Precursor behaviors are innocuous behaviors that reliably precede the occurrence of problem behavior. Intervention efforts applied to precursors might prevent the occurrence of severe problem behavior. We examined the relationship between precursor behavior and problem behavior in three individuals with developmental disabilities. First, a…

Research suggests that including leisure items in the attention condition of a functional analysis may produce engagement that masks sensitivity to attention. In this study, 4 individuals. initial functional analyses indicated that behavior was maintained by nonsocial variables (n = 3) or by attention (n = 1). A preference assessment was used to…

This fact sheet provides answers to frequently asked questions about psychological evaluations for infants, children and adults who are deaf-blind, we hope to clarify the evaluation process and the active roles that may be taken by everyone who is involved--family members, professionals, educators, and the student. Finally, by discussing quality…

Objectives: Services to children and adolescents with a severe emotional disturbance (SED) have long been inadequate. The wraparound approach has emerged as a promising practice that could address the needs of children with SED and their families through a strength-based, individualized, family-focused team process that emphasizes flexible service…

Matthew Stagner and Jiffy Lansing chart developments in the field of child maltreatment and propose a new framework for preventing child abuse and neglect. They begin by describing the concept of investment-prevention as it has been applied recently in fields such as health care and welfare. They then explain how the new framework applies to…

Educators are concerned about the loss of instructional time resulting from student suspension. The right to obtain a free appropriate public education must be balanced with the myriad of discipline and school safety issues. The loss of instructional time due to disciplinary sanctions negatively impacts student achievement, possibly resulting in…

To heal the hurt child, one begins not as a clinician but as a person trying to witness how the child experiences trauma. This requires more than just talking since the child's terrifying memories are stored in the brain's senses and visual imagery, not in rational thoughts and words. The goal is to change these frightening sensory experiences…

Functional analytic psychotherapy (FAP) is defined as behavior-analytically conceptualized talk therapy. In contrast to the technique-oriented educational format of cognitive behavior therapy and the use of structural mediational models, FAP depends on the functional analysis of the moment-to-moment stream of interactions between client and…

Teenagers' running from foster placement is a significant problem in the field of child protection. This article describes a functional, behavior analytic approach to reducing running away through assessing the motivations for running, involving the youth in the assessment process, and implementing interventions to enhance the reinforcing value of…

This paper reviews behavioral and pharmacological approaches to the treatment of self-injurious behavior in autism. Both behavioral and pharmacological approaches offer a multitude of treatment options which we hope to elucidate. In providing this review, the goal is to provide an awareness of the treatment options available and to prompt further…

This article discusses the evidence for intervention validity of Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA) in designing support for students with intensive behavioral needs. Since its inclusion into the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act nearly a decade ago, FBA has been the subject of significant research investigating its use and…

Although the federal government recently mandated the use of functional behavior assessment (FBA) and positive behavioral interventions for students, this legislation has not defined the key features of FBA and has provided little guidance for how such procedures should be completed in a public school setting. As a result, recent evidence suggests…

A brief functional analysis was conducted in an analogue setting to identify the maintaining variables for upright walking in a woman with developmental disabilities supported in an outpatient setting. All conditions required modification, since treatment outcomes were intended to increase, rather than decrease, the target behavior. The…

The present study evaluates the effectiveness of two time-out (TO) procedures in reducing escape-maintained noncompliance of 4 children. Noncompliant behavioral function was established via a functional assessment (FA), including indirect and direct descriptive procedures and brief confirmatory experimental analyses. Following FA, parents were…

This book is a step-by-step, concise, and easy-to-read reference for school teams, providers, students, and parents to understand, design, and evaluate positive behavior support (PBS) plans for students with developmental disabilities. It provides a clear conceptual framework on PBS to think critically about how to approach a student's problem…