Often, these professionals assist in the treatment of students who exhibit behavioral issues in areas, like:
Board Certified Behavioral Analyst (BCBA) and Licensed Behavioral Specialist (LBS)
BCBAs and LBSs study student behaviors and create plans to improve or replace problematic ones. They have graduate-level certifications in behavior analysis and often work with students who have developmental disabilities, brain injuries, and social, emotional, and behavioral disorders. Along with that, they may work with students who have difficulty managing stress or anger in healthy ways.
During a student’s Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA), a BCBA or LBS will perform responsibilities, like:
- Observing and assessing behavior
- Meeting with families, teachers, and other therapists on the related services team to discuss treatment and progress
- Assisting in the development of IEPs
- Consistent monitoring of student progress
They can also provide training to teachers, aides, and support staff to ensure that they understand best practices when working with students who present challenging behaviors.
Board Certified Assistant Behavior Analyst (BCaBA)
BCaBAs have received an undergraduate-level certification in behavior analysis. They provide a wide range of provide behavior-analytic services, all while being supervised by a BCBA. They frequently perform tasks, like:
- Instructing students in acquiring specific skills targeted in the Behavioral Intervention Plan (BIP)
- Observing and collecting accurate data about student behavior and progress
- Nurturing student social skills through focused interactions
- Updating the team on a regular basis
- Training parents on how to reinforce treatment plans outside of school
Registered Behavior Technician (RBT)
RBTs have received a paraprofessional certification in behavior analysis. They help provide a variety of behavior-analytic services and are closely supervised by an RBT Supervisor and/or an RBT Requirements Coordinator.
How Behavioral Health Specialists Support Students and Schools
One of the main roles that behavioral health specialists play is in the Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA) process. FBAs help behavioral health specialists identify why certain behaviors occur and then design a plan to modify or replace that behavior with healthier behaviors by using the following steps:
- Building a multidisciplinary action team
- Identifying the target behavior
- Collecting baseline data about the behavior
- Formulating and testing a behavioral hypothesis
- Developing and monitoring a Behavioral Intervention Plan (BIP)
While collecting baseline data, the behavioral health specialist will look at the antecedent (trigger), behavior (the specific behavior), and the consequence (the result of the behavior) to determine why the student does this behavior and how to positively modify or change it.
They’ll also create observable and measurable goals for assessing student progress. Not only does this allow you to measure student progress, but it also helps you identify which students are ready to be discharged from the program altogether.
Support Your Students’ Behavioral Health Needs with Pediatric Therapeutic Services
If you want to include behavioral health services as a part of your school’s related services program, contact PTS and ask about our assessment, consultative, and programmatic behavioral health services today!