BCBA (Board Certified Behavior Analyst)
Last updated
A BCBA is a graduate-level professional certified in applied behavior analysis who assesses behavior and designs behavior support and skill-teaching plans.
Topic: Services, placement and staff
In plain terms
In schools, a BCBA may lead or support functional behavior assessments, write behavior intervention plans, train staff and paraprofessionals, and help design data collection. BCBAs hold a graduate degree and national certification, and many states also license them. Good practice centers on the student's dignity, communication and quality of life.
How it shows up in an IEP
When a BCBA consults on a student's IEP, behavior goals tend to have clear operational definitions and data methods. The BCBA can help teachers pick realistic data collection that staff can sustain.
Example
A BCBA observes a student and reviews ABC data, finds the behavior serves to escape writing, and helps write a plan to teach requesting a break and shorten writing tasks at first.
The rule
Rules vary by state. Check your state's regulations and your district's procedures.
Related terms
- FBA (Functional Behavior Assessment)An FBA is a process for figuring out why a behavior happens, by studying when it occurs, what triggers it and what it gets or avoids for the student.
- BIP (Behavior Intervention Plan)A BIP is a written plan, based on an FBA, that describes how staff will prevent a behavior, teach a replacement skill and respond when the behavior happens.
- ReinforcementReinforcement is any consequence that makes a behavior more likely to happen again, such as praise, a preferred activity or a break.
- Functional communication trainingFunctional communication training teaches a student a simple, effective way to communicate a need that is currently met through problem behavior.
- Operational definitionAn operational definition describes a behavior in observable, measurable terms, so different people would agree on whether it happened.
On IEP Atlas
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