Positive Behavior Support
What is PBS?  

Positive Behavior Support (PBS) gives people a new way to think about behavior. PBS is based on understanding why problem behaviors occur - the behavior's function in context.

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PBS initially evolved within the field of developmental disabilities and emerged from three major sources: applied behavior analysis, the normalization/inclusion movement, and person-centered values. Although elements of PBS can be found in other approaches, its uniqueness lies in the fact that it integrates the following critical features into a cohesive whole: comprehensive lifestyle change, a lifespan perspective, ecological validity, stakeholder participation, social validity, systems change and multicomponent intervention, emphasis on prevention, flexibility in scientific practices, and multiple theoretical perspectives.

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PBS uses functional behavior assessment to understand the relationships between a student's behavior and characteristics of his or her environment. The functional behavior assessment helps to identify multiple strategies to effectively reduce problem behavior including changing systems, altering environments, teaching skills, and focusing on positive behaviors. The PBS process is a team-based approach that relies on a strong collaboration between families and professionals from a variety of disciplines.

The PBS process results in the creation of effective intervention plans that will impede problem behaviors, teach new skills, and create support systems for the student.

What is PBS?

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PBS has made many valuable contributions to improving the quality of life of people with developmental disabilities. It is not surprising, therefore, that there is a mistaken perception that the approach is applicable primarily to this population. In fact, there is growing evidence that PBS is undergoing a rapid extension to other populations as well. Already, the application of PBS has expanded to include people with traumatic brain injury (Singer, Glang, & Williams, 1996; Ylvisaker & Feeney, 1998), typically developing children with school discipline problems (Burke & Burke, 1999; Lewis & Sugai, 1999; Sugai et al., 2000; Warren et al., in press), and children and youth with emotional and behavioral disorders (Dunlap & Childs, 1996; Dunlap, Clarke, & Steiner, 1999; Kern, Childs, Dunlap, Clarke, & Flak, 1994). The extension of PBS represents part of a larger movement in the social sciences and education away from traditional models that have emphasized pathology and toward a new positive model that emphasizes "a science of positive subjective experience, positive individual traits, and positive institutions" (Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000b, p.5) with a view to improving quality of life and preventing behavior problems (Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000a).

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