Function-Based Planning for Young Children At Risk for Emotional and Behavioral Disorders

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

This study examined the efficacy of function-based intervention for young children at-risk for emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) in inclusive environments. Participants were two kindergarten students and one first-grade student, all of whom exhibited chronic disruptive behavior in the classroom despite previous interventions implemented through their school's existing behavioral support system. The study was conducted across three phases: (a) a descriptive functional behavioral assessment (FBA) was completed for each student, (b) a systematic process was used to construct and then test individualized interventions, and (c) the interventions were then provided to each student during his most problematic classroom activity using a multiple baseline design. Classroom interventions substantially improved the on-task behavior of each student, and social validity ratings by teachers showed strong preference for the function-based intervention over the previously used classroom practices. Implications, limitations, and directions for future research are presented.