Functional Behavior Assessment: Design FBA Procedure

Functional behavioral assessments have two major components, identifying and defining target behaviors as well as conducting behavior observations. The assessment should begin with indentifying and defining targeted behaviors and the best way to do that is to conduct a formal interview of the student. The interview should include family who are directly connected to the student's home life as well as the staff involved with the student. The interview should reveal important things like when does the behavior occur during the day, how frequently, what the behavior is receded by, what

This method is known as the ABC model and was created by psychologist Dr. Albert Ellis. The “a” symbolizes the activating event or situation. The “b” represents the belief, or explanation of why the event happened. Finally, the “c” stands for the consequence of the behavior. After repeating several of these models for a child, the behavior analyst can compare the charts and find out which methods of consequences are successful and which are not depending on the behavior that occurred. The analyst may also discover patterns of behavior in the child and what triggers these

It is used to identify conditions or events in the natural environment that correlate with the problem behavior and can be done through structured and unstructured interviews, checklists, rating scales, questionnaires or tools such as FAST, MAS, QABF. These tools can be used to obtain information from people who are familiar with the individual (e.g. teachers, parents, caregivers, and/or the individual). An advantage of indirect FBA is its convenience. Indirect FBA can be a useful source of information in guiding subsequent, more objective assessments, and contribute to the development of hypotheses about variables that might occasion or maintain the problem behavior. A limitation of Indirect FBA is that informants may not have accurate and unbiased recall of behavior and the conditions under which it occurred. Little research exists to support the reliability of the information obtained from indirect assessment methods therefore are not recommended as the principal means of identifying the functions of

A Functional Behaviour Assessment (FBA) is not one single thing; it is a broad term used to describe a number of different methods that allow researchers and practitioners to identify the reason a specific behaviour is occurring (Cooper, Heron, & Heward, 2007).

When a student who has a disability’s educational placement is changed due to challenging behavior, a functional behavior assessment must be conducted. Functional behavior assessment (FBA) is used to aid in the development of behavior intervention plans (BIP’s). In a functional assessment, the type and the source of reinforcement for problem behaviors are used as a basis for intervention efforts that are designed to increase occurrence. Functional analysis can also be used to determine the specific function of a behavior, but FBA’s are more commonly used, especially in school settings. In a functional analysis (FA), antecedents and consequences that represent those in the person’s natural environment are arranged so that their effects on the problem behavior can be observed and measured. The difference between a functional analysis and functional behavior assessment is that the assessment establishes a connection between the behavior and antecedent or the consequent variables, but a functional analysis identifies informal relationships. For this reason, a functional analysis is seen to be a more valid tool for identifying the function of a behavior; however, there are limitations to using a functional analysis. This method may momentarily strengthen the problem behavior or result in the behavior acquiring new functions. Federal mandates like IDEA 2004 and school reforms such as Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) have played a role in the increase of the

Functional Behavioural Assessment, Functional assessment is a process for determining the function of the child/adult’s problem behaviour. Functional Assessment or Functional Behavioural Assessment (FBA) involves the collection of data, observations, and information to develop a

A functional behavior assessment is systematically completed in three consecutive steps. Initially, information is gathered through indirect assessments via interview, self reports, and those who know the person well. This serves to define the behavior, provide background information, as well as provide information about when the behavior is more likely or unlikely to occur and what environmental variables might influence its occurrence. After this is completed, the professional conducts a descriptive assessment during which observations are conducted in the natural environment as a step toward determining a true functional relationship between the behavior and controlling factors. This is done through the use of observational recording formats such as: ABC assessments, time sampling, interval recording and structured descriptive assessments. A functional analysis is the final part of the functional behavioral assessment during which the hypothesis is tested through the

I enjoyed reading your post! You have made several good points. I like how you tied opinion into making a hypothesis, then using the assessments to confirm or disprove one's hypothesis about the behavior being observed. Behavior analysts have to observe what precedes (antecedent) a behavior before it happens and what happens after the behavior (consequence). They take what is called ABC data (Antecedent-Behavior-Consequence). This data helps to identify the function of the behavior. FBA's (Functional Behavior Assessments) are also given to help better understand what the behavior is and how it serves the client. The ABC data and FBA are both tools used to help a behavior analyst to confirm their professional opinion and provide the

Once it is determined that the behavior needs to be addressed in a more formal way, a Functional Behavioral Assessment will take place. A Functional Behavioral Assessment, or a FBA is "premised on a behavioral perspective, in which behavior, appropriate or challenging, is viewed as being driven by function" (Adams, 2009).

The problem behavior being observed is self-injurious behavior. Self-injurious behavior is operationally defined as: projecting head into forceful contact with any surface and forceful contact between hand and head/face. Levi’s self-injurious behavior occurs hourly at a severe intensity, thus posing a physical threat to his safety. Engaging in this behavior also impedes Levi from communicating his needs using verbal language and acquiring additional functional skills. For these reasons, a Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA) should be performed in order to determine the cause

| Recognise patterns and triggers which may lead to inappropriate behavioural responses and take action to pre-empt, divert or diffuse potential flash points

Every step of the FBA process is crucial and necessary for the success of a student’s support plan. In my past experience of working with children who have significant behavioral challenges, I have been involved in the creation of an FBA process before. Some things that came naturally to me, were identifying the problem behavior, collecting data on that behavior, and forming a hypothesis about the function of the behavior.

The next intervention, Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA) (Tobin et al., 2000), is also used in conjunction with other interventions as mentioned above. An FBA is rooted in the field of applied behavior analysis and identifies the antecedents and consequences for the behavior (Flower, 2011) and is a mandate of IDEA (Regan, 2011). It also acts as a guide to selecting interventions to address the problem behaviors (Binkiker and Pindiprolu, 2008). FBA’s are “based on the assumptions that (a) problem behaviors serve functions for a person who displays them and (b) all behavior problems are learned” (Binkiker et al., 2008 p. 68). The process of conducting an FBA “is a problem-solving approach that relies on selecting relevant environmental factors for identifying the primary motivations for the problem behavior and using that information as the centerpiece for developing an individual behavior intervention plan” (Wehby and Kern, 2014 p. 42).  When referring to the function of the behavior, it is the purpose that the behavior is serving.  There are 5 categories that the behavior can fall into and Gersham (2007) describes them as:

This week, the readings focused on the methods for preventing challenging behaviors through assessing the antecedents/settings and identifying and managing strategies to correct challenging behavior. In addition, we read about writing and implementing function- based assessments and identifying the variables in developing the plan. The key in this week’s readings for me is learning to evaluate the variables when developing a behavior intervention plan. The reason I find this the most important is, I believe this is the most difficult part of the behavioral assessment process.

The field of Applied Behavioral Science’s future will be greatly affected by contemporary issues that involve the creation of the Association of Professional Behavior Analysts (APBA), board certification limitations, and the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB).