Dr. Tim Lewis provides his reflections on his career working as a researcher-teacher to address the issues of children with challenges. Dr. Lewis also provides his advice for those entering the field.

Antecedent-Behavior-Consequence (A-B-C) recordings are often used in school settings as part of a functional assessment. A number of limitations are associated with A-B-C recordings, and a novel approach for describing data from A-B-C recordings is to compute conditional probabilities that can be graphed in the general operant contingency space to…

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…

Discusses requirements specified in the 1997 amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act that pertain to functional behavioral assessment, as well as positive behavioral intervention plans and supports as they relate to the responsibilities of the Individualized Education Program (IEP) team and to the IEP itself. (CR)

Functional behavioral assessment (FBA) has been suggested for facilitating the development and effectiveness of behavior intervention plans. In this study, the researchers examined whether behavior intervention plans based on FBA information (function-based) were more effective than behavior intervention plans not based on FBA information…

This monograph is a guide to positive behavioral intervention and support (PBIS) and functional behavioral assessment (FBA) in the special education of students with behavior disorders as emphasized in the 1997 amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA 97). An introduction explains that positive behavioral support represents the…

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 guide is intended to help California educators comply with requirements of the 1990 Hughes Act (which ensured the right of the state's special education students to a behavioral intervention plan) and with requirements of the reauthorized Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (1997) concerning functional behavioral assessment and…

Addresses functional behavioral assessment (FA) concerns within the context of speculation about the possible functions served by mandating the use of FA in 1997 amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Suggests that the nature of public policy may deserve as much attention as research findings. (Author/CR)

This article addresses the substantial changes that Congress made in the 1997 amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act concerning discipline of students with disabilities. It analyzes both the procedural and substantive requirements related to suspending students, expelling students, and conducting functional behavioral…

This paper presents a synthesis of the research on positive behavioral support (PBS) for students with challenging behaviors. PBS is a long-term approach to reducing the inappropriate behavior, teaching a more appropriate behavior, and providing the contextual supports necessary for successful outcomes. It notes that the 1997 amendments to the…

This monograph discusses development and implementation of positive behavioral intervention plans with students who have emotional and/or behavioral disorders. It focuses on four steps of a 10-step methodology using functional behavioral assessment and intervention. Emphasis is on the use of positive behavioral intervention plans and supports as…

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 describes the ramifications of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act's positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBS) requirements in the context of disciplinary situations, including the interplay of PBS issues with functional behavioral assessment and behavioral intervention plans. The roles of the general educator…

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,…