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The Oklahoma School Psychological Association |
a NASP affiliate |
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TIPS AND RESOURCES TO SHARE Since no one else has submitted any tips or resources, I will offer my 2 cents worth on Functional Behavior Assessments (FBA) and Behavior Intervention Plans (BIP). As a follow-up to my "tip" regarding the use of the "Goals of Misbehavior Inventory" as part of a FBA, I have been asked to provide the interventions that I mentioned. I think it is more important, however, to emphasize the importance of the FBA and to address the context in which interventions are developed and included in a BIP. Determining the functions or reasons for a problem behavior usually requires more than just a student inventory, of course, and should be based on a FBA which utilizes individualized assessment components appropriate to the student and the situation. The FBA maybe as simple as interviewing teachers and parents or much more complex (involving formal observations in various settings). I have adapted a Functional Behavior Assessment Report format from a form I downloaded from Jeff Miller's web site (www.home.cc.dug.edu/~millerjeff/fbabip.htm) A BIP form is also available on his site. My FBA format includes the following headings: 1) Sources of Information; 2) Description of Behavior; 3) Setting(s) in Which Behavior Occurs; 4) Frequency, Intensity, and Duration; 5) Previous Interventions and their Impact; 6) Possible Factors Influencing Behavior (the following are listed underneath: Affective/Emotional Factors, Cognitive Distortion, Environmental triggers and payoffs, Modeling, Family Issues, Health/Medical Factors, Curriculum/Instructional Factors, Disability Characteristics, Communication Function of the Behavior); 7) Summary. Once the function/reason for a problem behavior is determined, a functional assessment-based behavior intervention plan can be developed. According to our Fall Conference speaker, Diane Browning Wright, M.S., this type of plan involves a paradigm shift from the traditional application of rewards and consequences to one of modifying the environment and teaching replacement behaviors. Her conference handout identifies six components of a good BIP: 1) Identifying environmental factors prompting or supporting the behavior; 2) Identifying the function of the behavior; 3) Modifying the context/changing the environment; 4) Teaching new behaviors; 5) Shaping, Modeling, Cueing; 6) Reinforcing. Ms. Wright stated in her presentation that proactive strategies should comprise 75% of a plan and reactive strategies only 25%. Based on Diane Wright's sample BIP, I have developed a format which includes the following headings: 1) Problem Behaviors; 2) Function(s) of the Behaviors; 3) Behavior Goals (positive replacement behaviors); 4) Teaching Strategies; 5) Environmental Structure and Supports; 6) Reinforcement Procedures; 7) Reactive Strategies to employ if problem behavior occurs; 8) Emergency Procedures (if applicable); 9) Miscellaneous Procedures (if applicable). I find this format extremely useful in helping to focus attention on the proactive strategies of teaching and providing environmental support for the desired behaviors rather than just reacting. Another useful resource which can be found on the Internet is: "An IEP Team's Introduction to Functional Behavior Assessment and Behavior Intervention Plans (2nd Ed). This document can be accessed at http://www.air-dc.org/cecp/resources/problembehavior/main/htm or on Sandy Steingart's web site http://www.bcpl.net/~sandyste/schoolpsych.html. Once the FBA is completed, the most important aspect of the whole process becomes one of developing and implementing effective positive interventions. These would include teaching students such things as stress reduction techniques, anger control strategies, using "I statements" to express needs and desires, and refraining distorted perceptions. They would also include teaching teachers and other staff how to interact appropriately with the student, how to recognize when a problem is starting to build and how to intervene early, brainstorming with teachers on ways in which instruction or other environmental conditions might be modified, etc. For help with this aspect of BIP development and implementation, we have numerous resources to rely on, including the many materials from NASP, the materials offered through Sopris West Publications (i.e. Randy Sprick & Bill Jensen's books), and our own on-going training through workshops and conferences. Please, submit your thoughts and suggestions on conducting FBA's and writing BIP's to me for inclusion in the next OSPA Today.
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