Background: The Welfare Reform Act (2012) has been criticised for harming claimants, particularly through functional assessments. Although many people with intellectual disabilities in the UK receive welfare benefits, their experiences of undergoing functional assessments are under-researched. Method: Eight participants with intellectual…

Between 10% and 15% of people with a learning disability have behaviour that challenges others, and half of these people live within the family home (Emerson et al., "Research in Developmental Disabilities," 2001; 22, 77). Current best practice in managing challenging behaviour combines person-centred planning, functional analysis, and…

Systematic literature reviews have supported the effectiveness of behavioral Tier 2 interventions, with research being particularly plentiful in relation to Check-In/Check-Out (CICO) and social skills training (SST). Though findings indicate either approach is effective in isolation, a recent study suggested these approaches might be particularly…

We used an AB design with a control condition to examine the effects of an academic strategy on a student with a learning disability during a 5th grade math class. During baseline the student had high rates of disruptive behavior, low percentages of intervals of on-task behavior, and low percentages of correct responses. An antecedent-based…

Children and young people with learning disabilities who present sexually harmful behaviour are marginalised and do not always participate in community activities. This case study describes a multi-component intervention that successfully reduced the sexually harmful behaviour of a 16-year-old boy with a mild learning disability. The intervention…

A comprehensive function-based intervention was developed to address the chronic, high levels of off-task behavior by a 15-year-old ninth grade Caucasian male with learning disabilities and ADHD. A descriptive FBA identified that the student's off-task behavior was reinforced by peer attention and task avoidance. Intervention involved the…

Attributions of laziness, reflected in teacher comments such as "Just try harder and you will shine", may mask specific cognitive, learning, attentional or emotional problems that could explain low motivation in some children. This paper reports findings from an investigation of 20 children, aged 7 to 10 years, who were regarded as lazy…

This article presents three case studies of elementary students with learning disabilities whose behavior interfered with the quantity and quality of their classroom instruction. In each case, interventions involved teaching and reinforcing specific replacement behaviors that were identified through functional behavioral assessment. (Contains…

A study explored the use of functional behavioral assessment (FBA) to develop an intervention plan for a third-grader with learning disabilities who exhibited high rates of problem behaviors during reading instruction. Results provide preliminary evidence to support the use of FBA to influence instructional planning. (Contains references.)…

Carers' behaviour is thought to contribute to the development and maintenance of challenging behaviour in people with learning disabilities (Emerson et al. 1995; Hastings & Remington 1994). The present study sought to investigate the effectiveness of a behavioural intervention in the management of such problem behaviours by means of a long-term…

It is argued that challenging behavior can be better understood if a correlational analysis (looking for correlations between behavior occurrence and other variables) is used in addition to functional analysis. A case example is provided of a man whose aggressive outbursts were negatively correlated with trips out of his unit. (Contains…

This paper examines two illustrations of teacher-led function-based interventions to explore the extent to which teachers are able to design and implement function-based interventions with limited support from university personnel. Results of these A-B-A-B intervention designs suggest a functional relation between the introduction of the…

This study examined the effects of an assessment-based intervention plan on the appropriate classroom behavior of a socially withdrawn, Hispanic, learning disabled, third grade student. The study focused on (1) the effects of peer mediation as part of a behavioral intervention package of empirically validated components, (2) the effects of…

A strategic instruction model introduced into adult basic education classrooms yields insight into the feasibility of using direct and explicit instruction with adults with learning disabilities or other cognitive barriers to learning. Ecobehavioral assessment was used to describe and compare instructor-learner interaction patterns during learning…