The fundamental intent of special education is to provide instruction to meet each child's unique needs. "Life Journey through Autism: Navigating the Special Education System" offers information, tools, and tips that will help parents become an even more effective advocate for their children. Many teachers, administrators, and school…

Argues that using functional behavioral assessment (FBA) to identify individual factors that may be contributing to a student's behavior problem and building a positive behavioral-intervention plan will produce effective disciplinary practices. Components of successful implementation of FBA and overarching challenges to the use of FBA are…

"A Parent's Guide to Assessment" is the fifth volume in the "Life Journey through Autism" series published by the Organization for Autism Research (OAR). It is intended to remove the mystery surrounding assessment, provide parents with a practical understanding of the assessment process, equip them as a parent with the…

This article discusses strategies and procedures for promoting maintenance and generalization of student behavior changes resulting from interventions based on functional behavioral assessment. Strategies include self-management techniques, cognitive mediation, self-advocacy training, use of peers, booster training, environmental modifications,…

This paper proposes that power/control and affiliation may be valid functions of some behaviors and should be considered in a functional behavior analysis of maladaptive behavior in students. Suggestions are offered for school-based manipulations to determine whether power/control and affiliation are relevant functions in given situations.…

Examines likely changes in the roles and responsibilities of public school personnel from the implementation of disciplinary provisions of the 1997 Amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Also addresses implementing functional behavioral assessments and behavioral intervention plans, and provides guidelines for implementing…

This article advocates the use of functional behavioral assessments (FBAs) and behavior intervention plans (BIPs) in the development of Individualized Family Service Plans for children with or at risk of developing behavioral disorders. It describes the FBA and BIP processes and proposes a parent collaborative model for assessment and…

This article discusses requirements under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act amendments of 1997 for functional assessments of behavior (FABs) and provision of positive behavioral supports (PBSs). It describes steps in implementing FABs and examples of appropriate PBSs with students with disabilities. (Contains references.) (Author/DB)

This article outlines a process for conducting comprehensive early intervention based on an assessment process that includes functional behavioral assessment. A case example is presented to further illustrate this process. Additional elements essential to the process including family involvement, collaborative teaming, and implementing…

This bulletin, designed for Missouri local education agencies (LEAs), discusses the importance of using the law appropriately when implementing the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act provisions for students with disabilities, and effective strategies for the implementation of positive behavioral supports. Educators are urged to use the…

This paper is designed to provide school social workers with a conceptual framework that will help guide their participation in state and local level planning for implementing functional behavioral assessments (FBAs) and behavioral intervention plans (BIPs) for students which school personnel propose to suspend for more than 10 days in any school…

This introductory article to a special series discusses requirements under the 1997 amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to base behavioral intervention planning and positive behavioral support on information obtained through a functional behavioral assessment (FBA) process. The lack of guidance on FBAs and strategies for…

This article synthesizes information from the special education literature about functional behavioral assessments (FBAs), including the law and FBA, working definitions, basic assumptions underlying FBA, the role of the diagnosticians, the role of special educators, the steps to conducting an FBA, the methods of FBA, and tools for the…

This manual is designed to help school personnel conduct functional behavior assessments (FBAs) and to develop effective behavior intervention plans (BIPs). The manual begins by providing background information on FBAs including: (1) the four-stage model of collaborative problem solving that is used to conduct FBAs and develop subsequent BIPs,…

This article highlights the necessary components of a functional behavioral assessment, a decision making framework concerning the selection of assessment and intervention procedures to be used at school, and a description of one practical functional behavioral assessment tool, the Initial Line of Inquiry, that has been employed by school-based…