💤 Using Skill-Based Treatment (SBT) to Support Better Sleep

As BCBAs, many of us are well-versed in using Dr. Hanley’s Skill-Based Treatment (SBT) to reduce problem behavior and teach critical skills like communication, tolerating denials, and cooperation.

But here’s a question you might not have considered: What if we used those same SBT branches to support our learners who are struggling with sleep?

It turns out, SBT isn’t just for building school-readiness or navigating community outings. With a little creativity, we can use daytime branches to build nighttime success, without stepping outside our scope.

Let’s look at how.

📱 Relinquishing the Tablet

We know that screen time before bed—especially highly stimulating screen time like scrolling—can interfere with sleep onset and quality. But asking some learners to turn off the tablet at night can lead to big behaviors. Instead, we can build that skill proactively during the day.

If learners are using a tablet at home, try including it in their reinforcement context for a small portion of the day with the goal of relinquishing the tablet calmly when asked to transition. When learners become fluent with relinquishing reinforcers during the day, it sets caregivers up for smoother transitions at bedtime and avoids big behaviors that make it harder to fall asleep.

🧩 Calming Leisure Skills

Many of our learners thrive with active play—running, jumping, spinning—but these high-arousal activities aren’t exactly sleep-promoting right before bed.

Create a branch that introduces calming leisure activities like:

• Quiet puzzles

• Coloring

• Simple matching games

• Listening to a short story or music

Once learners enjoy these activities and can engage independently, it’s much easier for caregivers to embed them into the bedtime routine as a natural wind-down.

👋 Separation from Caregivers

For some families, the real challenge isn’t falling asleep—it’s the constant need for a caregiver to be right there. Whether it's lying in the bed, sitting in the room, or checking in every few minutes, it can take a toll on caregivers.

With SBT, we can create a branch around tolerating brief separations—first from preferred staff, then from caregivers.

Start with a very brief amount of time, paired with something reinforcing (e.g., “I’ll be right back while you play with your favorite toy!”), and work toward independent play for a few minutes at a time. Once learners are able to tolerate a few minutes of separation during the day, it will be much easier to begin teaching independent sleep at night

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🗓️ Following a Visual Schedule:

For learners who struggle with transitions, a bedtime routine full of expectations (tooth brushing, pajamas, turning off lights) can feel overwhelming.

Try introducing a branch for following a visual schedule. This can include preferred play activities as well as common bedtime steps such as:

• Brushing teeth

• Choosing a book

• Lying down quietly

Once a learner can follow this routine calmly during the day, send it home for parents to use at night. Bonus points if you include icons or photos that match their real environment.

✨ Final Thoughts

Sleep struggles impact everything—from session attendance to behavior regulation to learning. But by incorporating sleep-supportive goals into your existing SBT framework, you can make a measurable difference for your learners and their families.

Want to help your learners get sleep and progress back on track? Download our free resource: 5 Myths That Might Be Holding Your Learners Back ➡️ subscribepage.io/5Myths