Functional Assessment

1. Functional Assessment

2. How have we changed the way we look at managing behavior? • Proactive and preventative focus • Understanding why problem behaviors are happening • Developing interventions or support plans based on outcomes of the FBA • Interventions that focus on skills development • Strategies that are “doable” in real settings

3. Why is it important to identify the function of a behavior? • It is empirically validated as best practice.

4. Obtain Desirable Events Avoid/Escape Undesirable Events Internal External Internal External Attention Objects/ Activities Objects/ Activities Attention • Difficult • tasks • Change in • routine • Interruption • of desired • activity • Rhythmic • rocking • Endorphin • release • Visual • stimulation • Smiles, • hugs • Frown, • scolding • Surprise • Smiles, • hugs • Frown, • scolding • Surprise • Sinus • pain • Skin • irritation • Hunger • Food • Preferrred • activity • Money

5. Functional Assessment or Functional Analysis • Functional Assessment is the process of gathering information in which patterns can be identified regarding the antecedents or consequences pertaining to a particular behavior • Functional Analysis is the manipulation of two or more variables and measuring the effect on the target behavior

6. What is a FBA? • A process that: • Defines the target behaviors • Determines the environmental events and factors that contribute to challenging behaviors • Identifies the antecedents and consequences that occur before and after the challenging behaviors • Hypothesizes the function or purpose of the challenging behaviors • Provides direction for developing appropriate and effective positive interventions

7. FBA is a process in which many instruments may be used to gather information • Reviewing existing documents • Interview • Scale or Screening Instruments • Scatterplot • Direct Observation Tools • Environmental Manipulation

8. What events do I need to consider when I begin an intensive FBA? Setting Events • Conditions that increase the likelihood that problem behavior will occur. They can be: • Removed in time from the behavior (e.g., the child wakes up late, is rushed through breakfast, and hurried out the door to daycare two hours before she refuses to clean up her toys) • In close proximity to the behavior (e.g., the child has a block taken from him immediately prior to hitting another child in that center; student has a bad interaction in the hallway prior to screaming at the teacher) • An ongoing situation or state (e.g., the student is extremely fatigued due to a cold and not sleeping well the night before).

9. Setting Event Checklist -- Example

11. Setting Events • Bad interaction with family previous to school • Sick, Hungry, Tired • Was reprimanded in class and privilege taken away

12. Motivation Assessment Scale • A 16-item survey that assists in developing a hypothesis about the function of the problem behavior http://www.monacoassociates.com/mas/index.html

13. Motivation Assessment Scale

14. Interviews An interview that describes the problem behavior and identifies physical and environmental factors that reliably result in the problem behavior.

15. Interview Information • What exactly does the behavior look like? • What do you think is the function of the behavior? • What events/situations predict the behavior? • What are the learning characteristics? • What does the child like or not like? • How does the child communicate needs, wants, etc.? • What are some of the other factors (e.g., medical, schedule) that may influence behavior?

16. Scatterplot • An interval recording system that assists in determining if patterns of problem behavior exist during specific time periods

17. Scatterplot Form 0 1 2 - 3 > 3 Time/Activity 9/12 9/13 9/14 8:00 - 8:20 8:20 - 8:35 8:35 - 9:15 9:20 - 9:35 9:35 - 9:55 9:55 - 10:30

18. Antecedent-Behavior-Consequence Analysis Date Antecedent Behavior Consequence

19. ABC Analysis • Event recording system that determines patterns of antecedents and consequences associated with a particular behavior.

20. 2 What do I do with all of this? (i.e., How do I summarize the data?) Evaluate the antecedent that are predicting the behavior

21. 2 What do I do with all of this? (i.e., How do I summarize the data?) Evaluate the consequences that are maintaining the behavior

22. What do I do with all of this? (i.e., How do I summarize the data?) 2 Evaluate the whole sequence

23. Environmental Manipulation • systematic manipulation of environmental variables that you believe will and will not result in the demonstration of the problem behavior.

24. Environmental Manipulations Antecedent – variables are set up in advance and are not contingent on problem behavior (e.g., student is given hard task versus an easy task; low attention versus high attention) • Based on the ABC, identify the variables that are likely to influence problem behavior. • Identify a time period and situation that can be set up to test your hypothesis (e.g., high rates of attention and low rates of attention). • Collect data on the problem behavior that occurs in each condition • Conduct the conditions across several days, testing each condition at least two times.

25. Environmental Manipulations Consequence – variables to be tested are presented contingent on problem behavior exhibited by the student. • Based on the ABC, identify the variables likely to influence problem behavior. • Identify a time period and conditions that can be set up to test your hypothesis. • Based on problem behavior, variables are implemented. For example: • During an escape condition, when the problem behavior occurs, the task is removed • During an attention condition, when the problem behavior occurs, attention is provided • During a tangible condition, when the problem behavior occurs, a tangible item is provided

26. Develop a hypothesis about two variables that you believe to influence challenging behavior • In the same setting, test out those two variables related to their effects on the student’s behavior

27. Hypothesis Statement • Hypothesis statements are developed for each behavior. • Review the data to identify patterns: • Under what condition does the behavior occur? • What happens when the behavior occurs? • Summarize when X happens , S engages in problem behavior to get Y

28. Hypothesis Development

29. Brainstorming

30. Competing Behavior Diagrams Desired Maintaining Behavior Consequences When presented with Heather yelled and T. ignored and H. a writing task dropped head to desk escaped writing Setting Antecedent Problem Maintaining Event Event Behavior Consequence Replacement Behavior

31. Competing Behavior Diagrams Complete Task completed Assignment Escape Desired Maintaining Behavior Consequences When presented with Heather yelled and T. ignored and H. a writing task dropped head to desk escaped writing Setting Antecedent Problem Maintaining Event Event Behavior Consequence Replacement Behavior

32. Competing Behavior Diagrams Complete Task completed Assignment Escape Desired Maintaining Behavior Consequences When presented with Heather yelled and T. ignored and H. a writing task dropped head to desk escaped writing Setting Antecedent Problem Maintaining Event Event Behavior Consequence Ask for Assistance Replacement Behavior

33. Make Problem Behavior Irrelevant, Ineffective, and Inefficient • Irrelevant • Child no longer needs to use problem behaviors to achieve wants/needs • Ineffective • Problem behavior no longer enables the child to achieve the function of his/her behavior • Inefficient • Problem behaviors require much more effort and time to achieve purpose compared with acceptable behavior.