Set Yourself Up For Success By Mapping Out Your BIPs

One of the trickiest things you face in constructing effective IEPs is pinpointing and appropriately addressing disability-related behavior. Here's how to document your behavior intervention plans (BIPs) so that you ensure the best possible outcomes for your students and stay compliant with the law.

1. Plan a full-fledged FBA by asking key questions.

The Functional Behaviorial Assessment (FBA) is a process for gathering information to understand the overall function or purpose of a child's behavior at the outset, in order to write a successful education plan for that student, explains Laura Riffel, Ph.D., a behaviorist with the National Technical Assistance Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS).

For a comprehensive FBA, ask the following questions, Riffel suggests:

• How often does the target behavior occur, and how long does it last?
• Where does the behavior typically occur or never occur?
• Who is present for the occurrence or nonoccurrence of the behavior?
• What is going on during the occurrence or nonoccurrence of the behavior?
• When is the behavior most likely/least likely to occur?
• How does the student react to the usual consequences that follow the behavior?

Tip: To avoid a lengthy list of all possible behaviors that could require this kind of preparation, divide the behaviors into specific classes, Riffel urges.
On the other hand: You don't want to describe a range of behaviors under an umbrella term like "tantrums," Riffel adds. "Make sure everyone [on the IEP team] understands what a tantrum consists of for this particular child."

Get the rest of the BIP tips by subscribing to IDEA Compliance Alert and search the online archives for "Set Yourself Up For Success By Mapping Out Your BIPs". Call (800) 451-0948 for subscription information.