Using wearable technology to evaluate the electrodermal activity of therapists assessing challenging behavior

Identifying objective ways to measure a therapist's physiological responding when encountering challenging behavior has the potential to guide future work in staff performance, well‐being, and retention. The current technical report summarizes controlled measures of therapists' electrodermal activity (EDA) while implementing functional analyses of challenging behavior. The technology used to monitor EDA, analyses relevant to EDA in the context of challenging behavior, and technical barriers related to the use of these measures are discussed. Preliminary data from three therapists suggested that indicators of acute physiological arousal are present in functional analyses, particularly surrounding occurrences of challenging behavior. Support for the further development of these technologies is provided.