Positive Support Strategies for Students with Behavioral Disorders in General Education Settings

Abstract Although it has been argued that students with behavioral disorders benefit most from placement in general education classrooms, careful and systematic support is required to insure that their placement is successful. In this article, we review supports and interventions provided at multiple levels that together are known as “positive behavior support” (PBS). The levels include school‐wide PBS, which involves the full student body; classroom‐based PBS, focusing on the individual class as the unit of analysis; and individualized PBS, addressing the individualized needs of specific students. When relatively intense and chronic behavior problems exist, individualized PBS involves the use of functional behavioral assessments and proactive, educative interventions. In this article, we describe each of these levels with reference to the empirical literature and with an emphasis on practical applications. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 42: 779–794, 2005.