Functional Behavioral Assessment and Intervention in Schools: A Practitioner's Guide

This manual provides school-based mental health professionals with a user-friendly resource for conducting effective functional behavioral assessments (FBAs) and for creating appropriate behavior intervention plans (BIPs). It addresses topics such as practical, legal, and ethical reasons for conducting an FBA; individual and contextual factors affecting behavior; identifying conditions that predict behavior; identifying strengths, incentives, and replacement behaviors; cultural considerations; and linking assessment to intervention. Includes reproducible worksheets, sample recording forms, school-home notes, behavior contracts and more.

Dr James L. McDougal , Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the school psychology program in the Counseling and Psychological Services Department at The State University of New York at Oswego, USA. He was formerly the mental health coordinator for the Syracuse City School District, where he provided mental health and behavioral consultation services to over 40 schools and programs. Dr. McDougal has presented numerous training seminars at state and national forums in the areas of school-based functional assessment, academic and behavioral intervention planning, consultation, and prereferral intervention. Dr. Sandra M. Chafouleas is a professor in the school psychology program, and research scientist with the Center for Behavioral Education and Research (CBER) within the Neag School of Education. Dr. Chafouleas received her Ph.D. in school psychology from Syracuse University and has been a licensed psychologist in Connecticut, USA since 2001. Her primary areas of research involve school-based behavior assessment as well as the application of evidence-based strategies in schools. She has authored over 100 articles, book chapters, and books. She serves as the Project Director on IES-funded projects related to evaluation of school-based behavior assessment tools involving Direct Behavior Rating (Project VIABLE, VIABLE-II) and post-doctoral fellowship (Project PBER). She is a member of the Society for the Study of School Psychology and a fellow in both the American Psychological Association and Association for Psychological Science. Prior to becoming a university trainer, she worked as a school psychologist and school administrator in a variety of settings dealing with children with behavior disorders. Dr Betsy Waterman, Ph.D., is a professor and chair of the Counseling and Psychological Services Department at The State University of New York at Oswego, USA where she teaches in a graduate program that trains school psychologists and counselors. She is also an active researcher in the area of learning problems, reading, memory, and early childhood.