If you have a child who can't seem to adjust to the classroom, has trouble concentrating and sitting still, and becomes disruptive when bored, you have probably already talked to the teacher. You may have had meetings with the school administrators to discuss your child's issues. At some point, when the usual remedies have been tried and proven unsuccessful, professionals may recommend taking 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.
Before inappropriate behaviors can be assessed, they have to be defined. Generalizations like disruptive and inappropriate are too vague to have much value. What is required are accurate, unbiased details regarding specific incidents that have occurred in and out of class. The more information the professionals have, the better the eventual plan will be.
Analyzing the data is the next step. The experts are looking for clues to the reasons behind the behaviors. They analyze when and where instances occur and how often. They want to know if there are common factors at play immediately preceding an incident, and if particular people might trigger an inappropriate outburst. Conversely, specialists analyze the times when the child is calm and happy. They try to find out whether this happens at certain times, in certain places, or around specific people.
Once the data has been analyzed, the professionals try to come up with a hypothesis for the reasons behind the inappropriate behaviors. This is not an easy process. Many times it is a process of elimination. Specialists have to assess the possibilities that the child is evading or trying to escape an uncomfortable situation. They know behavior is the child's way of accomplishing a goal.
Finally, the specialists have to come up with an intervention plan to teach positive behavior and reward it. Each child is unique, so every plan must be tailored to the specific issues surrounding the individual child. This can involve changing teaching methods, routines, physical environment, or consequences for negative actions. Before the plan is put in place, trusted professionals sit down with the child to explain their expectations and assess his motivation to change.
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.
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.
Before inappropriate behaviors can be assessed, they have to be defined. Generalizations like disruptive and inappropriate are too vague to have much value. What is required are accurate, unbiased details regarding specific incidents that have occurred in and out of class. The more information the professionals have, the better the eventual plan will be.
Analyzing the data is the next step. The experts are looking for clues to the reasons behind the behaviors. They analyze when and where instances occur and how often. They want to know if there are common factors at play immediately preceding an incident, and if particular people might trigger an inappropriate outburst. Conversely, specialists analyze the times when the child is calm and happy. They try to find out whether this happens at certain times, in certain places, or around specific people.
Once the data has been analyzed, the professionals try to come up with a hypothesis for the reasons behind the inappropriate behaviors. This is not an easy process. Many times it is a process of elimination. Specialists have to assess the possibilities that the child is evading or trying to escape an uncomfortable situation. They know behavior is the child's way of accomplishing a goal.
Finally, the specialists have to come up with an intervention plan to teach positive behavior and reward it. Each child is unique, so every plan must be tailored to the specific issues surrounding the individual child. This can involve changing teaching methods, routines, physical environment, or consequences for negative actions. Before the plan is put in place, trusted professionals sit down with the child to explain their expectations and assess his motivation to change.
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.
About the Author:
You can get an overview of functional behavior assessment steps and more info about Vizually Speaking services at http://www.vizuallyspeaking.ca right now.