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TABLE OF CONTENTS

  1. Develop and Implement Behavioral Intervention Plan
  1. Monitor Faithfulness of the Implementation of the Plan
  2. Evaluate Effectiveness of the Behavioral Intervention Plan
  3. Modify the Behavioral Intervention Plan
                

A METHOD FOR DEVELOPING, IMPLEMENTING AND
MONITORING A POSITIVE BEHAVIORAL
INTERVENTION PLAN

     7. Develop and Implement Behavioral Intervention Plan

After collecting and analyzing enough information to identify the likely function of the student's behavior, the IEP team must develop (or revise) the student's positive behavioral intervention plan. This process should be integrated, as appropriate, throughout the process of developing, reviewing, and, if necessary, revising a student's IEP. The behavioral intervention plan will include, when appropriate: (1) strategies, including positive behavioral interventions, strategies, and supports; (2) program modifications; and (3) supplementary aids and services that may be required to address the problem behavior.

As mentioned previously, there are various reasons why students engage in inappropriate, problem behavior (see sidebar: Functions of Problem Behavior). To fully understand the motivation behind student problem behavior, it is useful to consider that problem behavior may be linked to skill deficits (e.g., Charles cannot do double-digit addition), performance deficits (e.g., Calvin has the ability, but does not comply with the cafeteria rules), or both (e.g., Mary cannot read maps and is unsure how to ask for help during cooperative activities, though she is able to do so during independent seatwork). Our discussion of behavioral intervention plans and supports is based on these two overlapping perspectives on problem behavior in school. Intervention plans and strategies emphasizing skills students need in order to behave in a more appropriate manner, or plans providing motivation to conform to required standards, will be more effective than plans that simply serve to control behavior. Interventions based upon control often fail to generalize (i.e., continue to be used for long periods of time, in many settings, and in a variety of situations)-and many times they serve only to suppress behavior-resulting in a child seeking to meet unaddressed needs in alternative, usually equally inappropriate ways. Proactive, positive intervention plans that teach new ways of behaving, on the other hand, will address both the source of the problem, by serving the same function, and the problem itself.

Functions of Problem Behavior

If we wish to gain insight into the functions of a student's behavior, we need only to examine the functions of our own behavior. Efforts to resolve conflict, express anxiety, gain access to a social group, maintain friendly relationships, avoid embarrassment, and please others are all completely normal behaviors. However, we all might remember situations where we or someone else sought these outcomes through inappropriate means. At the core of functional behavioral assessment is the change of focus from the student's behaviors to the functions the student is trying to meet with those behaviors. Here are some examples of functions as they fall into four general categories:

  • The function is to get:
    • social reinforcement (e.g., a response from an adult for calling out during a social studies lecture), or
    • tangible reinforcement (e.g., a classmate's workbook or access to a preferred activity).
  • The function is to escape or avoid:
    • an aversive task (e.g., a difficult, boring, or lengthy assignment), or
    • situation (e.g., interaction with adults or certain other peers).
  • The function is both (e.g., get the attention of classmates and escape from a boring lesson).
  • The function is to communicate something (e.g., that she does not understand the lesson or that he does not like having to answer questions in front of his peers).

In addition, the student may find that engaging in a behavior to accomplish one purpose might lead to the realization of a completely different function. For example, a student who fights to try to escape teasing could discover that fighting itself can be reinforcing (e.g., the physical excitement associated with fighting). These things should be considered when developing a behavioral intervention plan.