Special education teachers have one of the most challenging and stressful jobs in public education, which often leads to increased burnout. High levels of burnout have, in turn, been related to lower levels of fidelity of implementation in delivery of evidence-based behavior interventions. The purpose of this position paper is to (a) propose…

In the 25 years since the publication of the article reprinted in this issue of "Behavioral Disorders", a tremendous amount of research and opinion has been published on the topics of functional analysis, functional assessment, and assessment-based interventions. In this commentary, we reflect on the context in which our original work…

The current text comments on three systematic reviews published in the special section "Issues and Advances in the Systematic Review of Single-Case Research: An Update and Exemplars." The commentary is provided in relation to the need to combine the assessment of the methodological quality of the studies included in systematic reviews,…

Increasing efforts have been made in the field of special education to identify positive, evidence-based practices (EBPs) to meet the needs of students who engage in problem behavior, with a major goal being to eliminate or limit the use of reactive measures such as restraint and seclusion (Snell & Walker, 2014). Various stakeholders,…

The authors discuss the journal article by Perry Zirkel on legal action in regard to functional behavioral assessment (FBA) and behavior intervention plans (BIPs). They contend that the Zirkel article opens larger questions that will be central to ongoing discussions at the national, state, district, school, and family levels. Such issues include…

Functional behavior assessment is a technique supported by research, to assess behavior to determine causes of behavior and develop effective behavior interventions. In this article we discuss how special and general education teachers are prepared to assess students when they struggle academically, but are not typically prepared to assess…

Dr. Tim Lewis provides his reflections on his career working as a researcher-teacher to address the issues of children with challenges. Dr. Lewis also provides his advice for those entering the field.