In considering classroom management strategies, understanding the environmental factors related to available reinforcement and their effect on student behavior is crucial. When teachers or school staff have access to information related to student behavior function, it can be used to design and implement more effective behavioral intervention…

Many teachers and parents of young children with disabilities, particularly autism spectrum disorder (ASD), are familiar with young children who engage in repetitive and restrictive behaviors such as flapping, spinning, and rocking. This type of restrictive and repetitive behavior, or stereotypy, can be common, over time it can become problematic…

An often overlooked but simple antecedent modification is student choice. Student choice can be incorporated with a variety of individuals and across a multitude of activities (Texas Statewide Leadership for Autism, 2013). Choice can be as simple as letting a student choose the assignment they want to complete first (Cosden et al., 1995; Kern…

According to federal mandates, if a student's behavior impedes their learning or the learning of others, the individualized education program team is required to address this with a functional behavioral assessment (FBA). The intent of the FBA is to determine the function, or reason, of the impeding behavior for the development of a behavioral…

Bullying often persists in spite of formal programs targeting this problem. Supportive school and classroom communities enlist brave peers in consoling, encouraging, and befriending victims, which removes the status that fuels bullies. For the past 18 years, this author has worked in multiple children's agencies and schools, studying bullying…

Challenging behavior is often a source of frustration for parents. Challenging behavior is defined as any behavior that interferes with children's learning and development, is harmful to children and to others, and puts a child at risk for later social problems or school failure (Bailey & Wolery, 1992; Kaiser & Rasminsky, 2003). Children's…

Functional behavior assessment (FBA), although mandated by federal law in situations involving students with emotional and behavioral disorders, is not well defined in the literature in terms of how it should best be undertaken in widespread practice in schools. Functional behavior assessment can be defined as a process for determining the reason…

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…

This manual takes school practitioners step by step through conducting functional behavioral assessments and using them to plan effective interventions. The authors present a cogent rationale for the use of functional behavioral assessment (FBA), clearly explaining its advantages over traditional approaches to dealing with problem behavior. Basic…

This book helps school practitioners go beyond putting a label on student behavior problems--it shows how to use assessment to partner with teachers and students to develop effective solutions. The authors provide a framework for determining the types of behavioral data that are needed in a given situation, selecting appropriate measures, and…

The unique features of physical activity and play highlight it as a constructive context for attaining behavioral goals such as self-control and social skills. Strenuous activity, competition, adherence to rules, team play, frustration and joy are all characteristics inherent in sport that make it a perfect "school for life". This paper presents a…

This guide discusses using Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA) to find out why a student is behaving inappropriately and to enable the provision of appropriate positive behavior intervention. It stresses that a FBA goes beyond looking at antecedent behavior and consequence to review everything in the entire environment of the student.…

One need not look hard to find evidence of concern related to the nature of student behavior in our schools. School violence, aggression, bullying, and harassment (e.g., racial or sexual) are often cited as challenging behaviors confronting educators and community leaders. Unfortunately, most schools address these concerns with aversive…