The Problem Behavior Frequency Scale

Disruptive Behavior Disorders. Oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), conduct disorder (CD), and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) form a cluster of childhood disorders considered to be “disruptive behavior disorders” (American Psychiatric Association, 2004). Although most violent adolescents have more than one mental disorder and they may have internalizing disorders, for example depression or substance abuse, there appear to be increasingly higher rates of physical aggression found in these adolescents who experience disruptive behavior disorders than for those with other mental disorders. The fact that violent juvenile offenders are more likely to have these diagnoses is not surprising, because impulsive and/or aggressive behaviors are part of their diagnostic criteria. Additionally, there is relatively high co-morbidity with substance abuse disorders, which are also associated with juvenile violence (Moeller, 2001). Individuals with conduct disorder have the following features but this list is not inclusive for example they may have little empathy and little concern for the feelings, wishes, and wellbeing of others, respond with aggression, may be callous and lack appropriate feelings of guilt re remorse, self-esteem may be low despite a projected

Content validity is achieved when the content of the assessment matches the educational objectives. Criterion validity is demonstrated by the ability of the test to relate to external requirements. Construct validity takes into account the educational variables, such as the native language of the students, to predict the test outcomes. Reliable assessments have consistent results; Reliability refers to the consistency of a measure. A test is considered reliable if we get the same result repeatedly.

Functional behavior assessments are important to teachers and students because I believe that all children behave a certain way for a reason. Children who have disabilities as well as children who do not have disabilities behave in inappropriate ways and a functional behavior assessment can help to determine why so that a plan can be developed to correct the behavior. Negative behavior is a reaction to something happening in a child's life or an imbalance in the child. A child with an imbalance will benefit from a functional behavior assessment because there is a

Thank you for your considering my application to the Applied Behavior analysis program. For all of my life I have known that I was going to help people. It could be said that it is in my DNA. I just never suspected what the capacity would be. On December 15thI graduated from Albright college, I began working at Melmark on December 16th. My first thought, on that first day was “Oh no, I can’t do this, I need to quit” That was over two years ago, and I have gone to work every day, with a smile on my face. While working at my first position, out of college, I discovered my passion. My passion, I find, is working with children and adults with autism and with people who suffer from addiction. Watching the smiles on their faces, the determination when they work to complete a goal, and just the progress makes every hardship worth it, I love it. Each day, in my position as an ABA, I run behavior support plans, IEPs, teaching plans and other protocols, and each day I truly wish that I could have contributed to these plans, protocols, and IEPs. I ponder the recommendations that I could come up with, I wonder that if I had been able to participate in these conversations to create these plans could I have brought something else to the table, a different viewpoint. Affecting the way that the plans are written and in turn ran, I feel that I could make a big difference in the lives of the children and their families also. Every two weeks each child’s team meets to discuss his or her

|The duration of this behavior is exhibited daily in 3 out of 6 class periods. |

standardized tests is that they lack a level of comprehension and are incapable of succeeding in the educational system. This belief is especially prevalent in regards to high stakes tests such as college entrance and high school graduation exams because the focus is on the test score. The perception is that these scores are the sole indicator of the student’s knowledge of a subject and their ability to succeed at a higher level of education. Therefore,

1). To support this claim he further states, “Research and experience show that standardized tests are generally good at measuring students’ knowledge, skills, and understanding because they are objective, fair, efficient, and comprehensive” (Par. 3). On the contrary, Harris, Harris, and Smith state that “Achievement is more than test scores but also includes class participation, students’ course-taking patterns, and teachers’ professional development patterns” (Par. 6) They also believe student achievement involves more than scores on standardized tests. In fact, these three authors see the usage of test scores to measure student achievement as a “Dangerous Illusion” (Par. 3). To support this claim the three authors list a variety of concepts which cannot be measured with standardized tests, such as creativity, critical thinking, curiosity, motivation, reliability, self-discipline, and leadership (Par. 8). They also explain how all of these qualities are considered valuable by our society (Par. 9). Walberg fires back by saying, “Responsible test-makers, . . . do not purport to cover all the material students are expected to learn” (Par. 14). He compares standardized tests to national surveys, in which a small number of the total population is interviewed to represent a societies values as a whole (Par. 14). To illustrate his point, Walberg uses the analogy of a “Three-Legged Stool.” The stool’s legs

There are too many external factors that could influence a child’s test score, yet, we’ve allowed standardized testing to determine a child’s future. “For example, test anxiety has grown into a subfield of educational psychology, and its prevalence means that the tests producing this reaction are not giving us a good picture of what many students really know and can do.” (Kohn, 2000) The high amount of value American society places on standardized testing can cause a high amount of anxiety, which can be associated with a fear of failure. “While the pressure to perform well can act as a motivator, it can also be devastating to individuals who tie their self worth to the outcome of a test.” (Test Anxiety) Test anxiety can manifest itself in the form of an anxiety attack, which can cause symptoms such as difficulty concentrating and brain fog, among a multitude of other uncomfortable manifestations. Anxiety, along with many other factors, can alter a student’s ability to display their full potential. (Test

Functional Behavior Assessments Many students with exceptionalities exhibit undesirable behaviors that are a result of a disability. In order to ensure that students are successful in their education, an important component present in special education is behavior modification. The functional behavior assessment is an effective tool used to identify problem behaviors, the reason behind them, and propose action plans to modify the behavior. There are many observational methods used to complete a functional behavior assessment.

As state by the student scenario, Gloria is self-biting when being reprimanded by an adult or peer. The scenario also states that a Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA) has been conducted, and suggests that Gloria is self-biting as an avoidance/escaping behavior to avoid situations where she is being reprimanded. To support Gloria in reducing the self-biting behavior, I would take a proactive approach and implement positive reinforcements. First I would review the FBA, to make note of when and in what situations the negative behavior was occurring most often. I would assess these situations to see if there were factors contributing to the behavior that could be altered or removed. I would then devise a behavior intervention plan (BIP) that

We know this report to be empirical or tangible because the models came from nationally represented data samples of assessments in the United States. These three assessments were then compared against one another.

Functional behavioral assessment is best understood as the process of trying to solve some of the problems that are brought about or linked to the behaviors of an individual. Functional behavioral assessment majorly dwells on the systematic study of an individual’s behavior over a period of time so as to best understand how the problem can be controlled or how the behavior is resulting into the problem. The process normally requires appropriate integration so as to make sure that the existing problems are solved effectively.

The next intervention, Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA) (Tobin et al., 2000), is also used in conjunction with other interventions as mentioned above. An FBA is rooted in the field of applied behavior analysis and identifies the antecedents and consequences for the behavior (Flower, 2011) and is a mandate of IDEA (Regan, 2011). It also acts as a guide to selecting interventions to address the problem behaviors (Binkiker and Pindiprolu, 2008). FBA’s are “based on the assumptions that (a) problem behaviors serve functions for a person who displays them and (b) all behavior problems are learned” (Binkiker et al., 2008 p. 68). The process of conducting an FBA “is a problem-solving approach that relies on selecting relevant environmental factors for identifying the primary motivations for the problem behavior and using that information as the centerpiece for developing an individual behavior intervention plan” (Wehby and Kern, 2014 p. 42).  When referring to the function of the behavior, it is the purpose that the behavior is serving.  There are 5 categories that the behavior can fall into and Gersham (2007) describes them as:

At the facility, an aggressive act is,”hitting, pushing, kicking, or similar acts directed against another individual to cause potential or actual injury”(Bader & Evans, 2015, p. 113). This scale is based on a number system ranging from one to four, where one is no injury and four is a severity that requires admission to a community hospital. For the sake of this study, the members of the severe repetitive aggressors group had to have committed two acts of aggression that had a rating of three or four on the facility’s

The behavioral analyst utilizes the (FBA) functional behavior assessment because of its ability to enable a hypothesis about a relation between specific environmental events and behaviors. The use of functional analysis allows for antecedents and consequences that are displayed in an individuals natural environment. They are arranged because they have separate effects on a behavior that can be observed and measured. When using a (FBA) function behavior assessment it provides a hypothesis about a particular behavior in an environment indirectly, while the functional analysis assess a behavior directly in an natural environment.