Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA)

Development of an intervention is the final step in the functional behavior assessment (FBA) process. In the completion of the FBA antecedent and reinforcing contingencies are identified which can be manipulated to prevent the behavior from occurring, remove reinforcement for engaging in the undesired behavior, or be utilized to reinforce alternate behaviors (Cooper, Heron, & Heward, 2007). An FBA is a necessary component of the intervention process in that it provides the necessary information with regard to the function of the behavior through the systematic manipulation of environmental variables thought to maintain the problem under controlled conditions; yielding a clear demonstration of the interaction between the independent variable

As in any research based program there are benefits and challenges. One of the biggest benefits of RTI is it has the ability to transform how we educate all students. When implementing Response to Intervention it helps to treat learning disabilities, identifies students with disabilities, classifies every student’s strengths and targets the specific disability. Perhaps the greatest benefit of an RTI approach is that it eliminates a “wait to fail” situation because students get help promptly within the general education setting. As soon as assessment data indicates a problem area for a student, interventions are put into place to address these concerns. One of the biggest challenges that are occurring is that RTI is still uneven; some districts use it and some do not and because of this it becomes a challenge. There is confusion as to what RTI is and whether schools are required to use. In addition, the evidence based and differentiated instruction is one of the issues in response to education. “Interventions that are research based but not feasible are not likely to be implemented with fidelity, which would undercut the validity of RTI decision making” (Kubiszyn & Borich, 2010,

Over the last decade, school administrators began implementing the RTI program at a rapid pace. This implementation was inspired by President Bush’s reauthorization of IDEA, which identified RTI as a viable way to qualify students for special education (Fuchs & Fuchs, 2007, p. 14). Fuchs and Fuchs (2007) defined RTI as a three tiered system of education. There has been research completed to show RTI was a reliable systems, but it is an open ended systems. The designers of the RTI program have left several of the specifics for individual administers to determine for their districts. While the open framework granted administrators leeway to alter the program, this also leads to questions about

Functional behavioral assessments have two major components, identifying and defining target behaviors as well as conducting behavior observations. The assessment should begin with indentifying and defining targeted behaviors and the best way to do that is to conduct a formal interview of the student. The interview should include family who are directly connected to the student's home life as well as the staff involved with the student. The interview should reveal important things like when does the behavior occur during the day, how frequently, what the behavior is receded by, what

Cole’s mother and English teacher completed BASC II scales. The BASC II measures a student’s emotional, behavioral, and adaptive functioning. The score that is used for the scale is the T-score. The T-score indicates the distance of a score from the norm group mean. The BASC II has a mean T-score of 50 with a standard deviation of 10. Scores ranging 60 to 69 are considered to be in the At-Risk range. The T-scores that are 70+ are in the Clinically Significant range. On the Adaptive Scale portion of the BASC II, the T-Scores that are from 30 to 39 are in the At-Risk range. The T-scores that are below 29 are in the Clinically Significant range.

Understudies learn in various ways. Educators should know how every understudy learns best by knowing which kind of learning style, every understudy underpins and give educational programs and Guidelines to meet the understudies adapting needs. Utilizing techniques, for example, setting objectives, focused on input, and quality practice to frame the most astounding demonstrating that they comprehend what they are realizing. Educators must give careful consideration to understanding that every understudy is extraordinary and independently distinctive with his or her outside impacts, for example, their experiences, social contrasts, and encounters. Each of these can and affects how learning will happen. The accompanying situations are a genuine

Many children have physical, or pathological disabilities which cause them to have a below average performance in a usual classroom environment. The government of the United States of America, having recognized this, issued the Education of All Handicapped Children Act in 1975 in order to assist children afflicted with these disabilities (Berger, 2014). This lead to the creation of multiple special education programs for these children. Programs, such as LRE and RTI strategies have allowed many children to receive education they otherwise would not be able to receive.

RtI is a great program for students mainly because of its timeliness. “Response to Intervention calls for intervention as soon as a problem is documented” (Friend 50). Prior to RtI, students with learning disabilities would not be identified until they fell far enough behind so they would show a large discrepancy between their achievement level and their potential.

RtI also helps implement behavioral interventions in the classroom through a similar process called Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS). PBIS is based on a problem-solving model and aims to prevent inappropriate behavior through teaching and reinforcing appropriate behaviors (Sandomierski, Kincaid & Algozzine, 2007). Both RtI and PBIS are grounded in differentiated instruction; a type of instruction that is beneficial to all types of students with

When a student who has a disability’s educational placement is changed due to challenging behavior, a functional behavior assessment must be conducted. Functional behavior assessment (FBA) is used to aid in the development of behavior intervention plans (BIP’s). In a functional assessment, the type and the source of reinforcement for problem behaviors are used as a basis for intervention efforts that are designed to increase occurrence. Functional analysis can also be used to determine the specific function of a behavior, but FBA’s are more commonly used, especially in school settings. In a functional analysis (FA), antecedents and consequences that represent those in the person’s natural environment are arranged so that their effects on the problem behavior can be observed and measured. The difference between a functional analysis and functional behavior assessment is that the assessment establishes a connection between the behavior and antecedent or the consequent variables, but a functional analysis identifies informal relationships. For this reason, a functional analysis is seen to be a more valid tool for identifying the function of a behavior; however, there are limitations to using a functional analysis. This method may momentarily strengthen the problem behavior or result in the behavior acquiring new functions. Federal mandates like IDEA 2004 and school reforms such as Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) have played a role in the increase of the

Response to Intervention (RtI) came about initially in answer to the over-identification of struggling students as special education students. It was developed starting in the late 1970s by numerous researchers seeking a method of identifying learning disabilities that avoids the problems of the discrepancy model. Many educators were concerned that too many students were being identified as having a learning disability, not because they actually had one, “but because they had not been successful in a general education program” (Prasse, 2010). Many were also concerned that students with a true learning disability were not receiving the help they needed quickly enough. Before RtI, the accepted

What are the benefits of implementing early intervention and RTI’s for children with early signs of a learning disability? This is a serious topic because of the increase over the years of children with learning disabilities. Instead of just placing students in special education programs educators must assess and evaluate students. As well as try early intervention programs and responsiveness to intervention known as RTI to try to delay the disability or stop the disability from forming and progressing. I have gathered articles that show the implementing of early intervention programs and RTI models to enhance children that show signs of an early learning disability. The articles all show how these programs can help students progress in

|The duration of this behavior is exhibited daily in 3 out of 6 class periods. |

This three-tier RTI system is wonderful at the early stages of education because it allows teachers to identify at-risk students and move them through the intervention process. However, in the later stages, it is often too late to evaluate students for learning disabilities as these should have been recognized early on in a child’s education. It should be noted that students at this stage do still need interventions, but in a different format.

There is a problem that goes along with RTI. There is no specific approach to teaching RTI and therefore teachers must decide on the best approach (Wixson, 2012). Sometimes teachers lack in the area of providing intervention to children who need it the most and therefore the child suffers. RTI’s goal is to see if the children are benefiting for CCSS and are becoming prepared for the outside world, however with little to no approaches, there is hesitation in the success (Wixson, 2012). People working closely with RTI are trying to analyze the benefits of RTI and the success of it. In regards to ELA, RTI is designed to focus on the “Big 5”: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension” (Wixson, 2012).