A review of the article, Developing Effective Behavior Intervention Plans: Suggestions for School Personnel

            This article discusses developing appropriate and effective interventions that address the relationship between learning and behavior problems. It starts with the Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA), which should be done prior to implementing a Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP). This helps determine the reason or function of a behavior. Then a hypothesis is made based on the FBA process and supported by data that was collected. Data should include different environments and reference whether behavior indicates multiple functions or is potentially affected by distant setting events. Many intervention plans focus on rewards for good behavior, however not all reinforcers do their job. If a behavior isn’t increased or decreased in the expected way, it is invalid. Negative reinforcers are often under-used because of their connotation, but can be effective in changing or replacing behaviors as well.

            Overall, I found this article informative and interesting because it provided a lot of practical advice and guidelines. It discussed being specific in target behaviors and maintaining consistency in collecting data and implementation. It also reviewed focusing on demonstrated and observable behavior change, just as IEP goals should be observable and measureable. There is a checklist at the end that a teacher may use for creating effective BIPs. I found a lot of this information to be a review of things we already know conceptually, but I think the article was useful in reinforcing this knowledge. The checklist could be a great reminder tool to utilize in actually creating or implementing BIPs.

Killu, K. (2008). Developing effective behavior intervention plans: suggestions for school personnel. Intervention In School And Clinic, 43(3), 140-149.