Behavior Intervention Planning
Functional analysis results often clarify why behavior is occurring
Of all the research validated educational practices, the one mandated by California law and regulation (Title V CCR), is Behavior Intervention Planning based on Functional Analysis Assessment. Essentially, what the regulations require is that an individual who has some training in behavior analysis and is identified as a Behavior Intervention Case Manager (BICM) oversees an assessment of a special education student who has displayed severe problem behavior. This assessment, called a Functional Analysis Assessment, is designed to determine the conditions under which the student displays problem behavior, including what typically happens as a result of the problem behavior. The notion is that the consequences of problem behavior are what maintain or strengthen it, so, if we have a clear understanding of these, we can help the student to display more appropriate ways to obtain the same ends. The plan to teach the student better ways to achieve goals is called the Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP), which is to be designed by the BICM and made part of the student’s IEP through the IEP process. The BICM is also to oversee or actually implement the BIP and regularly review data to determine whether the program is actually working.
An improvement on the procedures prescribed in California Title V Regulations involves the use of a special type of assessment procedure, called Functional Analysis. Functional Analysis is like the prescribed Functional Analysis Assessment in that it involves direct observation of the student’s problem behavior as well as the antecedent and consequent conditions associated with that problem behavior, but it goes beyond Functional Analysis Assessment by actually manipulating variables in an experimental fashion to establish more specifically what environmental conditions are responsible for the student’s problem behavior. The research literature has consistently supported the use of Functional Analysis over the methods prescribed by California regulations. Having said this, it is also true that the research support for Behavior Intervention Planning based on Functional Analysis has involved individuals with moderate to severe disabilities and it remains to be determined whether the procedures are as effective for students with mild to moderate disabilities.
