Students with emotional and behavioral disorders (E/BD) present unique challenges to the families and educators supporting them. Even though families and educators report that behavioral issues can be identified by age 3 (Walker, Ramsey, & Gresham, 2004), the commonly used wait-and-see approach to intervening results in children with E/BD not…

We review the concept of response to intervention (RtI) as it is being applied to emotional and behavioral disorders (EDB) in the early part of the 21st century, examining how it differs from and incorporates features of other approaches to addressing those problems, including pre-referral interventions, applied behavior analysis, functional…

Identifying factors perceived to either hinder or support the implementation of individualized positive behavior interventions and supports (IPBIS) is essential for promoting sustainable practice. This survey study examined the extent to which school-based professionals (n = 293) experienced barriers and enablers and examined their perceived level…

For courses in Behavior Analysis and Intervention, and Emotional or Behavior Disorders. This newly written, comprehensive and current textbook will prepare future educators to successfully instruct students with emotional and behavior disorders in their classrooms. Readers will be given a sound introduction on the subject, from the foundations of…

It is now axiomatic that challenging behaviors are defined more profitably by their functions (their motivations) than by their topographies (what they look like). The notion that challenging behaviors can be defined on the basis of their function has led in the past 30 years to a dramatically reconfigured approach to assessment and intervention.…

The present investigation compared the effects of reinforcing compliance with either positive or negative reinforcement for a participant who displayed escape-maintained problem behavior. The results indicated that positive reinforcement in the form of a highly preferred edible or leisure item produced higher levels of compliance and lower levels…

School psychologists are often in the position of seeing a situation, a system, or a common strategy for working with students that might be approached from a different perspective. Knowing this themselves is rarely good enough, though; they work in teams and as consultants to teachers and parents who generally work most closely with the students.…

Recent legislation has increased the emphasis on including students with disabilities in the general education classroom. However, students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) exhibit a wide range of behaviors that make inclusion difficult. To date, there has been little research to identify best practices in reducing problem behavior and…

School personnel are using Schoolwide Positive Behavior Supports in public schools throughout the United States. A number of studies have evaluated the universal level, or Tier 1, of Schoolwide Positive Behavior Supports. In this study, the authors describe and analyze the interventions offered as options for use for Tier 2 in middle schools…

Students' leaving a designated area without permission or supervision is referred to as "elopement," and such behavior clearly presents a unique set of challenges for educational professionals. Elopement is seen in children and youth with a variety of developmental disabilities, including those with intellectual disabilities or autism, as well as…

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) mandates the implementation of a behavior intervention plan based on a functional behavioral assessment when a student's behavior necessitates disciplinary actions. However, IDEA does not provide any clear guidelines as to what the plans should contain nor how they can address behaviors that…

Check-in, check-out (CICO) is a secondary-tier intervention with proven utility for reducing problem behaviors and increasing responsiveness to primary-tier expectations of positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS). CICO has been investigated at the elementary and middle school levels in traditional school settings with students both…

The current study presents a method for assessing the relative effects of attention and escape on noncompliance in preschoolers. Attention and escape conditions were alternated in a multielement design, and a contingency reversal procedure, in which one test condition served as a control for the other, was used to demonstrate control. For all 3…

Tic disorders have traditionally been conceptualized as neurobiological conditions and consequently within the purview of neurologists. In the last few decades, however, a number of psychosocial treatments have been developed and tested. To date, a behavioral treatment called Habit Reversal Training (HRT) has garnered the most empirical support as…

Analogue functional analyses are widely used to identify the operant function of problem behavior in individuals with developmental disabilities. Because problem behavior often occurs across multiple settings (e.g., homes, schools, outpatient clinics), it is important to determine whether the results of functional analyses vary across settings.…