TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• Rationale for Developing Positive Behavioral Interventions
• Overview of Functional Behavioral Assessment
• Addressing Student Problem Behavior is a Team Effort
• A Method for Developing, Implementing and Monitoring a Positive Behavioral Intervention Plan

7. Develop and Implement Behavioral Intervention Plan

• Elements of a Behavioral Intervention Plan
• Strategies to Address Different Functions of a Student's Behavior
• Skill Deficits and Performance Deficits
• Selecting and Implementing Interventions
• Student Supports as Part of the Behavioral Intervention Plan
• Reinforcement of Appropriate Student Behavior
• Special Considerations

8. Monitor Faithfulness of the Implementation of the Plan
9. Evaluate Effectiveness of the Behavioral Intervention Plan
10. Modify the Behavioral Intervention Plan

• Obstacles to Effective Functional Behavioral Assessment and Behavioral Intervention Plans and Supports
• Conclusion
• Additional Information on Functional Behavioral Assessment and Positive Behavioral Intervention Plans
• Appendix A:
  Functional Assessment/Behavioral Intervention Checklist
• Appendix B:
  Positive Behavioral Intervention Plan Planning Form
• Appendix C:
  Forced-Choice Reinforcement Menu
• Appendix D:
  Sample Crisis/Emergency Plan
• Other Available Resources

Student Supports as Part of the Behavioral Intervention Plan

A commonly overlooked provision in Federal legislation that relates to behavioral intervention plans is the concept of supports. In some cases, an intervention plan is incomplete unless additional supports are provided to help students use appropriate behavior. Though supports and the interventions that have been discussed work in tandem with one another, supports can be thought of differently than interventions. Supports generally are designed to address factors beyond the immediate context in which the inappropriate behavior occurs. The student, for example, may benefit from work with school personnel, such as counselors, school psychologists, or school social workers to help him or her address academic or personal issues that may contribute to the problem behaviors. Other people who may provide sources of support include:

• Peers, who may provide academic or behavioral support through tutoring or conflict-resolution activities, thereby fulfilling the student’s need for attention in appropriate ways;
• Families, who may provide support through, for example, setting up a homework center in the home and developing a homework schedule, or by positively reinforcing their child for appropriate behavior in school;
• Teachers and paraprofessionals, who may provide both academic supports and curricular modifications to address and decrease a student’s desire to avoid academically challenging situations;
• Language specialists, who are able to increase a child’s expressive and receptive language skills, thereby providing the child with alternative ways to respond to stressful situations;
• Other school staff, including custodians, cafeteria workers, or volunteers with whom students sometimes feel more comfortable;
• Community agency service providers, including mental health, juvenile justice, Big Brother or Sister organizations, or other agency personnel who are involved in providing broad-based and long-term student and family intervention and support; and/or
• Other community organizations, such as churches, religious groups, cultural/ethnic organizations, YMCA or YWCA, recreation centers, and others, which can be quite influential and therapeutic.

It is important to realize that in some instances, for biological or other reasons, a student may not be able to control his or her behavior without supports. Although it is never the place of the IEP team to make medical diagnoses, it is appropriate for the team to make referrals and to obtain medical evaluations so that all support options can be considered.