среда, 7 марта 2018 г.

The Functional Behavior Assessment Steps Professionals Take To Better Assist Struggling Students

By Michelle Patterson


For parents of a child with behavioral issues, meeting with the classroom teacher can be a regular occurrence. Some children have trouble sitting still, following directions, and acting appropriately in school. In certain instances, there is more behind these behaviors than immaturity. When teachers and school administrators have tried the usual remedies without success, they may suggest starting functional behavior assessment steps.

In order to really help your child, you have to fully understand what functional behavior assessment, or FBA, encompasses. Most educators and psychologists are genuinely concerned about the children in their care. When those children are struggling, the professionals want to know why. There is always a reason for inappropriate behaviors. The goal is to find out what the reasons are and develop a plan to successfully change them.

An FBA may involve a whole team of professionals. A school psychologist often heads up the team. If so, she will meet with others who interact with your child to get their thoughts and ideas. She will speak directly with your youngster and may conduct some behavioral testing. The other members of the team can include the classroom teacher, special education teachers, administrators, the child, and you, as the parent.

In order to assess inappropriate behaviors, they must be defined. Words like inappropriate or disruptive are not specific enough to work with. The professionals need detailed descriptions of incidents that have happened in and out of the classroom. The more specific information they can gather, the easier it will be to formulate a plan for change.

Once the information has been compiled, it can be analyzed. The specialists look at when the conduct occurs, and if there are commonalities in what goes on immediately before. They want to know how often the behaviors are occurring and who is there when they happen. On the other side, these specialists need to understand if there are certain times, places, and people where the inappropriate behaviors are consistently absent.

After this information has been processed, the professionals start to hypothesize about the reasons behind the poor behaviors. This is often difficult to do accurately and takes time. They are trying to figure out if the behaviors are a result of your child avoiding or attempting to escape a situation. They know that these behaviors accomplish something in the youngster's mind.

Finally the specialists devise a plan of intervention. This is designed to redirect the child's energy into positive behaviors and reward him for his efforts. There are no set guidelines for this plan. Each one has to be tailor made to fit the unique circumstances surrounding each child. The plan might include changing the physical environment, adjusting teaching methods, varying routines, or changing the consequences for negative actions.

Not all children have an easy time. Adjusting to a classroom with rules, lessons, and tests can be extremely difficult for some. Sometimes it takes a team of adults to create the possibility of academic success for these special youngsters.




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