Instruction in Functional Assessment, 2014a

Instruction in Functional Assessment Chapter 3
(IEP). The Individualized Education Program (IEP) serves as the foundation of the educational
plan for each student with disabilities. The IEP is a strategic planning document
that should be far reaching in its educational impact. An IEP identifies a student’s unique
strengths and needs and how the school will strategically address those needs (New York
State Department of Education, 2010, p.3). It is a legal document, designed and agreed
upon by all members of the educational team, including the family of the student with
disabilities. The key components of the IEP rest upon the concept of individualization. As
stated in the COUNCIL FOR EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN (CEC) professional standards:
…special educators are active and resourceful in seeking to understand how primary
language, culture, and familial backgrounds interact with the individual’s exceptional
condition to impact the individual’s academic and social abilities, attitudes, values, interests,
and career options. The understanding of these learning differences and their
possible interactions provide the foundation upon which special educators individualize
instruction to provide meaningful and challenging learning for individuals with
exceptional learning needs. CEC, 2011, Content Standards, Standard 3
One essential component of the IEP is listing the positive behavioral supports needed
by the child. A careful FA analysis is critical to identifying those positive behavioral supports
that will help guide the professional to developing the child’s desirable behaviors in
the classroom, clinics, in social environments, and at home.
Summary
The design of effective intervention is based on identification of the maintaining variables
for the individual’s problem behavior as gathered from a FA. The core of a treatment
package should include preventative measures, teaching a replacement behavior that serves
the same function as the challenging behavior, reinforcing desirable behavior, and a procedure
in place for when that behavior does occur. A behavior intervention plan provides a
written form of the treatment for others in the individual’s natural environment to follow
to assist the individual with learning desirable behaviors.
Discussion Questions
1. What factors must be considered when designing an effective intervention?
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