Behavioral Classification System for Problem Behaviors in Schools: A Diagnostic Manual

This diagnostic manual provides a uniform and unique function-based classification system for categorizing problem behaviors in schools. Written by the author of the bestselling textbook on functional behavioral assessment (FBA), the Cipani Behavioral Classification System (BCS) contained in this manual provides an invaluable alternative to the idiosyncratic descriptions of problem behavior functions currently employed in FBA reports. Instead, it provides the reader with a standardized classification system for selecting the hypothesized function of problem behaviors. For each of 13 distinct functions in the Cipani BCS, there is a general description, explanation, and illustrative example of the category.

Behavioral Classification System for Problem Behaviors in Schools contains:

• A comprehensive delineation of the 13 categories in the Cipani Behavioral Classification System (BCS) for classifying the function of problem behaviors in schools, providing a standardized mechanism for diagnosing the function of problem behavior for FBAs
• A straightforward path from diagnostic category to the selection of effective functional treatments
• Practice cases to facilitate user's understanding of how to diagnose the function and its respective classification category
• Examples of validation test procedures for specific functions along with hypothetical data
• Sample written material for FBA reports and individual education plans (IEPs) that serve as models for readers when doing similar exercises
• A model for writing FBAs in a more precise way with respect to the motivational condition "driving" the function
• Instructor's resources including test material, PowerPoint Slides, and a student certificate of competence are available to qualified adopters

Ideal as a supplement in school psychology and special education courses, school psychologists and other personnel who conduct FBAs will also appreciate this book’s unique classification system, especially when conducting assessment activities and report writing.

Ennio Cipani, PhD, is a licensed psychologist in California since 1983. He has been doing in-home and in-school behavioral consultation for children with problem behaviors for four decades. Dr. Cipani has published numerous articles, chapters, books, and software in the areas of child behavior management and parent and teacher behavioral consultation.

Alessandra Cipani, MA, is currently a fourth-year school psychology doctoral student in the Graduate School of Education at the University of California, Riverside, where she received her MA in education with an emphasis on school psychology.