O‘ahu, Hawaii
When Sherene Hajiro thinks back to how she first stepped into Practical Functional Assessment and Skill-Based Treatment (PFA-SBT), she’s clear about what drew her in. “This all started during the 2021–2022 school year,” she says. “Hawaii DOE Behavior Analysts got access to the training modules and direct consultation from the FTF team. I needed it—I had a kindergartner with severe challenging behavior, one meeting away from being moved to an alternative learning center. With guidance and preparation, I started PFA-SBT in January 2023 and I haven’t looked back since.”
Already a licensed special education teacher and BCBA, Sherene wanted to deepen her skills. “I knew if I wanted to get this right, I needed more experience,” she shares. “So, I asked for mentorship for two more learners, with me as the primary implementor each time. I needed to feel confident shaping these processes myself.” She describes how this hands-on practice changed her perspective on what was possible for students who might otherwise be moved out of their home schools.
As her practice grew, so did her leadership. “In my current role, I get to implement PFA-SBT but also help build capacity across the district,” she explains. Through the FTF Train-the-Trainer Cohort, she began to learn how to be a trainer of the process and simultaneously took on some of the district’s most complex cases. “My District Education Specialist and I began pinpointing the high-need cases—lots of staff injuries, repeated holds. We wanted to try a more compassionate, trauma-informed model instead,” she says. That momentum led to more teams requesting PFA-SBT before she even presented it formally. “Sometimes the results speak for themselves, even before I can share a formal presentation.”
Sherene’s work hasn’t gone unnoticed. Her case example was recently featured during FTF Big Ideas and New Discoveries, showcasing how she tackled avoidant behavior that was not injurious—a situation familiar to many school teams but not always easy to resolve. “One of my biggest lessons was that the challenges weren’t always the kids—they were the adults’ mindsets,” she says. “People thought keeping kids on campus was too risky. I knew action would speak louder than advocacy, so I focused on data, videos, and inviting people in to see for themselves.”
When asked what she’d say to anyone considering PFA-SBT, Sherene keeps it simple: “Don’t wait. Start somewhere—even if it’s just pressing play on that first module while your coffee’s brewing. Keep your data and videos organized and share them. You’re not just teaching replacement behaviors, you’re showing kids they’re safe, valued, and supported. And when you need a reminder of why you’re doing it? Just rewatch the module videos. The smile on the kids’ faces at the end says it all.”
Quote: “One of my biggest lessons was that the challenges weren’t always the kids—they were the adults’ mindsets,” she says. “People thought keeping kids on campus was too risky. I knew action would speak louder than advocacy, so I focused on data, videos, and inviting people in to see for themselves.”
