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Classroom Behavior Strategies
Functional Behavior Assessment

The school environment helps promote the emotional, social, and academic development
of a child. Many children tend to display undesirable and inappropriate behavior in the
classroom, and this may affect learning for them and for other students. David is such an
example. Although he attends class regularly and does well in math, his behavior is
inappropriate. He is a kinesthetic learner and often moves around the classroom during the lesson
and without the teacher’s permission. He also shouts answers without raising his hand, as is the
norm in the classroom. He talks excessively and disrupts the attention of other students in the
classroom. Dave’s behavior could be motivated by a need to gain attention from the teacher and
his classmates. He also could be behaving this way to intentionally avoid certain tasks such as
raising his hand before speaking. To identify the cause of Dave’s conduct, a functional behavior
assessment (FBA) is necessary. An FBA is a process that looks into a child’s behavior in terms of
what it accomplishes for the individual child as opposed to its perceived effect on other learners
(Bobrow, 2002).
Specific Learning Disabilities
IDEA defines a specific learning disability as a disorder in one or more basic
psychological processes in an individual. Affects processes affect the person’s language use, both
spoken and written. The disability may manifest itself either as an imperfect inability to read,
speak, spell, think, or write. In an educational environment, some of the most common
disabilities include dyscalculia, dysgraphia, dyslexia, nonverbal learning disability, and auditory
learning disability (IDEA, 2020). These disabilities affect a child’s normal functioning and
learning in the classroom. For instance, it affects reading; a child has trouble reading without

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making mistakes and at a good pace. Children may also encounter difficulties in spelling, reading
comprehension, and writing.
Autism Spectrum Disorder
Autism spectrum disorder is a developmental disorder that has a significant effect on a
child’s ability to engage in verbal and non-verbal communication (IDEA, 2020). A child’s social
interaction is also affected. The disorder becomes evident before a child is three years old. In the
learning environment, it has adverse effects on the child’s general academic performance.
Children with this disorder often tend to engage in repetitive activities. They have a hard time
adjusting to changes as they tend to follow the same routines. Also, these children have
stereotyped movements and unusual usage of one of their senses. They tend to use one of their
senses more than the others.
Intellectual Disability
Intellectual disability refers to subaverage intellectual functioning (IDEA, 2020). It is
combined with adaptive behavior and is evident during a child’s developmental period. The
disability has adverse effects on a child’s education performance. Children with intellectual
disabilities have delayed developmental milestones. For instance, they crawl, sit-up, or walk later
than other children. They also have trouble speaking or tend to learn how to talk later. When in
school, they have trouble understanding socially accepted behavior and social rules. Also, they
have trouble seeing how their actions affect other people. Intellectual disability also adversely
affects logical thinking.

Functionally-based Behavior Intervention Strategies

Based on the data from Henry’s Evaluation Report, Henry has an intellectual disability.
The evaluation and planning team should consider this disability because his behavior aligns

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with the characteristics of a child with an intellectual disability. For instance, Dave is impulsive;
he is not bothered by the effects of his actions on others. He shouts answers without raising his
hand, and this ends up disrupting other people. It is evident that Dave has trouble understanding
and following social rules. He becomes social at inappropriate times, and this affects the
attention of his peers. Dave talks excessively to his classmates and does not see this as wrong.
He cannot see the negative effects that his actions have on others. I would also say that he has
trouble thinking logically. If he was to be logical about his actions, he would change because
they have effects on other people and affect their attention in class.
Intervention Strategies
Teach life skills
The learning environment plays a critical role in teaching life skills, which help a child conduct
themselves in a manner that is socially acceptable (Bouck & Bone, 2018). In Dave’s case, he has
trouble with social rules. The teacher should teach and insist on manners and following rules.
Such rules include raising one’s hand in class before talking. Also, the teacher should emphasize
respecting personal boundaries. Dave talks excessively to his peers, and he should learn to limit
his interactions and respect others’ personal spaces.
Provide immediate and positive feedback
Positive feedback helps a child to keep trying (Bouck & Bone, 2018). It also encourages
them to continue engaging in good behavior. Thus, when Dave starts making progress on his
conduct, for example, raising his hand before speaking, then the teacher should praise good
behavior. Similarly, when he engages in undesirable conduct such as shouting answers without
raising his hand, the teacher should also correct that immediately and let him know that he
should first raise his hand. The case applies to when he starts walking in class without

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permission. He should be asked to get back to his seat, and the teacher should point out that it is
wrong. With time, he will work on the feedback and improve his behavior.
Patience
Dave has a disability and is thus bound to behave differently from the rest of his peers.
Therefore, accommodation is very vital (Bouck & Bone, 2018). The teacher should patiently
accommodate him and work with him until he learns how to behave well. It may take time, and
the teacher may end up getting frustrated. However, being patient with the student is key to
ensuring that he fits in the classroom.
Impact
The above interventions will help change Dave’s behavior. He will learn how to behave
well and regulate his behavior so that it does not affect other students in a negative manner. Also,
he will eventually learn socially accepted rules and thus start behaving as accepted. Should there
be no intervention, then Dave’s situation is bound to get worse. He will make the learning
environment unconducive for himself as well as other students. Also, he will grow up an adult
who does not follow social rules, and in the future, he will find it hard to fit in society and at the
workplace.

Conclusion

Overall, after conducting a functional behavior assessment, it is evident that Dave has an
intellectual disability. The condition has an effect on his perception of social rules. He behaves
differently from the rest of the students and thus needs intervention. Through teaching Dave life
skills, he will eventually learn how to follow social rules and behave in a manner that does not
affect the wellbeing of his peers. However, given his condition, it is likely that it will take time
for him to adapt hence the need for patience from both the teacher as well as his peers.

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References

Bobrow, A. (2002). Problem behaviors in the classroom: What they mean and how to help. Child
Study Center, 7(2), 30.
Bouck, E. C., & Bone, E. (2018). Interventions for Students with Intellectual Disabilities,
Viewpoints on Interventions for Learners with Disabilities, 2018 Emerald Publishing
Limited. DOI https://doi. org/10.1108/S0270-401320180000033004 Publisher Emerald
Publishing Limited Copyright.
IDEA. (2020). Sec. 300.8 (c) (10) – Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Retrieved 20
July 2020, from https://sites.ed.gov/idea/regs/b/a/300.8/c/10