ED438662 2000-01-00 The Link between

Functional Behavioral Assessments

(FBAs) and Behavioral Intervention

Plans (BIPs). ERIC Digest E592.

ERIC Development Team

www.eric.ed.gov

Table of Contents

If you're viewing this document online, you can click any of the topics below to link directly to that section.

The Link between Functional Behavioral Assessments (FBAs) and

Behavioral Intervention Plans (BIPs). ERIC Digest E592............. 1

LINK BETWEEN ASSESSMENT AND INTERVENTION................ 2

VIEWING FBAS AND BIPS AS A UNIT.....................................4

REFERENCES.................................................................. 5

ERIC Identifier: ED438662

Publication Date: 2000-01-00

Author: Jolivette, Kristine - Scott, Terrance M. - Nelson, C. Michael

Source: ERIC Clearinghouse on Disabilities and Gifted Education Reston VA.

The Link between Functional Behavioral

Assessments (FBAs) and Behavioral

Intervention Plans (BIPs). ERIC Digest E592.

THIS DIGEST WAS CREATED BY ERIC, THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES

INFORMATION CENTER. FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT ERIC, CONTACT

ACCESS ERIC 1-800-LET-ERIC

ED438662 2000-01-00 The Link between Functional Behavioral Assessments (FBAs)

and Behavioral Intervention Plans (BIPs). ERIC Digest E592.

Page 1 of 6
The 1997 Amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) require

functional behavioral assessments (FBAs) and behavioral intervention plans (BIPs) to

be conducted prior to a change in placement or suspension for more than 10 days

based on inappropriate behavior(s) for students with disabilities. When an FBA and a

BIP are developed, written, and implemented, both become part of the student's IEP

records.

Most research efforts have focused on procedures for conducting an FBA. Fitzsimmons

(1998) summarized the typical processes of conducting FBAs, which include five core

steps: (1) verify the seriousness of the problem; (2) define the problem behavior in

concrete terms; (3) collect data on possible causes of problem behavior; (4) analyze the

data; and (5) formulate and test a hypothesis. However, individuals who conduct FBAs

do not necessarily incorporate these data into the student's BIP.

LINK BETWEEN ASSESSMENT AND

INTERVENTION

Research has demonstrated that FBAs can lead to the development of effective,

proactive BIPs (Gable, Hendrickson, & Sasso, 1995). Depending on the hypotheses

resulting from the FBA, the BIP might include changing the variables that precede the

inappropriate behavior(s), teaching alternative forms of appropriate behavior, and

providing reinforcement for appropriate behavior (Flannery, O'Neill, & Horner, 1995).

Thus, BIPs tied to the FBA data are child-, behavior-, and setting-specific (Iwata,

Vollmer, & Zarcone, 1990; Rutherford & Nelson, 1995) and therefore enhance the

likelihood that the expected behavioral change will occur. Also, an FBA can aid in the

early identification (Feil, Severson, & Walker, 1995) and understanding future behavior

problems (Iwata et al., 1990).

Scott and Nelson (1999) have proposed a ten-step process to help school personnel

infuse the FBA data into the BIP:

1. Determine the function of the undesired behavior. Based on data from the FBA,

understanding the purpose the behavior serves for the student is requisite to the BIP

process. Common functions for school-based behavioral problems include gaining

teacher or peer attention, escaping or avoiding specific tasks or persons, or gaining

access to specific items.

2. Determine an appropriate replacement behavior. After the inappropriate behavior has

been objectively defined and its function has been identified, an alternative, appropriate

replacement behavior is selected. A replacement behavior should be readily acceptable

to others in the environment (socially valid) and serve the same function as the

inappropriate behavior. For example, if a student's inappropriate behavior is reinforced

by teacher attention, then the replacement behavior also should result in teacher

attention. It is important that school personnel agree on what constitutes an appropriate

www.eric.ed.gov ERIC Custom Transformations Team

Page 2 of 6 ED438662 2000-01-00 The Link between Functional Behavioral Assessments (FBAs)

and Behavioral Intervention Plans (BIPs). ERIC Digest E592.
replacement behavior given the specific data (e.g., persons, settings, conditions)

gleaned from the FBA. O'Neill et al. (1997) suggest that in some cases, a primary (i.e.,

long-term) replacement behavior needs to be identified along with several short-term

replacement behaviors. These short-term behaviors are taught, modeled, and

reinforced to assist the student in achieving the replacement behavior and the written

behavioral goal and objective.

3. Determine when the replacement behavior should occur. Once a replacement

behavior is identified, we must teach the student to use the new skill. This is

accomplished by determining the conditions under which that behavior will serve the

same function. A student who uses a replacement behavior when reinforcement is

unavailable is less likely to attempt the replacement behavior again, even when

reinforcement is likely. Thus, we must clearly define and teach the specific conditions

under which the replacement behavior should be used. The student must be taught to

discriminate the conditions in which to use the replacement behavior in order to achieve

the desired outcome for it. At the same time, the conditions under which reinforcement

is unlikely to occur for the replacement behavior should be identified and taught as

non-examples.

4. Design a teaching sequence. As with academic instruction, social and behavioral

skills need to be taught through a planned sequence of instruction within ongoing school

routines. After steps 1-3 are completed, a plan for teaching the replacement behavior is

implemented by providing the student with examples and non-examples of when,

where, and with whom to display the replacement behavior, what he/she will gain by

exhibiting the new behavior, and the circumstances in which the replacement behavior

is not likely to be reinforced. Actually reinforcing the replacement behavior during the

examples may make its outcomes clearer.

5. Manipulate the environment to increase the probability of success. Based on the FBA

data (e.g., specific settings, people, times, tasks), the student's environment should be

arranged so that reinforcing each instance of the replacement behavior is likely.

However, reinforcement will not be possible if the student does not use the replacement

behavior. This step involves procedures to increase the likelihood that the replacement

behavior will be used at the appropriate time so that reinforcement can be delivered.

Prompts, cues, and pre-correction strategies may be used to increase the likelihood of

replacement behaviors. As a general rule, we should use the least intrusive prompts

necessary to predict success.

6. Manipulate the environment to decrease the probability of failure. The environment is

also analyzed to identify and remove barriers that might prevent the replacement

behavior from being demonstrated under the appropriate conditions. For example, if we

know that a student is unlikely to engage in a replacement behavior when seated next

to a particular peer, then we also know that reinforcement will be unlikely. We can

increase the likelihood of success by removing the predictors of failure. That is, we can

ERIC Resource Center www.eric.ed.gov

ED438662 2000-01-00 The Link between Functional Behavioral Assessments (FBAs)

and Behavioral Intervention Plans (BIPs). ERIC Digest E592.

Page 3 of 6
separate the student from the peer during initial stages of intervention so that the

student can receive reinforcement for appropriate replacement behavior.

7. Determine how positive behavior will be reinforced. The goal of this step is to provide

natural (functionally equivalent and naturally occurring) reinforcement for replacement

behaviors. Initially, reinforcement must be immediate and consistent. But over time,

reinforcement will be delivered on a more natural schedule by the natural environment.

A plan is needed to assist school personnel and researchers to naturally reinforce

instances of the replacement behavior. At this step, reinforcement for displays of the

replacement behavior will vary in terms of type (e.g., verbal or tangible reinforcement)

and schedule (e.g., reinforcement every second display of the replacement behavior).

8. Determine consequences for instances of problem behavior. Even the most

appropriate BIP will not immediately negate the student's history of reinforcement for

prior inappropriate behavior. Therefore, the BIP should include consequences for

inappropriate behavior and strategies for their use. This step clearly establishes a

distinction between outcomes for the replacement behavior as opposed to the

consequences of inappropriate behavior. Such a clear distinction increases the chances

that the replacement behavior will be used more often, since the function of that

behavior is being reinforced.

9. Develop a data collection system. In order to ascertain whether the replacement

behavior has been effective in decreasing the frequency, duration, or intensity of the

targeted inappropriate behavior, data must be collected. Data should be collected on

the targeted behavior before intervention to provide a baseline and during intervention.

Comparing baseline and intervention data facilitates evaluation of intervention

effectiveness. School personnel and researchers should carefully select a data

collection method that best matches the settings in which the BIP will be implemented.

10. Develop behavioral goals and objectives. To assess overall effectiveness and

positive changes in the student's behavior, school personnel and researchers should

write measurable behavioral goals and objectives related to the replacement behavior.

These student-specific behavioral goals and objectives provide standards for evaluating

whether changes in the frequency, duration, and/or intensity of the target and

replacement behaviors have met objective criteria. O'Neill and colleagues (1997)

provide examples of measurable and objective behavioral goals.

VIEWING FBAS AND BIPS AS A UNIT

Overall, it may be more appropriate to view the IDEA mandates on FBAs and BIPs as a

single, continuous process rather as a separate process and a subsequent product.

Such a view may ensure that (a) the FBA is not interpreted to be "an intervention in

itself" (Nelson, Roberts, Mathur, & Rutherford, 1999), (b) the FBA does not occur

without the intention of developing a BIP, (c) the FBA data are incorporated into an

www.eric.ed.gov ERIC Custom Transformations Team

Page 4 of 6 ED438662 2000-01-00 The Link between Functional Behavioral Assessments (FBAs)

and Behavioral Intervention Plans (BIPs). ERIC Digest E592.
actual BIP, and (d) both the FBA data and the BIP become integral components of the

student's IEP (stressing both academic and behavioral instruction and goals). BIPs tied

to the function maintaining the student's behavior (as identified through the FBA), which

are consistently implemented and continuously monitored, may not only increase the

student's repertoire of appropriate behaviors, but also may have positive effects on the

student's educational outcomes.

REFERENCES

Feil, E. G., Severson, H. H., Walker, H. M. (1995). Identification of critical factors in the

assessment of preschool behavior problems. Education and Treatment of Children, 18,

261-271.

Fitzsimmons, M. K. (1998). Functional behavior assessment and behavior intervention

plans. (ERIC EC Digest E571). Reston, VA: Council for Exceptional Children.

(http://ericec.org/digests/e571.htm).

Flannery, K. B., O'Neill, R. E., & Horner, R. H. (1995). Including predictability in

functional assessment and individual program development. Education and Treatment

of Children, 18, 499-509.

Gable, R., Hendrickson, J. M., & Sasso, G. M. (1995). Toward a more functional

analysis of aggression. Education and Treatment of Children, 18, 226-242.

Iwata, B. A., Pace, G., Kilter, M., Cowdery, G., & Cattalo, M. (1990). Experimental

analysis and extinction of self-injurious escape behavior. Journal of Applied Behavior

Analysis, 23, 11-27.

Iwata, B. A., Vollmer, T. R., & Zarcone, J. R. (1990). The experimental (functional)

analysis of behavior disorders: Methodology, applications, and initiations. In A. C. Repp

& N. N. Singh (Eds.) Perspectives on the use of nonaversive and aversive interventions

for persons with developmental disabilities (pp. 301-330). Sycamore Press: Sycamore,

IL.

Nelson, J. R., Roberts, M. L., Mathur, S. R., & Rutherford, R.B. (1999). Has public policy

exceeded our knowledge base? A review of the functional behavioral assessment

literature. Behavioral Disorders, 24, 169-179.

O'Neill, R. E., Horner, R. H., Albin, R. W., Sprague, J. R., Storey, K., & Newton, J. S.

(1997). Functional assessment and program development for problem behavior (2nd

Edition). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole Publishing Company.

Rutherford, R. B., & Nelson, C. M. (1995). Management of aggressive and violent

behavior in schools. Focus on Exceptional Children, 26, 1-16.

Scott, T. M., & Nelson, C. M. (1999). Using functional behavioral assessment to develop

ERIC Resource Center www.eric.ed.gov

ED438662 2000-01-00 The Link between Functional Behavioral Assessments (FBAs)

and Behavioral Intervention Plans (BIPs). ERIC Digest E592.

Page 5 of 6
effective behavioral intervention plans: A ten step process. Submitted for Publication.

University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY.

-----

ERIC Digests are in the public domain and may be freely reproduced and disseminated,

but please acknowledge your source. This digest was prepared with funding from the

Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI), U.S. Department of

Education, under Contract No. ED-99-CO-0026. The opinions expressed in this

publication do not necessarily reflect the positions or policies of OERI or ED.

Title: The Link between Functional Behavioral Assessments (FBAs) and Behavioral

Intervention Plans (BIPs). ERIC Digest E592.

Document Type: Information Analyses---ERIC Information Analysis Products (IAPs)

(071); Information Analyses---ERIC Digests (Selected) in Full Text (073);

Available From: ERIC Clearinghouse on Disabilities and Gifted Education, Council for

Exceptional Children, 1920 Association Dr., Reston, VA 20191-1589. Tel: 800-328-0272

(Toll Free); e-mail: ericec@cec.sped.org; Web site: http://ericec.org. For full text:

http://ericec.org/digests/e592.htm.

Descriptors: Behavior Change, Behavior Modification, Data Collection, Disabilities,

Educational Legislation, Educational Planning, Elementary Secondary Education,

Environmental Influences, Federal Legislation, Individualized Education Programs,

Intervention, Positive Reinforcement, Student Evaluation, Student Placement,

Suspension

Identifiers: ERIC Digests, Functional Behavioral Assessment, Individuals with

Disabilities Education Act

###

[Return to ERIC Digest Search Page]

www.eric.ed.gov ERIC Custom Transformations Team

Page 6 of 6 ED438662 2000-01-00 The Link between Functional Behavioral Assessments (FBAs)

and Behavioral Intervention Plans (BIPs). ERIC Digest E592.