James was a spirited young boy in a class of 32 4th graders. James' teacher said he was very noisy, active, and disruptive in class and that nothing she did worked to quiet him. His teacher and mother spoke several times about his behavior in school, and at their last meeting, James' mother was told that James was being referred for an evaluation to decide how best to help him. Two weeks later she received a letter asking her to allow the school's special education team to evaluate her son.
James' evaluation team was made up of his general education teacher, a special educator with experience in functional behavior assessment (FBA), his parents, and the school psychologist. The team began by doing an FBA to understand why James was having difficulty behaving in school. They also looked at James' academic and social skills, and teachers and family members were interviewed about his behavior.
The team agreed that James did have attention deficits and was in need of special education services. Like many children with attention deficits, James was classified "other health impaired."
Looking at James' FBA the team felt that James probably needed more choices during the day and more opportunities to work alone or in small groups. A positive behavior plan was set up to help his teacher make the changes James would need to succeed in school.