Assesses the efficacy of using brief functional analysis procedures in preschool classrooms for students at-risk for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Results indicated that aggressive behavior was maintained by either positive or negative reinforcement contingencies. Results are discussed in relation to implementing functional…

Functional assessments were conducted for two Irish individuals with severe disabilities and aberrant behavior. A modified attention condition was introduced, which involved both parents interacting with a third person. Aberrant behavior occurred only in the modified attention condition. Successful treatment consisted of delivery of attention on a…

This article reviews the functional assessment paradigm in relation to students with serious emotional and behavioral disorders who have well developed cognitive abilities and linguistic skills. Based on the needs of these students, the Assessment Intervention Process, a system for facilitating the development of effective positive behavior plans…

Functional analyses were conducted with three boys (ages 4-7) with behavior disorders. The students were then successfully taught to self-manage incompatible appropriate behavior as well as appropriate requests for reinforcement (i.e., escape, attention, materials) identified as functionally related to the problematic target behaviors. (Contains…

This article discusses the successes of behavior analysts in affecting challenging behaviors in persons with developmental disabilities. Three future issues are then addressed: the development of challenging behaviors, the role of rule-governance in challenging behavior, and the behavior of persons who directly apply functional assessment and…

This article discusses issues that relate to building competence in educators' use of the functional behavioral assessment with students with emotional/behavioral disorders. Emerging content for FBA training is provided, including the essential skills in order to develop FBA competence, along with types of training activities that may foster…

This article advocates the use of functional behavioral assessments (FBAs) and behavior intervention plans (BIPs) in the development of Individualized Family Service Plans for children with or at risk of developing behavioral disorders. It describes the FBA and BIP processes and proposes a parent collaborative model for assessment and…

This article presents seven sequential steps to completing a functional behavioral analysis and a behavioral intervention plan for a student with emotional/behavior disorders: (1) description of the behavior; (2) refinement of the behavior; (3) data collection; (4) data analysis; (5) hypothesis generation; (6) behavior intervention plan…

This article discusses some of the major challenges school districts face in implementing functional behavioral assessments (FBAs). A school improvement initiative, "Success4," is presented to illustrate an Iowa approach. Arguments are presented for fundamental changes in order to enhance school district effectiveness and accountability…

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:…

This chapter examines problem and pathological gambling among college students and reports on prevalence rate, risk and protective factors, prevention and intervention, and recommendations for college student personnel and other university administrators.

This study was conducted to examine the effects of functional communication training when used by mothers to address the serious challenging behaviors of toddlers. Multiple baseline (across home routines) designs were used with two mother-child dyads. The data showed mothers used the procedures correctly and interventions produced reductions in…

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…

Fiona was a 14-year-old 7th-grader whose academic history, frequent behavior problems, and low levels of academic engagement put her at-risk for academic failure. This study's purpose was to examine the effectiveness of a systematic process for identifying the function of her problem behaviors and designing interventions that directly addressed…