Practitioner's Guide to Functional Behavioral Assessment: Process, Purpose, Planning, and Prevention (Autism and Child Psychopathology Series)

This practical guide introduces functional behavioral assessment as a critical tool in planning interventions to reduce disruptive and other problematic behaviors. The book offers proven methods and strategies as a four-stage protocol in an easy-to-follow format with checklists, Q&A sections, applications, and an extended case example including an assessment report and intervention plan. Step-by-step instructions are delivered in an accessible teaching style, making all phases of assessment equally manageable. And although functional behavioral assessment is typically associated with schoolchildren, this material is also useful for working with adults in residential and community settings.

The Guide gives readers:

• The basics of functional behavioral assessment.
• Guidance in preparing for conducting a functional behavioral assessment.
• An overview of assessment methods: formal and informal measures, interview, and observation.
• A framework for translating assessment data into an appropriate intervention plan.
• In-depth understanding of the role of prevention in behavioral intervention.
• A kit of questionnaires, worksheets, and other ready-to-use resources.

Practitioner’s Guide to Functional Behavioral Assessment is an essential resource for clinicians and related professionals as well as researchers and graduate students in school and clinical child psychology; behavior therapy; assessment, testing and evaluation; special education; and educational psychology.

Stephanie M. Hadaway, Ed.S., LPC, received her Master of Education in Guidance and Counseling from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and her Educational Specialist in Educational Leadership from Nova Southeastern University. Ms. Hadaway has a rich background in child and adolescent therapy. As a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in Georgia, she has worked with adults, couples, adolescents, and children with a variety of mental health needs. Specifically, Ms. Hadaway has specialized in serving children and adolescents with severe emotional disturbance in both outpatient and day treatment settings. She has facilitated groups, worked with families, and provided individual therapy. In addition to providing therapeutic counseling services, Ms. Hadaway has spent more than ten years providing educational and behavioral support within the public school system. She is a certified teacher who has worked in both elementary and middle schools in the inclusive, resource and self-contained settings. Currently, she is a behavior specialist within the public school system and serves all grade levels.

Alan W. Brue, Ph.D., NCSP, received his Master of Arts, Education Specialist, and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in school psychology from the University of Florida. Dr. Brue is a Nationally Certified School Psychologist (NCSP) who has worked for more than 15 years providing a wide range of school psychological services to metro-Atlanta school districts. He currently works as a school psychologist and has extensive knowledge of and experience with children and adolescents who exhibit behavior problems. In addition to his school-based experience, Dr. Brue currently holds a core faculty teaching position in a school psychology training program, where he develops and teaches graduate classes such as Functional Behavioral Assessment, Psychopathology of Children and Adolescents, Psychological Assessment, E

xceptional Children in the Classroom, and Child and Adolescent Development. With Linda Wilmshurst, he has co-authored A Parent’s Guide to Special Education: Insider Advice on How to Navigate the System and Help Your Child Succeed (AMACOM, 2005), The Complete Guide to Special Education: Expert Advice on Evaluations, IEPs, and Helping Kids Succeed (Second Edition) (Jossey-Bass, 2010), and Essentials of Intellectual Disability Assessment (Wiley, 2016). Dr. Brue’s website is AlanBrue.com.