Tier 3 PBIS: Building Local Capacity for Conducting Function-Based Assessment and Individualized Behavior Support Chris Borgmeier, PhD Sheldon Loman, PhD Portland State University

Who’s here? o Administrators? o Teachers? o Paraprofessionals? o Behavior Specialists? o Other related services? o Others? o How Many FBAs have you personally conducted?? o 0-3? o 4-10? o 11-20? o Too many to count??

Goals/Outcomes By the end of the day today you will be able to… Use Practical FBA/BSP Manual, Process, & Materials in order to train others to conduct FBA and design Function-based behavior supports. Guide school staff through activities to teach them to specifically define behavior, identify variables that trigger problem behavior, and determine the function/ pay-off of student problem behavior. Model and guide school staff on how to conduct a Functional Assessment Checklist for Teachers and Staff (FACTS) interview Teach school staff the critical features of a behavior support plan that will make student problem behavior irrelevant, inefficient, and ineffective. 3

Today’s Agenda 9:45-10:15Introduction to Practical FBA/BSP 10:15-11:45Intro to Training Curriculum Demo Trainings 1 & 2 11:45-12:30Lunch 12:30-2:00Demo Trainings 3 & 4 2:00-2:15Break 2:15-3:30Review Trainings Planning & Practice

A primary goal of FBA is to…. guide the development of effective positive interventions based on the function of the behavior (e.g. tangible, escape, attention, automatic; Horner, 1994).

FBA is…. an empirically supported practice that has been demonstrated to improve both the effectiveness & efficiency of behavioral interventions in schools Blair, Umbreit, & Bos, 1999; Carr et al., 1999; Ingram, Lewis-Palmer, & Sugai, 2005; Lee, Sugai, & Horner, 1999; Newcomer & Lewis, 2004.

Ingram, Lewis-Palmer & Sugai, 2005

Newcomer & Lewis, 2004

Challenges schools face today are not finding what works, but implementing what works. Fixsen, Naoom, Blase, Friedman, & Wallace, 2005 Since 1997 FBA has not been implemented widely in schools. Not due to lack of knowledge, but to practicality of use

“Scaling Down to Scale up” Scott, Alter, & McQuillan (2010) In order for FBA to be applied in classrooms we need to simplify the practices associated with effective FBA It is essential to use straightforward language, rationale, and examples of how FBA can be applied in the context of classroom 10

Concern Behavior specialists are often overwhelmed with requests to conduct functional behavioral assessments and building behavior support plans. Basic Message: Any time you feel overwhelmed the answer is likely to include investing in the training of others.

Behavior Support Specialist Support Teams building behavior support plans from Assessment information Train 1-2 people per school to conduct “basic” FBA & BSP Train & coach teachers on classroom management

Current Issues and Needs… Do people already know how to do FBA in your schools? Can a district leader/behavior specialist teach FBA procedures in a reasonable amount of time? Are the basic FBAs developed by school personnel valid for building behavior support plans? Do our school teams understand the CRITICAL FEATURES of function-based interventions ? Do we have materials that are practical and effective for use by district/behavior specialists?

“Work Smarter NOT Harder…” By using the 4 “P”s Proactively build capacity- Train 1-2 school personnel in each school with a “flexible” role to conduct FBA/BSPs for students with mild/moderate problem behaviors Parsimonious tools- Use simple tools and terminology that are relatable to school personnel Practical Trainings- Provide short training sessions that teach “less more thoroughly” based on established instructional practices Prioritized follow-up- Through use of quick in-training assessments to determine those participants that will require more follow-up coaching

Training Series 4 training sessions on conducting functional behavioral assessments (FBA) for students with mild to moderate behavioral problems in schools. The training series teaches participants to conduct interviews and observations in such a way as to precisely determine the relationship between student problem behavior and the context: – What the problem behaviors are. – When, Where, & Why a student’s problem behaviors occur. A summary of this information will help an individual student team develop effective behavioral supports that: -prevent problem behaviors from occurring -teach alternative behaviors -& effectively respond when problem behaviors occur.

Practical FBA vs Comprehensive FBA Practical FBAComprehensive FBA For:Students with mild to moderate problem behaviors (behaviors that are NOT dangerous or occurring in many settings) Students with moderate to severe behavioral problems; may be dangerous and/or occurring in many settings What:Relatively simple and efficient process to guide behavior support planning Time-intensive process that also involves archival records review, family- centered planning, and collaboration with agencies outside of school Conducted by whom:School-based personnel (e.g., teachers, counselors, administrators) Professionals trained to conduct functional assessments with students with severe problem behaviors (e.g., school psychologists, behavior specialists) 16 Focus of this training series

Practical/Basic FBA process D.A.S.H. D efine behavior in observable & measurable terms A sk about behavior by interviewing staff & student -specify routines where & when behaviors occur -summarize where, when, & why behaviors occur S ee the behavior -observe the behavior during routines specified -observe to verify summary from interviews H ypothesize: a final summary of where, when & why behaviors occur 17 Session #1 Session #2 Session #3 Session #4

Format of Practical/Basic FBA Training Sessions (pg.5) Objectives Review Activities Checks for Understanding Comments/ Questions Tasks Key Points

RACER R eplace problem behavior with a socially acceptable, efficient behavior that allows student to obtain the pay-off/function A ntecedent strategies to directly address triggers to prevent problems & prompt replacement behaviors based on the function of behavior C orrect behaviors by quickly & effectively redirecting student to replacement behavior E xtinguish behaviors by ensuring that problem behaviors do NOT pay off for the student (i.e. does not result in the function of behavior) R einforce replacement & desired behaviors based on function/pay off for the student New & Improved* *based on recent research

Examination of Efficacy of Practical/Basic FBA for use by school personnel Determined that staff with flexible roles in schools (e.g., counselors, administrators) can be trained to conduct FBA for students with mild to moderate behavior problems (i.e., students with recurring problems that do not involve physical aggression or violent behaviors). Determined the efficacy and acceptability of Practical FBA methods and tools with school personnel. Loman & Horner, in press Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions [JPBI]

Methods: 3 Phases of the Study Phase 1- Practical FBA training on FBA tools & methods provided to 12 school professionals. -Pre- & Post-Tests of FBA knowledge Phase of the 12 Trained participants conducted an FBA according to procedures they were taught for one student within their school. -Using Practical FBA tools: interviewed, observed, and hypothesized summary of student behavior. Phase 3- Functional analyses conducted by researcher to test each participant’s hypothesis/summary statement -Experimental manipulations to determine the efficacy of the Practical FBA training.

Pre/Post Training FBA Knowledge N=12 Overall Pretest M= 39.50% (SD=18.82%) Overall Posttest M= 92.55% (SD=7.22%) Results: Phase 1 99% Inter-rater Total Agreement on 25% of tests. 39%

Acceptability Ratings Agree Results: Phase 2 N=10 Strongly disagree Strongly Agree

Comparison of Summary Statements Generated from Interviews 9 out of 10 of the summary statements hypothesized by the FACTS interviews with teachers were verified by results of experimental functional analysis. The one FACTS summary statement that was not verified by FA actually resulted in further clarification from the direct observation. The school participant decided to use the results from the direct observation which resulted in a function that was verified by experimental functional analysis. Results: Phase 3

60-minute Function-based Behavior Support Training Results Overall Mean Increase by 30% Borgmeier, Loman, Rodriguez, in prep

Accessing Training Materials 26

Find all the training materials Here! 27

Participant Manual Training Materials Participant Materials for trainings (pp. 1-77) When training – each participant should get a participant manual (at least pp. 1-77) Blank Forms (pp ) FACTS Interview Forms (for Staff & Student) ABC Recording Forms Behavior Support Planning Forms Quick Reference Guide (pp ) Presentation Slides x Session (pp )

Is this something you want to do in your district? Would you like to implement the ‘Practical FBA’ training in your district? What steps do you need to take to propose this idea and begin moving forward? District commitment & planning Identifying teams & appropriate attendees What additional support would you need to deliver the curriculum? 29

Preparing to Train Practical FBA in your District 30