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jeudi 15 mars 2018

The Functional Behavior Assessment Steps Specialists Undertake To Assist Your Child Academically

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.

As the parent, you need to understand exactly what a functional behavior assessment, or FBA, is and how the process works. This is not done to punish or single out an unruly child. Educators generally love the kids they work with and, when they are struggling, want to find ways to help. That involves discovering the reasons behind the unacceptable behaviors and developing a comprehensive plan to turn negative behaviors into positive ones.

There are a number of professionals involved in the FBA process. The school psychologist often leads the team and talks to individuals who have regular contact with your child. She also sits down with your child to evaluate his thought process and to conduct behavioral testing. Other members of the immediate team usually include the child, the parent, classroom and special education teachers, and school administrators.

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.

Childhood is not easy for everybody. Some kids have issues that make classrooms places that bring out destructive and inappropriate responses. When adults, in and out of the academic world, work together, a troubled child can begin to thrive.




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