Has Public Policy Exceeded Our Knowledge Base? A Review of the Functional Behavioral Assessment Literature

Abstract

The 1997 amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) mandate that schools evaluate, through the process of a functional behavioral assessment, students with disabilities who are exhibiting significant behavior problems that lead to suspension and expulsion. We examined the literature on functional behavioral assessment according to external validity and assessment with regard to its cost-benefits (i.e., its effectiveness relative to other approaches, time, and effort). The results indicate that although functional behavioral assessment has shown promise for youth and adults with low-incidence disabilities in clinical settings, evidence regarding its effectiveness when applied to youth with both low- and high-incidence disabilities in school settings is limited. There appears to be no research that has examined the cost-benefits of functional behavioral assessment. Future research needs are discussed.

Using Information Technology to Prepare Personnel to Implement Functional Behavioral Assessment and Positive Behavioral Support

“…Despite the effectiveness of such PBS strategies as FBA, information regarding how to apply research-validated practices in the classroom has not been made available to teachers and other professionals in a format that allows these strategies to become common practice (Anderson, Albin, Mesaros, & Morelli-Robbins, 1993;Nelson, Roberts, Mathur, & Rutherford, 1998;Ruef, Turnbull, Turnbull, & Poston, 1999;Scott & Nelson, 1999a). In fact, one of the most common requests for assistance from teachers is for help in working with students who engage in problem behavior (Horner, Diemer, & Brazeau, 1992).…”

A Brief Intervention to Increase the use of Precorrection and Praise by Elementary School Teachers

“…However, the 1997 reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act (IDEA) required schools to focus on empirically based behavior supports and interventions (Cohen, McCabe, Michelli, & Pickeral, 2009;Nelson, Mathur, Rutherford, 1999;Turnbull, Wilcox, Swoe, Raper & Hedges, 2000;Yell & Katsiyannis, 2000). Recognizing the complex interaction between behavior and disability, the federal government required educators to pay attention to situations where a child's behavior is impacting his/her learning (Nelson, Mathur & Rutherford, 1999;Yell & Katsiyannis, 2000). These revisions, coupled with the subsequent 2004 IDEIA revision and civil rights data reporting, have created an increased focus on behavior in schools.…”

“…Can educators, with existing knowledge, conduct a high-quality, functional behavior analysis (Gresham & Quinn, 1999;Nelson et al, 1999;O'Neill & Stephenson, 2009;Reid & Nelson, 2002;Solnick & Ardoin, 2010;Van Acker et al, 2005)? 2.…”

“…2. Are the resources available to implement research based behavior interventions (Hieneman, Dunlap, & Kincaid, 2005;Nelson et al, 1999)? 3.…”

“…As discussed previously, two of the most common concerns about behavior supports are (a) Are the resources available to implement research based behavior supports (Hieneman, et al, 2005;Nelson et al, 1999;Reid & Nelson, 2002)? And (b) Do school site personnel have the skills necessary to implement behavior interventions (Allday et al, 2011;Conroy et al, 2000;Gresham & Quinn, 1999;Reid & Nelson, 2002)?…”