Leanna Cernohous
606 #4
Standard 5
Abstract
Alvin, a fifth grade student, likes to be affectionate with other students in his class and often will
walk around the class room, touching every student he walks by. This is not really appreciated by the
rest of the students, who continually ask him to keep his hands to himself. Since the behavior is
interfering with Alvin’s learning, and the learning of his classmates, Alvin’s teacher referred him to SPED
(special education) for a behavioral IEP. Once the referral has been made, the process of creating a
behavioral IEP is underway. There are three primary steps to creating a behavioral IEP: doing a
functional behavioral analysis (FBA), creating a behavior intervention plan (BIP), and putting the
acquired information into an IEP via annual goals.
Leanna Cernohous
606 #4
Standard 5
Construction of a Highway to Change: Building a Behavioral IEP
Alvin, a fifth grade student, likes to be affectionate with other students in his class and often will
walk around the class room, touching every student he walks by. This is not really appreciated by the
rest of the students, who continually ask him to keep his hands to himself. Since the behavior is
interfering with Alvin’s learning, and the learning of his classmates, Alvin’s teacher referred him to SPED
(special education) for a behavioral IEP. Once the referral has been made, the process of creating a
behavioral IEP is underway. There are three primary steps to creating a behavioral IEP: doing a
functional behavioral analysis (FBA), creating a behavior intervention plan (BIP), and putting the
acquired information into an IEP via annual goals.
The first step, doing the FBA (functional behavioral analysis), is actually required by IDEA when
the actions interfere with the learning of the individual and others. Quite a process is gone through to
develop the FBA, starting with selecting and defining a target behavior, generating a hypothesis as to
why the behavior is occurring, collecting data (directly and/or indirectly), verifying the data, and then
developing the BIP (behavior intervention plan). Alvin’s target behavior is that he gets out of his seat
and touches other students five times every hour. The hypothesis is that he likes the attention and the
immediate reward of physical contact with his peers. The next step is to then collect the data, so Alvin’s
teacher documents his behavior, looks for patterns and/or triggers, and the response that Alvin
receives. All of this is an attempt to figure out why the behavior is occurring. Lastly, his teacher will
verify the data through triangulation. Alvin’s teacher calls home to talk to his parents about the
behavior and they confirm that he does the same thing there. His teacher has a discussion with him
about the behavior and learns that the hypothesis is correct. The last piece of triangulation then is the
classroom observation, so all components have been met. To finalize the FBA, his teacher alters his
environment to be certain that the theory is correct, and noted it. The teacher moved Alvin closer to
the garbage and Kleenex to see if his getting up would be decreased, but it was not, so the theory was
proven to be correct: it is for the attention.
The next step is to develop the BIP (behavior intervention plan). The purpose of the BIP is to
decrease the unwanted behavior; in this case Alvin’s getting up and touching other students, and
increasing the desired behavior, Alvin staying in his seat for the duration of the class. To achieve this,
Alvin’s teacher asks the other students to ignore the touching, and his teacher begins to call more on
Alvin during class and converse with him before and after school. The teacher is giving more attention
to Alvin and he won’t have to try and get it in a negative manner. To monitor if this strategy is working,
Alvin’s teacher keeps track of the number of times he calls on Alvin each class, and documents the time
he visits with him before and after school. Alvin’s teacher also asked his parents to try this tactic at
home and keep track of the progress the same way. They touch base every Friday to see if there are any
improvements in his behavior. Other teachers that Alvin sees (music, art and phy ed), were also asked
to participate.
To ensure that they do, the BIP was incorporated into his IEP via annual goals. Alvin now has
annual goals that read: Alvin will stay in his seat for 85% of the class period, and he will keep his hands
to himself 100% of the time when he does need to leave his seat.
When you look at an example from beginning to end, it is easy to see how it all fits together and
the purpose of each part. I find it sad to think that after completing a FBA, the BIP is usually left out;
that is a disservice to the student and everyone else involved. I was watching a dog training show the
other day and this is really no different. Positive, consistent reinforcement really is the key to changing
behaviors, and you need to realize that change will not necessarily happen overnight; hence the building
into annual goals.