Widely recognized as a gold-standard resource, this authoritative book has been revised and expanded with 50% new material. It provides a complete introduction to functional behavioral assessment (FBA), complete with procedures, forms, and tools that have been piloted and refined in both general and special education settings. Numerous vivid…

Many teachers and parents of young children with disabilities, particularly autism spectrum disorder (ASD), are familiar with young children who engage in repetitive and restrictive behaviors such as flapping, spinning, and rocking. This type of restrictive and repetitive behavior, or stereotypy, can be common, over time it can become problematic…

An often overlooked but simple antecedent modification is student choice. Student choice can be incorporated with a variety of individuals and across a multitude of activities (Texas Statewide Leadership for Autism, 2013). Choice can be as simple as letting a student choose the assignment they want to complete first (Cosden et al., 1995; Kern…

According to federal mandates, if a student's behavior impedes their learning or the learning of others, the individualized education program team is required to address this with a functional behavioral assessment (FBA). The intent of the FBA is to determine the function, or reason, of the impeding behavior for the development of a behavioral…

The National Center for Leadership in Intensive Intervention (NCLII), a consortium funded by the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), prepares special education leaders to become experts in research on intensive intervention for students with disabilities who have persistent and severe academic (e.g., reading and math) and behavioral…

Bullying often persists in spite of formal programs targeting this problem. Supportive school and classroom communities enlist brave peers in consoling, encouraging, and befriending victims, which removes the status that fuels bullies. For the past 18 years, this author has worked in multiple children's agencies and schools, studying bullying…

Challenging behavior is often a source of frustration for parents. Challenging behavior is defined as any behavior that interferes with children's learning and development, is harmful to children and to others, and puts a child at risk for later social problems or school failure (Bailey & Wolery, 1992; Kaiser & Rasminsky, 2003). Children's…

The use of interventions to create behavior change among students with disabilities has an extended and complex history (Horner et al., 2005). Practitioners involved in the field of special education often debate best practices from an immense array of available interventions (Heflin & Simpson, 1998). Service providers express concern about…

This article presents principles and basic steps for practitioners to complete a functional analysis of client behavior. The emphasis is on application of functional analysis to adult mental health clients. The article includes a detailed flow chart containing all major functional diagnoses and behavioral interventions, with functional assessment…

With federal mandates to develop and implement programs for students with disabilities who have behavior problems that impede their educational performance, school personnel are faced with increasing responsibility for developing individualized interventions. Developing interventions that appropriately, effectively, and efficiently address the…

This article examines the behavioral treatment of Trichotillomania. A brief overview of the diagnosis and assessment of Trichotillomania is provided. Guidelines for a structured clinical evaluation when working with people diagnosed with Trichotillomania are supplied. The most effective behavioral interventions and treatments for working with…

This manual takes school practitioners step by step through conducting functional behavioral assessments and using them to plan effective interventions. The authors present a cogent rationale for the use of functional behavioral assessment (FBA), clearly explaining its advantages over traditional approaches to dealing with problem behavior. Basic…

The rationale for using a behavioral assessment approach in the evaluation of hyperactivity is explained, and the various procedures for behaviorally assessing hyperactivity are reviewed. Guidelines and resources are also suggested for the practitioner to use in behavioral assessment of hyperactivity. (SW)

This article presents seven sequential steps to completing a functional behavioral analysis and a behavioral intervention plan for a student with emotional/behavior disorders: (1) description of the behavior; (2) refinement of the behavior; (3) data collection; (4) data analysis; (5) hypothesis generation; (6) behavior intervention plan…

This guide is intended to help California educators comply with requirements of the 1990 Hughes Act (which ensured the right of the state's special education students to a behavioral intervention plan) and with requirements of the reauthorized Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (1997) concerning functional behavioral assessment and…