In contrast with professional norms and best practices, the legal requirements for functional behavioral assessments (FBAs) and behavior intervention plans (BIPs) are meager in scope and specificity (Collins & Zirkel, 2017). Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act makes no mention of FBAs or BIPs, and the Individuals with Disabilities Education…

While disability is recognised by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) as an evolving concept, the language of positive behaviour support has not kept pace with the current human rights-based approach. The widely-used terms 'challenging behaviour' and 'behaviours that challenge' imply that the behaviour…

School practitioners increasingly use functional behavior assessments to design behavior intervention plans when students engage in challenging behavior that is not improved by classroom management or standard interventions. Behavior intervention plans should aim to produce behavior change that maintains across time and generalizes to relevant…

Historically sleep was considered a passive activity, but research now strongly suggests that it is a time of neurological growth, where memories and skills are consolidated (Fallone et al., 2002). Good sleep is thought to influence cognitive, physical and emotional performance, and aid in effective emotional regulation (Alfano & Gamble,…

A recently launched professional development initiative in Arkansas, called Array, is designed to proactively identify early care and education (ECE) programs that could benefit from social-emotional-focused (SE-focused) professional development and support, and to offer assistance tailored to a program's particular needs. Because Array is…

Critical incident frameworks applied within schools are a means to support school staff to respond and guide planning to reduce critical incidents rates. This article explores the significance of the Therapeutic Crisis Intervention in Schools (TCI-S) critical incident framework to decrease the prevalence of behavioural critical incidents and to…

Aggressive and defiant behaviors in students are costly to schools, teachers, and students. In this paper, we summarize findings from meta-analyses, systematic reviews, and meta-reviews that examined school-based interventions for aggressive and defiant behaviors in students. Results of the review suggest that school-based interventions produce…

In this era of accountability, evidenced-based practice, and response to intervention, it behooves school social workers to identify and implement theory-informed and research-supported interventions to address school-level struggles that negatively impact school success for at-risk students. To that end, school social workers need to develop the…

This article focuses on an analysis of trends in the "Journal of Positive Behavorial Interventions" ("JPBI") since its inception. The primary emphasis is on the variables that contributed to the origin of the journal. Key researchers and other professionals felt that there was a need for a new field (with a new journal) in…

People with severe disabilities have a higher prevalence of many health conditions when compared with the general population. Examples include gastrointestinal conditions, chronic allergies, epilepsy, and sleep dysregulation, among many other health concerns. Of particular interest in the treatment of challenging behavior is the comorbidity of…

This chapter reviews recent research regarding behavior interventions for young children. We first consider the implications of allowing maladaptive behavior to remain untreated in young children. The reasons that people may select for inaction are illustrated through a case example of an individual who manifested behavior problems that were…

Teachers are responsible for providing an education to students of all ability levels. Recent data suggest that roughly 95% of students with a disability are receiving some form of education in their general education setting. Individuals with disabilities tend to engage in higher levels of disruptive behaviors (e.g., talking out in class,…

A meaningful curriculum is one that is individualized, inclusive of the individual's unique needs and interests, and focused on building independence in current and future environments. A meaningful curriculum addresses an individual's needs and prioritizes instructional programs based on what is, potentially, most important to their lives and not…

Students with an Intellectual Disability (ID) have complex learning and behavioral needs that can complicate educational programming and compete with their ability to fully participate in their education. This work aims to provide a conceptual understanding of the behavioral complexities involved in instructing students with intellectual…

Schools implement Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports (PBIS) as a way of meeting students' needs in classrooms. PBIS focuses on tiered instruction. Tiered instruction is a teaching strategy in which the educator implements incremental changes that increase supports based on students' needs--academic or behavioral. Yet, tiered instruction…