Friday, February 23, 2018

The Functional Behavior Assessment Steps Professionals Take To Better Assist Struggling Students

By Michelle Patterson


If you have a child who can't seem to adjust to the classroom, has trouble concentrating and sitting still, and becomes disruptive when bored, you have probably already talked to the teacher. You may have had meetings with the school administrators to discuss your child's issues. At some point, when the usual remedies have been tried and proven unsuccessful, professionals may recommend taking functional behavior assessment steps.

To be an effective partner in the process, you have to understand exactly what functional behavior assessment, or FBA, involves. Most educators genuinely care about the youngsters they teach. When children struggle, they want to help. Inappropriate behaviors don't just happen. There are reasons for them. Finding those reasons and changing them into positive energy is the goal.

An FBA may involve a whole team of professionals. A school psychologist often heads up the team. If so, she will meet with others who interact with your child to get their thoughts and ideas. She will speak directly with your youngster and may conduct some behavioral testing. The other members of the team can include the classroom teacher, special education teachers, administrators, the child, and you, as the parent.

The behaviors have to be defined before they can be assessed. The professionals need specific information instead of vague language like disruptive and unacceptable. They must have detailed descriptions of actual events that have occurred whether inside or outside of class. The more details they can get, the more effective their final plan will be.

Once the information has been compiled, it can be analyzed. The specialists look at when the conduct occurs, and if there are commonalities in what goes on immediately before. They want to know how often the behaviors are occurring and who is there when they happen. On the other side, these specialists need to understand if there are certain times, places, and people where the inappropriate behaviors are consistently absent.

Once the data has been analyzed, the professionals try to come up with a hypothesis for the reasons behind the inappropriate behaviors. This is not an easy process. Many times it is a process of elimination. Specialists have to assess the possibilities that the child is evading or trying to escape an uncomfortable situation. They know behavior is the child's way of accomplishing a goal.

Finally, the specialists have to come up with an intervention plan to teach positive behavior and reward it. Each child is unique, so every plan must be tailored to the specific issues surrounding the individual child. This can involve changing teaching methods, routines, physical environment, or consequences for negative actions. Before the plan is put in place, trusted professionals sit down with the child to explain their expectations and assess his motivation to change.

Being a kid is harder for some than others. Sitting still, listening instead of talking, and being judged by test papers can be too much for certain types of kids. Getting to the root of the reasoning behind inappropriate responses to classroom routine can set a special child on the road to academic success.




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