When a student exhibits challenging classroom behaviors that are resistant to traditional classroom management systems, his/her individualized education program (IEP) team conducts a functional behavior assessment (FBA). The FBA process is a series of assessments designed to identify the function of the student's behavior. This is done by…

When student behavior problems persist despite effective classroom management and vary in intensity depending on factors outside of teacher control, teachers are often left feeling discouraged and ineffective (Clunies-Ross, Little, & Kienhuis, 2008). Teachers may know how to handle behavior problems associated with classroom-based antecedents…

Students may benefit from evidence-based interventions to support their classroom learning (Carmago et al., 2016). Additionally, laws and policies, such as the Every Student Succeeds Act (2015) and the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (2006), mandate the implementation of evidence-based practices to improve student outcomes in schools.…

Students who misbehave represent a range of backgrounds, and behavior problems are likely to be present in both general and special education classrooms. To this end, thousands of schools across the country have adopted positive behavior interventions and supports (PBIS) as a way to prevent and respond to challenging behavior. PBIS is a federally…

Teaching a skill within the highly controlled conditions of one setting and promoting the transfer of that skill to a less-structured setting may seem like an unattainable goal. Yet this is the challenge presented by many individualized education program (IEP) IEP objectives that involve generalization of a skill acquired in a resource room to be…

Elopement occurs when an individual runs away from or leaves a supervised area. Elopement is a dangerous behavior that requires diligence from school personnel in order to effectively reduce its occurrence. Using a step-by-step process to identify the reasons goal-directed elopement occurs and then implementing an intervention to effectively teach…

New--and often veteran--teachers find managing significant inappropriate student behavior a formidable challenge. Although more severe inappropriate behaviors, such as aggression, often receive attention in the professional literature, survey research has shown that the high frequency of milder inappropriate behaviors (e.g., disruptions,…

Self-management is a set of procedures that students can be taught to apply to their own behaviors to change them. In self-management, students are taught to observe, assess, and modify their own behavior. These procedures include such things as self-identifying and observing a target behavior and setting a goal to change it. Self-management…

This article describes intensive behavior intervention that is used with students who have behavioural difficulties. Joseph H. Wehby and Lee Kern report on 35 years of research in this area and note two conclusions: (1) Students with significant behavioral difficulties, including those with emotional disturbance (ED), have among the poorest social…

In an earlier article (EJ1058920), Lee Kern and Joseph H. Wehby identified the reasons and process for using adaptive intensive behavioral intervention. Kern and Wehby use this article to present a fictional example of how the intervention is applied. Isaac, a 12 year old, 7th grade student at Highland Middle School, had a history of behavior…

Check in/check out (CICO) is a secondary-tier intervention implemented within the framework of schoolwide positive behavior interventions and supports (SWPBIS) that uses school-based contingencies to encourage positive behavior. CICO is a five-step cycle which uses daily progress report cards (DPR) to monitor progress toward schoolwide or…

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is characterized by a blow to the head or other penetrating head injury resulting in impairment of the brain's functioning. Despite the high incidence of TBI in adolescents, many educators still consider TBI to be a low-incidence disability. In addition, school personnel often report receiving little to no pre-service…

This article outlines a three-step process to help teachers determine whether or not the function of a student's stereotypical behavior is sensory-based and if so, how to select and monitor an appropriate sensory intervention to promote instructional engagement. In particular, characteristics of students who are seeking to gain sensory input in…

Over the past several decades, behavioral interventions have produced positive and significant outcomes for children with a wide range of challenging behaviors. Because parents probably have the most information regarding the extent and history of their child's difficulties and the most knowledge of their child's home environment, it is essential…

Children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) typically display great difficulties in social-communication and interaction skills. Their difficulties with communication skills can impede their social interactions with both peers and adults. Thus, an important goal of interventions for children with ASD is to better ensure their social…