The use of schoolwide multitiered systems of support to address challenging social and emotional behavior has been established in >20,000 schools across the United States and 19 other countries worldwide. The systems approach of schoolwide positive behavior support is guided by implementation science and embeds evidence-based behavioral interventions across a continuum based on documented student need. The extant research base to date, including randomized controlled trials, is robust with respect to universal or Tier I interventions and supports. Less is known about the impact on students who are at high risk for manifesting a disability, as well as those currently served under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The purpose of this article is to provide a rationale for, and overview of, schoolwide positive behavior support as a comprehensive framework to support children and youth with emotional/behavioral disorders and review the research to date across a continuum of supports. Research, professional development and implementation, and policy implications are discussed.
Trial-based functional analysis (TBFA) is a procedure for experimentally identifying the function of challenging behavior within applied settings. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a TBFA teacher-training package in the context of two Head Start centers implementing programwide positive behavior support (PWPBS). Four Head Start teachers were trained in TBFA procedures as part of ongoing technical assistance on individualized behavior supports. Following training and performance feedback, all teachers were able to implement TBFA with 100% fidelity during simulation probes. With minimal additional coaching, teachers implemented TBFA sessions with a child in their classroom with 100% fidelity. Implications for future research and for the use of TBFA in early childhood settings are presented.
Many students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) experience learning problems in reading at the middle and secondary school levels. Yet, the academic performance of students with EBD is often overlooked in the research literature. The purpose of this article was to provide a quantitative synthesis of the published, peer-reviewed, single-case research literature on reading interventions for students with or at-risk for EBD. An omnibus nonoverlap effect size of .59 with a 95% confidence interval (CI) = [.54, .64] was found consisting of 219 phase contrasts and 44 participants across the 11 studies included in the review. The findings are discussed in the context of improving the academic and behavioral outcomes of middle and secondary students with EBD.
One ongoing challenge within education is preventing and responding effectively to problem behavior. In fact, research over the past two decades has focused on developing comprehensive approaches to prevent problem behavior and intervene at the first signs of student risk to reduce the likelihood of chronic and more intense problem behavior patterns (Horner, Sugai, & Anderson, 2010). Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is a framework for organizing academic, behavioral, and social-emotional practices within a school, across classrooms and for individual students (Sugai, Horner, & Todd, 2000). PBIS is a prevention-oriented, problem-solving approach that emphasizes (a) a continuum of supports to meet the needs of all students, (b) regular monitoring of implementation and outcomes, and (c) the use of data to guide decisions (Office of Special Education Programs [OSEP] Technical Assistance Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports, 2015). PBIS is not a scripted program or single intervention. Instead, it is a framework for systemically supporting the implementation of evidence-based practices (EBPs), organized into tiers based on intensity, through ongoing data-based decision making (Horner et al., 2010). Application of PBIS at a school-wide level, referred to as School-Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (SWPBIS), presently is being implemented in thousands of schools across the United States and worldwide
Trial-based functional analysis (TBFA) allows for the systematic and experimental assessment of challenging behavior in applied settings. The purposes of this study were to evaluate a professional development package focused on training three Head Start teachers to conduct TBFAs with fidelity during ongoing classroom routines. To assess the accuracy of the TBFA results, the effects of a function-based intervention derived from the TBFA were compared with the effects of a non-function-based intervention. Data were collected on child challenging behavior and appropriate communication. An A-B-A-C-D design was utilized in which A represented baseline, and B and C consisted of either function-based or non-function-based interventions counterbalanced across participants, and D represented teacher implementation of the most effective intervention. Results showed that the function-based intervention produced greater decreases in challenging behavior and greater increases in appropriate communication than the non-function-based intervention for all three children.
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