Functional Behavior Assessment
Functional Analysis
What is it?
Assessment Methods
Where/when is it
conducted?
Descriptive Behavioral Assessment
Indirect Behavior Assessment
Systematically manipulating environmental
events thought to maintain problem
behavior within an experimental design
Observation of the problem behavior in
relation to events that are not arranged in
a systematic manner.
Use structured interviews, checklists,
rating scales, or questionnaires to
obtain information from person who
are familiar with the individual
exhibiting the problem behavior
Analog conditions
ABC Recording
- Continuous
- Narrative
A test condition includes an MO and a
potential reinforcer
- Control conditions (play)
- Test conditions (escape, attention,
alone)
Simulated settings
***Analog conditions refer to the
arrangements of variables rather than the
setting in which assessment occurs***
Scatterplots
Continuous: record every occurrence of
the targeted PBs AND selected
environmental events in the natural
routine during a period of time
Narrative: data are collected only when
behaviors of interest are observed;
recording is open-ended
What do you do with
the results?
Structured interviews, checklists,
rating scales, and/or questionnaires
The function that problem behavior serves
for a person can be determined from the
graphs
Scatterplot: divide the day into blocks;
use symbols to indicate if target behavior
occurred a lot, some, or not at all
ABC Continuous: likely to provide useful
information for designing a subsequent
FA
Function = test condition during which the
most problem behavior occurred
Scatterplots: identify time periods during
which behavior occurs
Teachers, parents, caregivers, and/or
the individual him- or herself
Identify possible conditions or events
in the natural environmental that
correlate with the problem behavior
Intervention (teach alternative behaviors; alter consequence variables) and Prevention (alter antecedent variables)
Advantages
Limitations
Ability to yield a clear demonstration of
the variable(s) that relate to the occurrence
of a problem behavior
Easier to do than functional analyses
Represent contingencies that occur within
the individual’s natural routine
Easy to conduct
Requires expertise to implement and
interpret
Biased and unreliable
Provide correlations NOT functional
relations
Limited accuracy
Not the best choice for hypothesis
formulation