FBAs and BIPs

This article sought to discover how schools were doing with regard to completing an accurate FBA, and then implementing an accurate BIP based off of data from the FBA.
This study was done in Wisconsin and the data that came back from the schools participating showed that there are many concerning points when it comes to how IEP teams and/or educators carry out the requirements of FBAs and BIPs.

First of all, schools in Wisconsin were given a 1 day inservice on how to implement an FBA, and then create a BIP.  The criterion were listed, and were exactly mirroring the requirements we just read about in our screencast.  The main purpose of the FBA is to identify the function of the behavior.  The BIP should seek then to teach an appropriate replacement behavior, or just in general, use positive behavior supports.

One factor that was very concerning was the fact that the majority of the FBAs submitted for their review failed to include any strategies to verify the hypothesized function prior to the development of the BIP (Van Acker et. al, 2005).  This is so fundamental to even the creation of a legal BIP that I felt it should be mentioned. 

Another important detail to note is how important it is to be able to identify the variables that support the target behavior.  If these variables are able to be identified within the context of the situation, then it's only yields a clearer perspective to the educator who is choosing the replacement behavior to teach.  When the antecedents to the behavior are unknown, it can be a challenge to develop a truly ideal BIP.  82% of the FBAs submitted to the study did include these details and gave information about antecedent behaviors across educational contexts and settings (Van Acker 2005).

What was interesting to note in this study was that only 15% of teams that submitted FBAs for review noted any kind of antecedents related to the teacher's behavior.  Very few noted that behavior of peers served as a function for the behavior.  It was also noted that direct observation was a way that all these observations were made in just under half (49%) of the cases submitted.

I found this study to be helpful because it lists how several schools in a neighboring state are doing at keeping legal provisions for students with disabilities up to date.  In the beginning of the article, the study creators noted that several districts found it extremely difficult to keep up with all the documentation for FBAs that would lead to BIPs.  IDEA's provisions for this right of students with disabilities has been something that has been poorly funded.  Teachers have been given some training in the way of professional development, but a limitation of the study noted that many teachers would really have to receive training in applied behavior analysis for them even to be able to complete a truly successful and correct FBA/BIP.

This article serves as another way to show teachers that there is more work to do.  The goal of the FBA should be to document everything it requires fully, and to make sure that the target behavior is listed with positive behavior supports.  The BIP should address a replacement behavior, and include any required provisions necessary to help the student be successful.

Van Acker, R., Boreson, L., Gable, R. A., & Potterton, T. (2005). Are we on the right 
     course? Lessons learned about current FBA/BIP practices in schools. Journal of 
     behavioral education, 14(1), 35-56.

Transition Planning for Adolescents with High Incidence Disabilities: Adolescents in Foster Care

     This study was mind blowing and heart wrenching for me, honestly.  The researchers chose to focus on two groups of youth:  students with disabilities who were in foster care, and students with disabilities who were receiving special education services only (outside of foster care.  
     The purpose of the study was to explore whether the quality of transition planning differs for youth in foster care.  Geenen and Powers noted that, "it's important for all youth in special education.  It's critical for foster youth with disabilities who, when they reach the age of majority are suddenly expected to function independently as adults with little to no family, financial, or community support (Geenen, Powers 2006)."
Their study sought to explain (1) the extent to which transition planning for foster youth in special education incorporates the amendments of IDEA and accounts for effective transition practices (basically, that the transition plans are legally protecting these students and providing them the rights they deserve under the law). (2)Also, the extent that the quality of transition planning differs for foster youth in special education from youth who are in special education only.
     I have to speed up to the results portion of this article because it's really telling of where our society is.  Truthfully, it's really sad. So, the results indicated that foster care youth are much less likely than students who are SpEd only to have an advocate present at their IEP meetings (family member, foster parent, etc.).  The study also stated that students receiving special education services while in foster care were likely to have significantly fewer goals described on transition plans than the other group of SpEd only students.  Another significant detail to note was that only 31% of the transition plans had a goal around college/trade school.  16% contained goals around developing skills for living on ones own (meal prep, laundry, shopping, managing a budget.)  20% of youth in foster care and receiving special education services HAD NO GOALS LISTED AT ALL.
      I mean, I have no words.  This study was done in Oregon by the way.  The inter-rater reliability among the details they were discovering was 85.8%.  That's pretty high agreement about topics, goals, and details that were missing in students ITPs.  
      I think the functional purpose of this article is to remember that not every student with disabilities has only the challenge of whatever their disability is.  There are students who do not have advocates.  That's it.  There is no one fighting for, and building relationships with these students.  Neither is there someone investing in who they are in the future.  It just seems like they're out the door at 18 and must figure out a way to survive in society.  A statistic at the beginning of this article said, that for this reason, this group of students is high in the rates of experiencing homelessness at an early age.
       I would recommend anyone reading this article.  It caused me to think about how ill prepared so many thousands of youth are.  What are the implications for our society, when we allow so many young to just be tossed out?  This article definitely has my wheels turning.


Geenen, S. J., & Powers, L. E. (2006). Transition planning for foster youth. Journal for vocational special needs education, 28(2), 4-15.

Adolescents with High Incidence Disabilities

     This article deals with the higher rate of probability that an adolescent will be overweight if they have a high incidence disability and are living in residential care.  First of all, one of the factors listed for causing the weight gain is medication.  Adolescents could be living in a residential facility because of possible needs that can not be met in the home in terms of health care.  Other factors could include, "educational deficiencies, maladaptive behaviors, high rates of mobility and placement instability, elevated externalizing and internalizing behavior, and higher rates of psychometric medication usage (Trout et. al, 2014)."
     One of the limitations listed in the study is that, "while the study provides a valuable overview of the health status of youth in residential care, they didn't specifically examine youth with high incidence disabilities in these settings (Trout 2014)."  It seemed to me the factor of how their health was affected in the facility was more the focus.  For instance, the study noted that adolescents in residential care were more likely to have common medical ailments such as asthma.  
      The study continued to compare adults with disabilities and adults without.  There was still a higher percentage of adults with high incidence disabilities who were obese than those adults in residential care who did not have a disability.
      I honestly found the information shared in this article to be a little all over the place.  It seemed like the title was not completely true to the information that was presented.  The article first says it's talking about one thing (adolescents with high incidence in residential facilities), and then it goes on to cite that it doesn't handle the high incidence disabilities piece.  Then it goes on to talk about adults with and without disabilities..)
      Upon honest reflection, there are many interesting statistics shared, and important comparisons made, the data within this article is a little all over the place.  This is my opinion though.  While it shared a relevant piece of information (that students with high incidence disabilities may face the challenge of obesity in residential care), the scope and sequence of information shared didn't follow a well thought out pattern.  But, as I said ,this is just my opinion.
        



Trout, A. L., Lambert, M. C., Nelson, T. D., & Thompson, R. W. (2014). Prevalence of weight problems among youth with 
          high-incidence disabilities in residential care. Behavioral Disorders, 39(3), 165-174.

Other Health Impairments: ADD/ADHD

     I chose the article, Helping Students with Disabilities Transition to College, 21 Tips for Students With LD and/or ADD/ADHD, because a student with ADD/ADHD can be categorized under IDEA's Other Health Impairments category to receive special education services. The reason the author gives for the importance of this topic is the fact that statistics show an abnormally high percentage of students with ADD/ADHD do not complete any type of postsecondary education.  According to Connor, only 28% of these students manage to graduate, which is approximately half of the graduation rate for students without disabilities (Connor 2012).   
     The steps that Connor has listed are very practical and helpful steps to think about and take when making goals to be successful in a postsecondary school setting.  The steps are the following: 
(1) Be comfortable with the LD and/or ADD/ADHD classification
(2) Acknowledge Strengths and Areas of Need
(3) Learn About the College Disability Services Office
(4) Practice Making Decisions
(5) Read College Success Stories (6) Know Student Rights Before Attending College
(7) Know Student Responsibilities Before Attending College
(8) Take a College Course While in High School
(9) Participate in Precollege Academies (10) Develop Essential Skills
(11) Align Study Skills to Specific Classes 
(12) Make Connections Among Classes (13) Utilize Peer Tutor Services
(14) Use Informal Peer Mentors (15) Access Class Notes
(16) Evaluate Professor Before Taking Class (17) Use Benefits of Technology
(18) Consider the Benefits of Self-Disclosure (19) Take Responsibility for Your OWn Education
(20) Cultivate Individual Talent (21) Self-Advocate     (Connor 2012)

     This list seems long to list here but I feel it is very important because many of the steps that the article advocates are things that can be considered while the student is still in high school.  For instance, there are daily living or study skills goals that can be addressed within a student's IEP.  These goals I'm talking about can be responsibility and ownership of a student's learning, such as the student would be responsible for writing down assignments in a notebook and being accountable for them.  Students may be able to have a check in and check out to show they are doing this skill.  I will say that practicing these skills is so important because when the student's support is taken away, the student must be able to function in a school setting autonomously.
     A student can also work on issues of self awareness and acceptance if they receive social work services.  In my opinion, this speaks to numbers 1 and 2 that Connor listed.  If a student receives adequate support in school and at home, I would hope they would be encouraged to be comfortable with the diagnosis.  Rather than seeing it as a disability, it should be seen as a way that they process information differently (Connor 2012).  I believe it's possible to even work through this issue, as well as do an inventory of personal strengths and areas of need (which is #2 on the list).  Again, within a social work setting, this type of self analysis could be helpful for a student whose other health impairment is ADD/ADHD.
     I feel a challenge after reading about OHI in the textbook, the OHI website, and then Connor's article.  Teachers and parents have to work together to help students reach a point where they can feel, first of all, comfortable with their medical diagnosis.  Students and parents need to be made aware of the support networks that are available to them (there are a few websites and lists available in this article).  Finally, teachers of students with special needs and OHI, need to keep their student's futures at the forefront of their minds.  Even if we are teaching the younger grades, it's got to be The Essential Piece, when planning for these students to be successful.  What skills will they need when they leave me?  ...when they are years down the road.  I feel that we are laying the ground work and so helping these students and supporting them by providing practice in self management and even advocacy are detrimental to their success in the future.  

Connor, D. J. (2012). Helping students with disabilities transition to college: 21 tips for students with LD and/or ADD/ADHD.TEACHING Exceptional Children, 44(5), 16-25.

Autism Spectrum Disorders

     This article gave a very practical approach to develop effective transition plans for high school students with Autism Spectrum Disorder.  The 5 steps listed were to identify transition goals, link postsecondary goals with IEP goals, troubleshoot and adjust transition and IEP goals, provide opportunities to teach skills, and evaluate progress (Szidon et. al, 2015).
      This article was especially helpful to me because I have never written an IEP goal before.  It helped to know which areas of the student's development and plan need to be considered.  Under the first step (Identify Transition Goals), Szidon et. al, stated that transition goals should consider the student's needs in the areas of:  postsecondary education, employment, and independent living (Szidon 2015).  While I realize the focus was high school students with autism spectrum disorder, I also realize the 3 areas given would apply to other groups of students and help me to wrap my mind around what areas need to be considered.
     This article also listed the pitfalls for goal writing.  The pitfalls listed are passive participation, too specific to curriculum, and episodic events (Szidon 2015).  Passive participation was described as the need to distinguish between the goal and the supports needed to reach the goal.  "Too specific to curriculum" was explained by using the example of a student who is on a points system for good behavior.  Her IEP said that she needed to get 7 points a day to earn her reward.
     The speech of this goal doesn't sound like it prepares her for future employment.  Szidon et. al., stated a correction to this goal could be that she uses a self-monitoring checklist which helps her to problem solve and it's also an appropriate support to maintain workplace employment (Szidon 2015).  Episodic events refers to goals that can be measured over time (not just one time occurences that would be unnnecessary to include in an IEP.
      I found that this article was strong in that it gave many real life examples.  I think that it gives new educators or people with questions on a multidisciplinary team, a starting point and place to start planning from.  There are also resources given for national networks based on transition planning assessments (for social and adaptive skills) that help the multidisciplinary team in their decision making process.




Szidon, K., Ruppar, A., & Smith, L. (2015). Five steps for developing effective transition       
          plans for high school students with autism spectrum disorder. TEACHING 
          Exceptional Children, 47(3), 147-152.

Emotional and Behavioral Disorder

     As an educator, I know that the need for evidence based practices is key to an instructor's credibility and success in the classroom and among peers and administrators.  This article chose to overview emotional behavior disorders, describe two specific evidence based practices (EBPs) with proven outcomes of academic success(for transition-aged youth), and guide teachers to finding more EBPs to help students in the classroom and without.
     First of all, the two key evidence based practices listed are peer-assisted learning and self management.  According to Farley et. al., peer assistance in education involves mixed-ability grouping of students to support each other through learning processes and tasks (Farley et. al., 2012).  These models can be implemented in many ways and help students to benefit from playing the role of student as well as teacher.   "Peer-assisted learning also increases opportunities for students to receive one-to-one instruction, repeated practice, and immediate feedback, all of which support increases in academic achievement (Farley 2012)." One of the most effective evidence based practices under the peer-assisted learning umbrella is called CWPT, classwide peer tutoring.  The guidelines for it are explicit but bare bones, it happens for 20 minutes a day, 10 minutes for students to be the teacher and 10 minutes for students to be the learner.  
     The second evidence based practice is self management.  The article by Farley et. al. defined self management as, "methods used by students to manage, monitor, record, and/or assess their behavior or academic achievement (Farley 2012)."  Since students with EBD struggle to be successful in school with these skills, self management interventions help them to practice academically appropriate behavior.  The five most frequently used types of self management interventions Farley et. al. listed were :  self-monitoring, self-evaluation, self-instruction, goal-setting, and strategy instruction.  
     Connections I made to our class centered around the definition and needs of students with EBD.  I feel that this article is very helpful and user friendly.  It lists multiple websites for teachers to use to research evidence based practices for students with EBD.  EBPs are one of many important buzz words in education today.  I've struggled to find confirmation that the practices I've used in my own class room fell under the umbrella of evidence based practices, as opposed to what I pulled out of my hat at the moment that just so happened to work.  
     This article also offers other resources to help guide teachers to valid, evidence based practices.  While I feel that giving only two strategies (self management and peer-assisted learning) may seem simplistic, I feel that the instructions for implementing the strategies and trying them out is expansive in detail and seems very well laid out for a teacher looking for something to use to truly meet the student with EBD's educational needs.   I would recommend anyone read this article and pay attention to the instructions of how the researchers implemented both strategies. 

Farley, C., Torres, C., Wailehua, C. T., & Cook, L. (2012). Evidence-based practices for 
               students with emotional and behavioral disorders: Improving academic achievement.
               Beyond Behavior, 21(2), 37-43.

"Parent involvement in the transition process of children with intellectual disabilities: The influence of inclusion on parent desires and expectations for postsecondary education"

     Wow, that was a long blog title!  It's actually the title of the article.
     The reason I chose this article is because the transitioning process is so key for families of students with intellectual disabilities as well as the students themselves.  What is also interesting is the fact that this article highlights a more recent trend in families with students who have intellectual disabilities.  It seems that more and more parents want to have some type of post secondary education experience for their child (Martinez, Conroy & Cerreto, 2012). 
     Now, since I worked at private school that included education and transition programs that helped provide services to people with disabilities from ages 3-22, I'm aware of a handful of transition options.  I have less knowledge of post-school options and resources like college classes for students with intellectual disabilities. I'm interested to explore what that looks like in context.  Also, from experience, I have heard comments from parents with regard to their fears, concerns, and then triumphs when they find a right-fit placement for their young adult.  
      According to Martinez et al., "while parents may desire an outcome for their
 young adult, professionals offer preselected "realistic" options often placing  parents in the dilemma of selecting compromises that differ from their original expectations and desires (Cooney, 2002)(Martinez et al., 2012)."  As a teacher and special education advocate, I would like to educate myself so I don't find myself in the same position.  That position being, doling out preselected, 'realistic' options.  I think that the options vary on a student by student basis.  I think it's important to seek out information and be a great resource for parents wading through the transition process, which can be stressful, emotional, and very challenging.
       This article shared a survey given to parents to assess three areas of concern which had to do with parental access to adequate resources for their students as well as researching any correlation between parental involvement, time included in a general education curriculum, and a parent's desires and expectations for transitioning programs.
       This article seemed limited in that they created a survey based on data from a 2007 census.  The survey was limited to be completed in 30 minutes of time, and some of the questions seemed to lack room for parents to be able to expand to give a greater depth in their answers.  For example, because the survey was brief and had to remain simple , it collected only the perceptions of the parents of the time their kids were included in the general education curriculum (Martinez, 2012).  Perceptions are subjective and not something to solely inform your decision making.
        I appreciated the concern that Geenen, Powers, and Lopez-Vasquez's (2001) study found.  They stated that materials for transition planning and resources must be accessible to parents in multiple formats and also reflect cultural values.  Their study showed that, "reported school staff perceived culturally and linguistically diverse parents as unresponsive and uninvolved though the parents reported active involvement in their young adult's transition outside the realm of school-based planning (Martinez, 2012)."  It's very important to remember what a diverse, global world we live in.  Resources need to cross cultural boundaries and be inclusive.

- i

Martinez, D. C., Conroy, J. W., & Cerreto, M. C. (2012). Parent involvement in the transition process of   
         children with intellectual disabilities: The influence of inclusion on parent desires and expectations for 
         postsecondary education. Journal Of Policy And Practice In Intellectual Disabilities, 9(4), 279-288.