Research indicates that as many as 50% of students with Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) for a learning disability have some form of internalizing or externalizing behavior problem that impedes their learning or the learning of others. It practically goes without saying that those with emotional disabilities and many with mild mental retardation exhibit challenging behaviors as well.

It appears that the intent of the law is to entice us as educators to head off more serious behavior problems by conducting a Functional Behavioral Assessment and implementing sound interventions when challenging behaviors first emerge. We support this assumption and further believe that only through functional teamwork among the important people in a child's life will his or her behavior actually change.

Michael and I will describe a process of conducting a Functional Behavioral Assessment and subsequently writing a Behavior Intervention Plan that is theoretically inclusive and naturally supportive of group problem-solving. With the amendments to IDEA it is becoming very clear that we all must become behavior analysts, consultants to each other, and creative problem solvers. Our aim today is to provide a framework for meeting , thinking about, and correcting the challenging behaviors of children in our schools.

Functional Behavioral Assessment is not new nor are Behavior Intervention Plans for that matter. What is new is that they are mandated by law. With the present opportunity to critically revisit what it means to analyze behavior and develop intervention plans we hope to break down some long standing assumptions. Specifically, that antecedents and consequences are the fundamental unit of analysis. Rather, we believe the whole child, his or her environment, and the challenging behavior should be examined and taken into consideration when planning interventions. We also believe that the development of intervention plans and their subsequent review is not a linear or one-to-one process between goals and interventions. Rather planning and review should be a holistic and integrated process in which all goals and all interventions are reviewed as a connected package. This idea will be made clearer later in the presentation.