Behavioral assessment of children

There has been a substantial amount of research supporting the use of functional behavioral assessment (FBA) for students with severe to profound disabilities. Many of the studies with these populations have shown to greatly impact the behavior of students when FBA-generated interventions, which match the function of the targeted behavior, are used to improve behavior. This research was the basis for the 1997 reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which specifically requires the use of the FBA to generate educative, positively-based interventions. Since IDEA '97, research has shown the effective use of the FBA to create interventions matching the function of the problem behavior for students with milder disabilities. This is promising as research has been lacking in what assessment data teachers use to select behavioral interventions. Furthermore, school personnel have been ineffective in dealing with the problem behavior of students with disabilities as evidenced by high suspension rates for students with disabilities. There is also very limited research in the area of what assessment data is used in the development of individualized education programs (IEP) for students with emotional disabilities. The psychological evaluation is used to determine eligibility for special education, yet there is no research indicating that the information contained within a psychological evaluation is used for either goal development or intervention selection. This is problematic in that IEPs developed for students with emotional disabilities are lacking in quality and effectiveness. This study examined the effect that types of assessment report played on teachers' selection of interventions and IEP goal development for a student with an emotional disability. After reviewing an FBA or psychological evaluation, participants were to develop a behavioral goal. These goals were rated for the presence or absence of five quality indicators that should be present in a well-developed goal. No significant differences were found in the frequencies of these goal indicators. Participants were then asked to indicate preference of use of three interventions to increase appropriate behavior and three interventions to decrease inappropriate behavior and then to rank order their potential use of the interventions. No significant differences were found in the indication of use on either measure. Participants did consistently indicate preferred use of the three positively-based interventions.

High school biology classes traditionally follow a lecture format to disseminate content and new terminology. With the inclusive practices of No Child Left Behind, the Common Core State Standards, and end-of-course exam requirement for high school diplomas, classes include a large range of achievement levels and abilities. Teachers assume, often incorrectly, that students come to class prepared to listen and take notes. In a standard diploma, high school biology class in a separate school for students with emotional and behavioral disorders, five students participated in a single-subject, alternating treatment design study that compared the use of regular pens and digital pens to take notes during 21 lecture sessions. Behavior measures were threefold between the two interventions: (a) quantity of notes taken per minute during lectures, (b) quantity of notes or notations taken during review pauses, and (c) percent of correct responses on the daily comprehension quizzes. ... However, the differences were minor, and recommendations are made for specific training in note-taking, the pause strategy, and digital pen fluency which may produce different results for both note-taking and quiz scores.