A functional behavior assessment is an evidence-based process that identifies the function of challenging behaviors in order for educators to develop behavior intervention plans for students with disabilities. All behaviors are under stimulus control and research indicates that behaviors typically serve four functions: tangible, escape, attention,…

Positive behavioral interventions and supports and evidence-based behavioral interventions have become increasingly important for rural educators. This program description shares how a behavior analyst serving a growing U.S. rural district with limited resources implemented an eNewsletter to support educator professional development. Implications…

Over the past several decades, we have developed quality behavioral assessments and interventions for challenging behaviors among individuals with a variety of severe developmental and cognitive disorders. These assessments and interventions have been used to educate family members on how to understand and intervene with these behaviors at home…

Functional communication training (FCT; Carr & Durand, 1985) is a common function-based treatment in which an alternative form of communication is taught to reduce problem behavior. FCT has been shown to result in substantial reductions of a variety of topographically and functionally different types of problem behavior in children and adults…

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…

Functional communication training (FCT) is a strategy to address problem behavior for students with various disabilities that is supported by a broad evidence base. Despite this support, multiple factors continue to dissuade educators from utilizing FCT in their classrooms. This article outlines the process of developing and implementing FCT plans…

Challenging student behavior remains one of the biggest trials for classroom teachers. Understanding why a student performs a specific behavior is important in determining how to develop an intervention that targets the function of the behavior. This column focuses on how thinking functionally about behavior can help teachers understand why…

The only consistency with children, with and without disabilities, is that they are inconsistent. Much of a child's behavior is adult controlled by their reaction, methods used, and consistency in support and discipline. When adults change the way they respond to the child's behaviors, the child gradually will learn to modify their behavior.…

Paraprofessionals carry out behavior interventions for students with challenging behavior in inclusive classroom settings. Examination of paraprofessional involvement in behavior interventions informs how paraprofessionals may best support intervention implementation. The researchers used a withdrawal design to evaluate the effects of a…

Interventions based on functional analyses may result in better treatment outcomes than those using arbitrary reinforcers. However, functional analyses may be impractical in some situations, or an immediate intervention may be necessary while a functional analysis is being conducted. In these situations, delivering the social reinforcers most…

Leading research argues the distinct importance of earliest detection of childhood behavior problems and the value of discovering subsequent change patterns as children transition through the early education years. This study examined the relative contributions of earliest assessments of children's problem behaviors as compared to the changes in…

There is substantial empirical evidence that the Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA) process is an effective means to reduce student problem behavior and increase desirable behaviors (e.g., What Works Clearinghouse, 2016). The use of an FBA as the basis for a behavior intervention plan (BIP) has been a requirement for certain disciplinary…

Behavioral social work is the application of behavior analysis to the field of social work. There are behavioral social work interventions for individuals, groups, and communities. Nevertheless, behavioral social work is far from a widely adopted approach among social work practitioners. A reason for the underuse might be seen in the fact that…

Objective: This study tested the effectiveness of Parent Management Training, Oregon (PMTO) model on child social-emotional well-being. Methods: Using a randomized controlled design and three measures of social-emotional well-being, the study investigated effectiveness of PMTO with families of children in foster care with serious emotional…

The demand for behavioral services is currently outpacing the availability of trained and certified behavior analysts. This need might be felt most acutely in rural communities, where educational funds often do not allow for hiring full-time behavioral staff. This article outlines a model for behavioral consultation that has been successful in…