Gerardo Moreno

Principles of Positive Behaviour Supports: Using the FBA as a Problem-Solving Approach to Address Challenging Behaviours beyond Special Populations.

The Functional Behavioural Assessment (FBA) is an investigative process that examines the context of challenging behaviours in the classroom. Information gleaned from the FBA process is used to develop a behaviour intervention plan to address the challenging behaviour and teach a socially acceptable replacement behaviour. However, the FBA has remained almost exclusively used with students identified with disabilities, particularly those with emotional/behavioural disorders (EBD) as a last resort before removal from the general school campus. Fortunately, there is a growing awareness of the FBA as positive behaviour support practice in the general education classroom to assist non-disabled students and early intervention for students with or at-risk for EBD. In this paper, we discuss the FBA, its place as a positive behaviour practice, and its application in the general education classroom to assist students who are demonstrating challenging behaviours prior to considering a referral for special education assessment.

Reducing subjectivity in special education referrals by educators working with Latino students: using functional behavioral assessment as a pre-referral practice in student support teams

Over the past several decades, the Latino population throughout the USA has demonstrated significant growth and exceeded that of other ethnic minority groups. This influx is particularly evident in the student enrollment of US schools as the number of Latino students has increased by approximately 10 million within the past 10 years. With this dramatic increase, there are a number of critical issues that present significant barriers to a high-quality educational experience for Latino students, specifically overrepresentation of Latinos receiving disciplinary actions and the high number of referrals to special education evaluation for emotional and behavioral disorders. This paper will discuss the impact of the Latino population in US schools, the concern of overrepresentation and biased referrals, and the use of a culturally attuned functional behavioral assessment as a pragmatic solution to better serve this growing population.

Focus on Latino Learners: Developing a Foundational Understanding of Latino Cultures to Cultivate Student Success

With the dramatic increase of diverse student populations in U.S. schools, educators and school professionals are encountering significant difficulties in meeting the needs of struggling students and establishing an overall positive academic climate. This is particularly true with the influx of Latino students, who now constitute the majority of diverse populations in many parts of the country. Furthermore, Latinos are the projected majority population of the United States. Research has indicated a failure to meet the diverse needs of Latino students. As a group, they have historically experienced overrepresentation in disability categories, received a disproportionate number of disciplinary actions, and evidence high dropout rates. In this article, the authors discuss educational and social issues facing Latino populations, present specific points focused on the development of a better understanding of Latino cultures, and offer recommendations regarding ways to better meet the needs of this growing population.

No need to count to ten: advocating for the early implementation of the Functional Behavioural Assessment in addressing challenging behaviours

The functional behavioural assessment (FBA) is a process used in identifying the reason (i.e., function) for challenging behaviours when working with students with disabilities and the circumstances and/or environment that reinforce the continued use of the problematic behaviour. However, the procedural definition of the FBA in US federal legislation has been open to interpretation, thus leading to different implementations and the utilization of this advantageous process as a last resort. This article will review the benefits of the FBA process, its impact on the delivery of behavioural interventions for students with disabilities and the significance of early implementation.

Assisting Students From Diverse Backgrounds With Challenging Behaviors: Incorporating a Culturally Attuned Functional Behavioral Assessment in Prereferral Services

The student population across U.S. schools has become increasingly diverse and has presented educators with a number of concerns in assisting students demonstrating challenging behaviors. Educators have historically had difficulties in distinguishing between cultural differences and genuine indicators of emotional and behavioral disorders. It is unfortunate that this difficulty has contributed to a disproportional representation of students from diverse backgrounds in the disability category of emotional and behavioral disorders. However, the functional behavioral assessment continues to serve as an effective process to better understand challenging behaviors, particularly when it is culturally attuned to the needs of diverse student populations. The authors discuss the significance in meeting the needs of diverse populations, provide an overview of the functional behavioral assessment process, and present considerations in creating a culturally attuned functional behavioral assessment.

Cases of Victimization: Case 2: Ryan Halligan (Vermont, 2003)

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Cases of Victimization: Case 1: Megan Meier (Missouri, 2006)

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Cases of Victimization: Case 5: Rachael Neblett (Kentucky, 2006)

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Addressing challenging behaviours in the general education setting: conducting a teacher-based Functional Behavioural Assessment (FBA)

When a student demonstrates a challenging or problematic behaviour in the classroom, the climate and the instructional experience can change dramatically for both the students and the classroom teacher. Before resorting to sanctions and punitive consequences, there is a series of steps a classroom teacher can conduct to reduce and replace the challenging behaviour with desired and positive behaviours. The Functional Behavioural Assessment (FBA) is a systematic data collection process used to ascertain information about a student demonstrating a challenging behaviour(s). Typically reserved for students receiving special education services, the FBA can assist students in the general education curriculum as well. More importantly, the FBA process can be of great use in helping the classroom teacher better understand the challenging behaviour, the triggers for the behaviour and the reinforcing consequences of the behaviour. This paper will review the fundamentals of the FBA process, advantages of the process, and practical steps the classroom teacher can use to conduct an FBA.

Implementing a culturally attuned functional behavioural assessment to understand and address challenging behaviours demonstrated by students from diverse backgrounds

As the US student population continues to become increasingly diverse, educators have encountered difficulties in distinguishing between cultural differences and genuine disability indicators. This concern is clearly evident in assisting students from diverse backgrounds who demonstrate chronic challenging behaviours. Past practices (e.g. disciplinary office referrals, out-of-school suspensions, expulsion) have contributed to the likelihood of students from diverse backgrounds being misidentified as having an emotional or behavioural disorder. However, by tailoring the functional behavioural assessment (FBA), educators better differentiate cultural factors from disability characteristics and better understand the students’ needs. This paper will discuss the significance in meeting the needs of an increasingly diverse student population, provide an overview of the FBA process and present considerations in creating a culturally attuned FBA.