Effects of Training in Functional Behavior Assessment

The article that I chose was about a study on formal training for Special Education teachers and functional behavioral plans.  This study was created because in spite of the many behavior change methods only a narrow range of methods seems to be being used.  The main goal of the training was to build competence in the use of the FBA.  To do this they want the schools to establish a philosophical foundation that all students should remain in school, create support within school systems for implementing FBA, and educate professionals within the school in the competencies necessary to conduct FBAs.

This study targeted specifically the difference between the untrained and the trained teachers to identify the function of the student problem behavior as a result of a brief training program conducted by a large urban district and is there a difference in the ability of untrained and trained teachers to make recommendations to change problem behavior as a result of a brief training program conducted by a large urban district.


Basically they took 250 teachers in urban schools and provided them with a class on the steps to take to fill out a functional behavioral plan.  They provided examples of methods to use in order to change the behaviors in classrooms.  This class only met 3 times for 3 hours.  After the class they were asked to fill out a form discussing their response to the class out of 250 people they received only 100 responses back.  They felt that because of this many of the people who attended the class did not feel that the class was worth while.


After this they looked how the plans in the areas where developed.  They did find that 30% of those who attended the classes did implement some of the techniques they where presented with.  The other teachers did implement plans that seemed to be effective but did not include any of the techniques presented.  The developers of this study felt that they should have made this class longer.  Showed better case studies that these new or different methods were successful.

They feel that teachers do a good job creating FBA but the methods could be more varied.


I found this encouraging that teachers with out more extensive training were still doing a good job at providing a solid plan for children.  I also liked the fact they this study pointed out the fact that they should have made their training class longer and provide better follow up.



Dukes C, Rosenberg H, Brady M. Effects of Training in Functional Behavior Assessment. International Journal Of Special Education [serial online]. January 1, 2008;23(1):163-173. 

Nancy Giblin

Topic Areas to Consider when Planning Transition from High School To Postsecondary Education for Kids with ASD

This article was very interesting especially with the assignment that we are about to begin.  This article discussed the things that we as educators should consider when making a transition plan.  One item that I found very helpful was the topic of career exploration.  They mentioned that you should begin with an assessment of the student to see if it includes standards, beliefs and ideas that are important to the individual.  Employment outlook will there be jobs in the field in a few years is something that I may not have considered.  Another topic is will this require vocational training or is it academic training?  If its academic training this could include taking a college course  while in high school either online, on the high school campus or at a local community college.

Other items that we will need to consider are assessing and identifying learning styles, teaching the student self advocacy skills.  The students will need to understand their needs and effectively communicate those needs to others.  Along with self advocacy is the need for individuals with disabilities to be aware of reasonable accommodations that are available and necessary to support their success in postsecondary education.  During the k-12 years their needs are taken care of with an IEP as they enter secondary education they will have to check in with the campus disability services office an inform them of their accommodation needs.  This can be significant and challenging.

It is also important for kids with ASD to know the academic supports are available in post secondary education and which ones work for them.  It mentions that you need to need to provide opportunities in high school for the kids to expire and become aware of the various supports and how to acquire them and use them.

Making sure that you have a team to work on the plan is best.  Who is most involved with his life? What agencies may help the student now and during postsecondary education. Who will support the the student while in postsecondary education? What supports are needed?  These are questions we should think when asking people to help formulate the plan.

Making sure the student is familiar with all necessary technology.  Online tools for registration for classes and managing an online class can be very important.  There is a Tech Act project that is funded under the U.S. Department of Education Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services. This has a lending service so an individual can morrow and use a piece of equipment for a set amount of time.

For many people with ASD routines, times, and schedules are the backbone of each day.  Postsecondary education schedules that appear to be set change frequently.  You will need to teach the student what to do if this happens how to manage unexpected blocks of time.

All of this information for me was enlightening.  I will use this information for writing my transition plan.  This was one of the best article I have found.

Roberts, K. Topic Areas to Consider When Planning Transition From High School to Postsecondary 

Education for Students With Autism Spectrum Disorders, 

Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, v25 n3 p158-162 Sep 2010. 5 pp.

ADHD in Adolescence

The  journal article that I read was about ADHD being associated with many psychiatric disorders in adolescence.  I was really hoping that this study would say that children with ADHD have no greater chance of developing psychiatric disorders as they reach adolescence but that was not the case.  They studied 4 groups of children from age 3 to 18.  They passively followed groups of children with ADHD and those with out.  Both groups of children had some incidents of depression, anxiety, defiant disorder, eating disorders and adjustment disorders.  The children with ADHD experienced one or more of these symptoms 2 fold to that of those with out ADHD.  The results may be a bit off in my opinion because as the children grew up they did not meet with the families as often.  By the end of the study some of the information they received was by a form that was sent to the families to be filled out.   I wonder if every family was aware of the problems their child was experiencing and if they did report them if there were problems.  There was not much information on if the children were taking medication during the study.  I do know from personal experience that as children with ADHD reach high school and college they are more likely to try to live with out medicine.   It has been my experience that this is usually when problems arise.  I hope that when my children reach this stage in their lives that they remember how being off medicine made their lives complicated and the focus that they feel while on it.  



Yoshimasu, K., Barbaresi, W. J., Colligan, R. C., Voigt, R. G., Killian, J. M., Weaver, A. L., & Katusic, S. K. (2012). Childhood ADHD is strongly associated with a broad range of psychiatric disorders during adolescence: a population-based birth cohort study. Journal Of Child Psychology & Psychiatry, 53(10), 1036-1043. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.2012.02567.x