Effects of behavior support team composition on the technical adequacy and contextual fit of behavior support plans

This study examined how the composition of a behavior support team affected use of assessment information in the design of behavior support plans. Specifically, we examined if typical teams designed behavior support plans that differed in (a) technical adequacy and/or (b) contextual fit when (1) teams did not include behavior specialists, (2) teams included behavior specialists, or (3) behavior specialists worked alone. Fifty-eight school personnel on 12 behavior support teams from typical elementary schools and 6 behavior specialists participated in the study. Vignettes describing hypothetical students with functional behavior assessment outcome information were used to develop 36 behavior support plans (12 by teams alone, 12 by specialists alone, and 12 by teams with specialists). Results were assessed by 3 expert behavior analysts for technical adequacy and by all 64 team members for contextual fit. Technical adequacy tended to be rated high if specialists alone or teams including a specialist designed the plan. Contextual fit tended to be rated high when teams alone or teams including a specialist designed the plan. Team members ranked plans developed by the team alone and plans developed by the team with a specialist as preferred for implementation over plans developed by a specialist alone. Implications for the selection of behavior support team membership are discussed.