Challenging Behavior in Inclusive Postsecondary Education Programs

Inclusive postsecondary education programs – higher education programs that are specifically designed for individuals with intellectual disabilities – have grown exponentially in the last 10 years. With this growth has come the emergence of several barriers to inclusive postsecondary education admission and completion. Given the relatively short time inclusive postsecondary education programs have existed, only a small amount of research has looked into barriers that prevent graduation from inclusive postsecondary education programs. One barrier in particular has received little to no attention from researchers – challenging behavior. Challenging behavior is a construct that includes socially inappropriate behaviors, which may harm the individual engaging in the behavior or those around them or result in exclusion from community participation. Previous research has shown that individuals with intellectual disability experience challenging behavior more frequently than the general population, with 10 – 20% of adults with intellectual disability engaging in challenging behavior. The increased susceptibility to challenging behavior compounded with the stressors of college life may result in increased rates of challenging behavior in inclusive postsecondary education settings. However, the lack of research in this area means there is no information on the type and consequence of challenging behaviors experienced by inclusive postsecondary education students. Therefore, this study sought to gather foundational information regarding challenging behavior in inclusive postsecondary education settings across the nation using a design survey distributed via the anonymous internet-based Qualtrics program.