The purpose of the Academy is to translate validated research in positive behavioral support into practical and easy to implement strategies for teachers. This module, Functional Assessment, is one of the most important areas of content in positive behavioral support. A strong functional assessment is at the heart of an effective behavioral support plan. Functional assessment methods are used to identify the variables that maintain and predict problem behavior. The information gathered in a functional assessment is used to create an environment that naturally reduces the likelihood of problem behavior, and that highlights social and communication skills a student needs in order to be successful in school.

Each positive behavioral support module is an instructional package that can be used independently. However, all of the positive behavioral support modules are interdependent. For instance, the implementation of an effective communication intervention requires knowledge and mastery of functional assessment procedures. Multiple behavioral support strategies are often needed in order to reduce a student's problem behavior. Although these modules can be used independently, the instructional content will be stronger if the modules are used together. The Functional Assessment module should be mastered before moving on to the other modules listed in the content map.

One way that the interdependent quality will be demonstrated throughout the seven positive behavioral support modules is by following two students who engage in problem behavior, Faith and George. This module will demonstrate the types of functional assessment procedures that were implemented for both Faith and George, and show how this information was used to create their positive behavioral support plans. The other modules described in the content map will demonstrate important interventions and principals of positive behavioral support using these two students as case studies. The vignettes below will briefly introduce you to Faith and George.

Faith

Faith is a young woman with severe developmental delays who has just moved to a new general education classroom. Faith has trouble communicating and has only a few gestures that help her to let people know what she wants or needs. Her peers avoid her because during the middle of class Faith will frequently throw up on her desk. The teaching assistant that works with Faith makes her leave the room immediately when she starts to vomit and Faith usually does not come back until much later.

George

George is a new student at Jackson Elementary School who has been repeatedly sent to the office for being disruptive during reading. Most of the time he throws his book across the room when asked to read out loud and makes obscene jokes and noises when called on in class. At first his teacher assumed that George was showing off to get attention. However, as George’s teacher and the school psychologist began look for the underlying function of George’s unruly behavior, it became clear that George was not able to read at the level of his peers and was engaging in behaviors he knew would mask his poor reading skills.