Use of a behavioral graphic organizer to reduce disruptive behavior.

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Students with challenging behavior spend substantial amounts of time away from instruction due to behavioral problems. Time away from instruction reduces their opportunities for learning, which are critical as these students typically demonstrate academic performance below their same-age peers. After removal from instruction due to behavioral incidents, it may take long periods of time for students to recover enough in order to be prepared to return to class. We used a multiple baseline design to study the effects of a behavioral graphic organizer that is based on Antecedent-Behavior-Consequence analysis. The effects of the graphic organizer on classroom disruptive behavior were measured and analyzed. Visual analysis and descriptive statistics suggested a functional relation between the use of graphic organizer and reductions in disruptive behavior, thus reducing time spent away from academic instruction and teacher rated social validity was positive. Implications, limitations, and directions for future research are also discussed.