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)

The 10-year review of scales assessing functional impairment by Winters in this issue provides an informative, well-organized, and exhaustive review of the literature. The construct of functional impairment is differentiated from the severity of disorder. Scales in each category are reviewed in a uniform manner covering the following headings:…

A functional analysis was performed on a five-year-old nonverbal Autistic female with severe self-injurious behaviors. The self-injurious behaviors (hand-to-head, hand-to-jaw, hand-to-face) and loud vocalizations were targeted. Two types of sessions, enriched environment and instructor controlled preferred stimuli, were alternated throughout the…

This study examined the effects of increasing task difficulty when inadequately challenging tasks are assigned. Jason, a 10-year-old, typically developing Caucasian boy, attended a fourth-grade general education classroom at a public elementary school. During independent academic assignments in math and reading, Jason often talked with other…

Many schools experience playtime and lunchtime disputes in the playground. Some schools employ games or activities in an attempt to improve discipline. This article gives consideration to the extent that a playground ethos can be improved, and the number of less-severe disputes reduced, through the introduction of playground games.

Adolescents today face increasing challenges, while the support systems that should help them meet and surmount those challenges are rapidly disappearing. Yearly statistics on teen substance abuse, depression, suicide, and violent crime continue to escalate. Teens with low attachments to school are most vulnerable because they are less likely to…

In this article we present a cognitive-ecological model for understanding and preventing emotional and behavioral difficulties and propose directions for school-based intervention programs, particularly with aggressive children. In the cognitive-ecological framework, intervention efforts should target certain cognitive skills (e.g., skills that…

Public perception of adults with developmental disabilities realizing learning gains often remains illusive. This paper highlights key findings in achievement in basic skills for adults with mental retardation on a functional assessment in a life skills context for three program years (2003-2006). In this study the time period between the pre- and…

The use of seclusion timeout in school settings has again become controversial. For more than 35 years there have been recommendations that states and schools develop policies and procedures regarding the use of seclusion timeout in school settings. Recent lawsuits brought against school districts accusing them of violating student rights through…

We conducted functional analyses of disruptive behavior in a classroom setting for two students of typical intelligence with emotional/behavioral disorders (E/BD) using the classroom teacher to implement functional analysis conditions. The functional analyses suggested that both participants' disruptive behavior was maintained by escape from task…

Several methods for evaluating the influence of antecedents on challenging behaviour have been described in the literature, however the portability of these methods within the classroom has been questionable. The purpose of this paper will be to provide a practical understanding of evidence-based practices used in the assessment and management of…

We evaluated interventions designed to reduce multiply controlled problem behavior exhibited by a young boy with developmental disabilities, using a multiple baseline design. Each intervention was designed to address a specific social function of problem behavior. Results showed that the separate interventions were useful in reducing problem…

Effects of a training program utilized to teach how to conduct functional analysis process to teachers of children with developmental disabilities was examined. Furthermore, teachers' opinions regarding this process were investigated. A multiple probe design across subjects with probe conditions was used. Teacher training was in two phases. In the…

Three Turkish special education teachers conducted a functional analysis to identify variables that might initiate or maintain the problem behaviors of three children with developmental disabilities. The analysis procedures were conducted in natural classroom settings. In Phase 1, following initial training in functional analysis procedures, the…

Responding to disruptive or troubled pupils with emotional and behavioural difficulties (EBD) remains a highly topical issue. The challenges these children present relate to wider issues of continuing political concern: the perceived declining discipline in schools; school and social exclusion; the limits to inclusion for children with special…