Purpose

The Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Positive Behavior Support (RRTC-PBS) is a national research and training effort to develop and disseminate effective, practical, and empirically validated procedures for improving support for individuals with disabilities and problem behavior.

Structure

The RRTC-PBS is funded through the University of South Florida (Dr. Glen Dunlap, Director), with subcontracts to the:

• University of Oregon (Drs. Robert Horner and Richard Albin),
• University of California at Santa Barbara (Drs. Robert Koegel and Lynn Koegel),
• State University of New York at Stony Brook (Dr. Edward Carr),
• University of Kansas (Drs. Wayne Sailor and Ann Turnbull),
• California State University at Hayward (Dr. Jacki Anderson)

Defining Themes

The Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Positive Behavior Support is organized around four guiding themes:

1. Collaboration/Coordination: The RRTC-PBS is a unified effort of six major research and training sites that involves active collaboration with state training teams, national researchers, family organizations, schools, and service agencies.

2. Empirical Validation: The RRTC-PBS employs multiple research methods to identify and evaluate behavior support procedures. All procedures and systems are subjected to rigorous, empirical analysis.

3. Systems Impact: The RRTC-PBS is committed to documenting interventions at the level of the individual as well as at the level of the state, local, and family systems in order to facilitate and maintain behavior support outcomes that enhance lifestyles.

4. Relevant Outcomes: The RRTC-PBS targets procedures, interventions, and systems that result in behavior change that is broad in scope, durable, and linked to socially important changes in the life of an individual (and his/her family/supporters). The procedures need to be "doable" in typical contexts by typical people, and they need to produce changes that are meaningful from educational, social, and economical perspectives.

Activities and Projects

Research:

Multiple studies are being conducted in order to:

1. Expand the Application of positive behavior support to a wider range of individuals, behaviors, systems, and circumstances.

2. Increase the Effectiveness of positive behavior support in preventing and resolving patterns of severe problem behavior.

3. Document the long-term impact of positive behavior support and the processes involved in supporting individuals over extended time periods.

Training:

Several training projects are underway that focus on:

1. Providing ongoing Training and Technical Assistance to professionals, paraprofessionals, families, and others involved in providing positive behavior support.

2. Strengthening and expanding a national network of State Training Teams.

3. Developing and disseminating Training Materials and user-friendly products.

4. Disseminating information on positive behavior support through publications and the World Wide Web.

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