FBAs and BIPs: How They Can Help Your Child
IEPs and 504 Plans are not required!
The Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA) process is helpful for any child whose behaviors may affect learning—theirs or their peers. It may include off task behaviors, disruptive behaviors, or even severe behaviors such as aggression.
MUST THE CHILD HAVE AN IEP OR 504 PLAN?
No, there are NO federal requirements of having an IEP or 504 Plan to be considered for an FBA/BIP.
WHAT IS A FUNCTIONAL BEHAVIOR ASSESSMENT (FBA)?
It is a problem-solving process to define the behavior(s) in question and to determine the "function" of that behavior—answering the questions of what the behavior is and why might the behavior be occurring. Parents are expected to be a part of the FBA process, including the design of the FBA.
The FBA often includes multiple classroom observations across different school settings, review of related records, review of any attempted efforts to address the behaviors and results of those interventions, and interviews of school staff, parents and, depending on the age, the child. The observer is looking at: 1) what happens before the “target” behavior is observed, e.g., class change, academic demands of the child (math assignment, silent reading), 2) the behavior of the child following the change or demand, 3) what follows the behavior (e.g., class reaction, teacher intervention) and then 4) the behavior of the child that follows the reaction of the child’s environment (e.g., by peers, aid, teacher).
TEAM MEETING
A team meeting—INCLUDING PARENTS—is held to discuss the behavioral concerns and how the FBA observational data will be collected. A second meeting is later held to review the data from the classroom observations. The team, that INCLUDES PARENTS, is to hypothesize why the behaviors might be taking place. The team looks at the behaviors and the environment in which the behaviors do and do NOT occur and then reviews what events might have been observed (antecedents) to prompt the behavior and, what actions followed the child's behavior (teacher, peer response).
WHAT IS A BEHAVIOR INTERVENTION PLAN (BIP)?
The team—INCLUDING PARENTS—then develops a plan that does two things: 1) prevents/reduces the occurrence of the behavior(s) and 2) describes what action(s) is to take place, should the behavior occur.
The plan is to be specific, noting who is responsible for implementing the interventions/instruction, the provision of rewards, if appropriate, and what and how the collection of data to assess the effectiveness of the plan will be carried out and reported to the full team membership—INCLUDING PARENTS.
A BIP does allow for punishment, but it cannot be the only method used. Interventions are instructional and their purpose is to teach the child new skills of appropriate behaviors. Interventions may also include changes to the classroom setting or to instruction, or changes to the antecedent events or to the response following the behavior.
REMINDER: TEAM MEETINGS
FBA and BIP meetings are to INCLUDE PARENTS in: 1) the design of the FBA, 2) the review of data collected, 3) the development of the BIP, and 4) periodic reviews of implementation to assess its effectiveness and discuss any needed modifications.