A functional behavior assessment is a plan that helps schools and families understand a behavior/behaviors a student is exhibiting and what they are gaining from it. If adults can understand the why they can help determine how best to help the student change the problem behavior. An FBA team will consist of the student, parents, counselors/psychologists/social workers, teachers and administrators. FBAs are used to try and help a student be able to stay in the classroom and learn without risk of having to leave due to behaviors. These plans are created to gather evidence and data to determine the antecedents and consequences to a behavior. If a plan can be implemented that will reward student for positive behavior instead of punishing poor behavior the student has a better chance of performing better academically. FBAs are generally used for students with 504s and IEPs exhibiting poor behaviors and students who are at risk of being sent out of school thus hindering their possibility of being successful in their studies. The idea is to prevent poor behavior before it threatens the student's academic career.
