This article reviews and analyzes the functional behavioral assessment (FBA) requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) of 1997 and its regulations. It explores school district obligations under the law, including the need for training faculty to conduct FBAs, adhere to the procedures of IDEA, and provide quality…

In this paper, the author argues for a more humanistic approach to children and young people who face difficulties in their personal and social lives. Increasingly, young people in the developed world who are troubled or troublesome in school or in their neighbourhoods are categorised and labelled in terms of psychiatric disorder. The number of…

Piaget noted that "punishment renders the autonomy of conscience impossible". Yet in the Caribbean, most common folk believe that beating is an indispensable part of discipline. To understand the role that discipline or the connotations of that word play in the society, culture, economy and politics of Saint Lucia, it is indispensable to…

We compared the effects of three treatment approaches on preschool-age children with autism spectrum disorders. Twenty-nine children received intensive behavior analytic intervention (IBT; 1:1 adult:child ratio, 25-40 h per week). A comparison group (n=16) received intensive ''eclectic'' intervention (a combination of methods, 1:1 or 1:2 ratio, 30…

This study explored the results of aligning functional behavioral assessment (FBA) information with positive behavior support plans (PBS plans) designed with consideration for teacher acceptability. The independent variable had the three major components of a package, including assessment and planning (FBA), training (teachers, students, and…

The Academic and Behavioral Competencies (ABC) Program, a schoolwide program to reduce classroom disruption and encourage rule following, academic task completion, and homework completion, is described. The program was initially developed and implemented in an elementary school with a high-risk population. Data from teachers, parents, and children…

When a child with a disability behaves in a manner which threatens the safety of other children and staff in the school, school authorities are faced with a dilemma. The balance between the competing interests of individuals and the school community is never more clearly seen than in such a situation. The child has a right to participate equally…

It is important to realize that students who are diagnosed with E/BD often have or should have dual diagnoses. Regular classroom teachers may perceive a sense of ineffectiveness and consequently develop resistance in working with students with E/BD. Mainstreaming students with E/BD allows them to interact and learn more effective interaction…

This text is designed, through the use of a developmental framework, to support effective work with students with behavior disorders and students who have behavior disorders and additional disabilities. Presentation of developmental theory, case studies and illustrations explain many puzzling aspects of problem behavior and outline appropriate…

This book, prepared in response to a request from the United States Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs, reviews the published literature on positive behavior interventions and uses this database to provide four main content areas for research. Positive behavior support (PBS) is defined as an approach for dealing with…

The authors examine positive behavioral support (PBS) as a behavior management intervention that facilitates the development of appropriate and positive behaviors in culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) children who are at risk for failure in urban schools. One of the major problems facing urban schools today is the abuse and misuse of…

This investigation compared the acceptability of three methods for assessing reading (i.e., norm-referenced assessment, curriculum-based assessment, brief experimental analysis), and explored how a new assessment methodology can gain acceptance as a useful and appropriate approach. Given that brief experimental analysis is a relatively new…

Upon leaving school, young people are expected to play an active part as citizens in a democratic society. Are schools providing them with the tools to do this? Citizenship is taught in schools, but to what extent is it practised? Many safety issues concerning student behaviour and student conflict confront school authorities. In what ways are…

Recognized as one of the top state-of-the-art treatments for autism in the United States, the innovative Pivotal Response Treatment uses natural learning opportunities to target and modify key behaviors in children with autism, leading to widespread positive effects on communication, behavior, and social skills. The product of 20 years of…

The Kentucky Early Childhood Transition Project (KECTP) was funded in 1992 by the Kentucky Department of Education and later expanded with support from the Kentucky Early Intervention System, to provide training and technical assistance to local communities in the state of Kentucky on effective transitions. KECTP was an outgrowth of Project STEPS,…