# Individual Positive Behavior Supports

## A Standards-Based Guide to Practices in School and Community Settings

Edited by

#### Fredda Brown, Ph.D.
Queens College New York, New York

#### Jacki L. Anderson, Ph.D.
California State University East Bay Hayward, California

#### Randall L. De Pry, Ph.D.
Portland State University Portland, Oregon

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## Contents

### About the Reproducible Materials ... vi  
### About the Editors ... vii  
### Contributors ... viii  
### Foreword *Rud and Ann Turnbull ... xi*  
### Preface ... xiv  
### Acknowledgments ... xvi

**I Foundations of Positive Behavior Support.** ... 1  
1 A Historical Perspective on the Evolution of Positive Behavior Support as a Science-Based Discipline ... 3  
*Joseph M. Lucyshyn, Glen Dunlap, and Rachel Freeman*  
2 Foundational Assumptions About Challenging Behavior and Behavior Interventions ... 27  
*Fredda Brown and Jacki L. Anderson*  
3 Effective Teaming for Positive Behavior Support ... 47  
*Linda M. Bambara and Catherine Kunsch*  
4 Person-Centered Planning Teams ... 71  
*Jennifer McFarland-Whisman*  
5 Supporting Individuals with Challenging Behavior Through Systemic Change ... 89  
*Randall L. De Pry, Kavita V. Kamat, and Richard Stock*

**II Basic Principles of Behavior.** ... 103  
6 Applied Behavior Analysis as a Conceptual Framework for Understanding Positive Behavior Support ... 107  
*Teri Lewis*  
7 Antecedent Strategies to Change Behavior ... 123  
*Sheldon L. Loman and Amanda K. Sanford*  
8 Consequence Strategies to Change Behavior ... 145  
*Chris Borgmeier and Billie Jo Rodriguez*  
9 Facilitating Generalization and Maintenance of Behavior Change ... 163  
*Jeffrey Sprague*  
10 Defining, Measuring, and Graphing Behavior ... 181  
*Matt Tincani and Elizabeth R. Lorah*  
11 Single-Case Designs and Data-Based Decision Making ... 201  
*John McDonnell, Robert E. O’Neill, and Breda V. O’Keeffe*  
12 Systematic Instruction ... 221  
*Angel Lee, Leah Wood, and Diane M. Browder*

**III Comprehensive Function-Based and Person-Centered Assessments.** ... 237  
13 Integrating and Building on Best Practices in Person-Centered Planning, Wraparound, and Positive Behavior Support to Enhance Quality of Life ... 241  
*Rachel Freeman, Matt Enyart, Kelcey Schmitz, Pat Kimbrough, Kris Matthews, and Lori Newcomer*  
14 Conducting Functional Behavioral Assessments ... 259  
*Robert E. O’Neill, Leanne S. Hawken, and Kaitlin Bundock*  
15 Using Functional Behavioral Assessment Data ... 279  
*Lee Kern and Beth Custer*  
16 Conducting Functional Analyses of Behavior ... 295  
*David P. Wacker, Wendy K. Berg, Brenda J. Bassingthwaite, Todd G. Kopelman, Kelly M. Schieltz, Yaniz C. Padilla Dalmau, Scott D. Lindgren, and John F. Lee*

**IV Function-Driven Interventions ... 315**  
17 Strategies to Promote Self-Determination ... 319  
*Michael L. Wehmeyer*  
18 Strategies for Self-Management ... 333  
*Martin Agran*  
19 Visual Supports as Antecedent and Teaching Interventions ... 347  
*Pat Mirenda and Brenda Fossett*  
20 Curricular Modification, Positive Behavior Support, and Change ... 361  
*Ann Halvorsen and Tom Neary, with contributions by Deanna Willson-Schafer and Mary Wrenn*  
21 Strategies for Functional Communication Training ... 385  
*V. Mark Durand*

**V Comprehensive Multielement Positive Behavior Support Plans ... 397  
22 Building Supportive Environments: Toward a Technology for Enhancing Fidelity of Implementation ... 401  
*Kent McIntosh, Joseph M. Lucyshyn, M. Kathleen Strickland-Cohen, and Robert H. Horner*  
23 Implementing Multielement Positive Behavior Support Plans ... 417  
*Meme Hieneman and Glen Dunlap*  
24 Cultural and Contextual Fit: Juan’s Family as Active Team Members ... 433  
*Bobbie J. Vaughn and Lise K. Fox*  
25 Developing a Multielement Behavior Support Plan for a Middle School Student from a Diverse Background with Significant Behavioral Challenges ... 447  
*Randall L. De Pry and Julie Esparza Brown*  
26 Application of a Multielement Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports Plan for Alie, an Elementary Student with Intellectual Disabilities ... 463  
*Richard W. Albin and Anne W. Todd*

**VI Future Directions ... 481**  
27 Positive Behavior Supports and Quality of Life ... 485  
*Lisa S. Fleisher, Sharon Ann Ballard-Krishnan, and Nila F. Benito*  
28 Ronda’s Story: Living a Quality Life ... 513  
*Scott Shepard and Ronda Michaelson*  
29 Taking Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports into the Future ... 533  
*Allyson Satter, Nikki Wolf, and Wayne Sailor*  
30 Association for Positive Behavior Support Standards of Practice: Individual Level (SOP-I) ... 549

## Index ... 555

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### Foreword

by Rud and Ann Turnbull  
The content of this book provides a critical reflection on the history and evolution of positive behavior support (PBS) as a response to the needs of individuals with disabilities. It aims to establish a clearer understanding of the relationship between PBS and applied behavior analysis, the standard-based competencies needed by practitioners, and the importance of ethical contexts within the PBS framework.

### Preface

Individual Positive Behavior Supports: A Standards-Based Guide to Practices in School and Community Settings brings together the work of leading scholars to present the foundational knowledge, skills, and dispositions needed to effectively and respectfully support individuals who engage in challenging behaviors. Relying on both the science and the technology of positive behavior support (PBS), this book explores the standard-based competencies necessary for individuals, their families, and professionals working with people who experience challenging behavior across ages and disabilities.

## Foundations of Positive Behavior Support

### Standards Addressed in This Section

**I. A. Practitioners of positive behavior support (PBS) have the following perspectives on the evolution of PBS and its relationship to applied behavior analysis (ABA) and movements in the disability field:**

1. History of applied behavior analysis and the relationship to PBS  
2. Similarities and unique features of PBS and ABA  
3. Movements in the field of serving people with disabilities that influenced the emergence of PBS practices, including:
   a. Deinstitutionalization  
   b. Normalization and social role valorization  
   c. Community participation  
   d. Supported employment  
   e. Least restrictive environment and inclusive schooling  
   f. Self-determination

**I. B. Practitioners applying PBS with individuals adhere to the following basic assumptions about behavior:**

1. Challenging behavior serves a function.
2. Positive strategies are effective in addressing the most challenging behavior.
3. When positive behavior intervention strategies fail, additional functional assessment strategies are required to develop more effective PBS strategies.
4. Features of the environmental context affect behavior.
5. Reduction of challenging behavior is an important—but not the sole—outcome of successful intervention; effective PBS results in improvements in quality of life, acquisition of valued skills, and access to valued activities.