Refine tags on the completion screen before you save.

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Where your data appears

In Results, the Summary card shows each behavior’s events and share of all ABC events. When any event includes several behaviors, it also shows how many events included more than one behavior. The diagrams show which tags and pairings repeat, and ABC Entries lists every event. What each ABC number means

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Good to know

Keyboard. Press E to open an event, or Shift+E to copy the last event’s antecedent and consequence into a new one. Press the number beside a tag to select it; in Behavior, press it again to turn that behavior off. In Antecedent and Consequence, press 9 to search. Return or Enter moves to the next column, and adds the entry from Consequence. Keyboard shortcuts Tag both sides. An event missing an antecedent or consequence tag is left out of the pairings in Results. Made a mistake? Select the event in Event log, change it, and select Save changes. Outside a text field, ⌘Z or Ctrl+Z removes the latest event. Fix a mistake covers changes after saving.