| IDEA focuses on prevention and proactively addressing behavioral concerns of
students with disabilities that may impede their learning.
Definition:
Functional behavioral assessment is the process of determining why a student
engages in challenging behavior and how the student's behavior relates to the
environment. Functional assessments describe the relationship between a
skill or performance problem and variables that contribute to its
occurrence. FBA's can provide the CSE with information to develop a
hypothesis as to:
* why the student engages in the behavior;
* when the student is most likely to demonstrate the behavior; and
* situations in which the behavior is least likely to occur.
Components of a Functional Behavioral Assessment:
* Identification of the problem behavior
* Definition of the behavior in concrete terms
* Identification of the contextual factors that contribute to the behavior
* Formulation of a hypothesis regarding the general conditions under which a
behavior occurs and probable consequences that serve to maintain it.
Behavior Intervention Plans:
Functional behavioral assessements provide specific information to the CSE
concerning the design and implementation of effective strategies to address a
student's behaviors. The identification of positive behavioral supports
should be based on the functional behavioral assessment and address
short-term prevention, the teaching of alternative skills, responses
to problem behaviors and long-term prevention.
| |
