Functional Behavior Assessment

Development of an intervention is the final step in the functional behavior assessment (FBA) process. In the completion of the FBA antecedent and reinforcing contingencies are identified which can be manipulated to prevent the behavior from occurring, remove reinforcement for engaging in the undesired behavior, or be utilized to reinforce alternate behaviors (Cooper, Heron, & Heward, 2007). An FBA is a necessary component of the intervention process in that it provides the necessary information with regard to the function of the behavior through the systematic manipulation of environmental variables thought to maintain the problem under controlled conditions; yielding a clear demonstration of the interaction between the independent variable

Functional behavioral assessment (FBA) is a variation on procedures originally developed to ascertain the purpose or reason for behaviors displayed by individuals with severe cognitive or communication disabilities (e.g., individuals with mental retardation or autism). Teachers can use FBA for students with behavioral or emotional problems that are interfering with their educational progress or the progress of other students. This assessment can be used to develop an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) or help provide information for verification of a disability.

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

Thank you for your considering my application to the Applied Behavior analysis program. For all of my life I have known that I was going to help people. It could be said that it is in my DNA. I just never suspected what the capacity would be. On December 15thI graduated from Albright college, I began working at Melmark on December 16th. My first thought, on that first day was “Oh no, I can’t do this, I need to quit” That was over two years ago, and I have gone to work every day, with a smile on my face. While working at my first position, out of college, I discovered my passion. My passion, I find, is working with children and adults with autism and with people who suffer from addiction. Watching the smiles on their faces, the determination when they work to complete a goal, and just the progress makes every hardship worth it, I love it. Each day, in my position as an ABA, I run behavior support plans, IEPs, teaching plans and other protocols, and each day I truly wish that I could have contributed to these plans, protocols, and IEPs. I ponder the recommendations that I could come up with, I wonder that if I had been able to participate in these conversations to create these plans could I have brought something else to the table, a different viewpoint. Affecting the way that the plans are written and in turn ran, I feel that I could make a big difference in the lives of the children and their families also. Every two weeks each child’s team meets to discuss his or her

I have a very strong interest in obtaining the Behavioral Technician position at Exceptional Student Education Center. I am currently completing my Master’s in Psychology specializing in Applied Behavioral Analysis. My background experience consists of working with children as well as teens with challenging behaviors in educational, residential and high facility settings. I offer a diverse background with the ability to engage individuals and build positive rapports with youth.

|The duration of this behavior is exhibited daily in 3 out of 6 class periods. |

As explained before physical intervention should not be used unless it can be clearly justified why it was used, it is not always neccessary. When dealing with challenging behaviour you can use restrictive intervention such as language which may result in the young person changing their behaviour before it even leads to an incident. For example there is a young person in my care who we have observed that responds well to humour, so if he is beginning to display negative/challenging behaviour we try to make jokes with him and sometimes tickle him. This turns his mood around and prevents an incident even taking place. It is important to use the least restrictive interventions where possible as if you didnt it could lead to further dilemmas such as verbal abuse, physical abuse, damage to property etc.

The film Precious is an emotional movie that deals with the unfortunate realities of everyday life for some individuals. The film that stares Gabourey Sidibe who plays the main character Clarice “Precious” Jones is based out of Harlem in the year of 1987. Precious is a sixteen year-old obese and uneducated teenager whom has had to grow up in a severely dysfunctional family environment. Her mother verbally and physically abuses her, often times using her as a personal servant. Her father has been sexually abusing her since childhood, and has impregnated her twice. Precious has lived with the ugly truth that because of her weight, skin color, and sexual abuse, she does not fit in

In order to prevent a child from biting you need to watch the child to see to what happens around the bite. See what the child was doing, what happened before the bite, and check to see who the child was playing can help a caregiver find

List two potential problems that a nurse may discover in an assessment of each age group.

Functional assessments focuses on the behavioral aspect of the family, more specifically how each member actually behaves with regards to the other members of the family (Wright & Leahey, 2013). There are two aspects of family functioning: expressive and instrumental. The instrumental characteristic of family functioning focuses on the family’s daily activities. The expressive aspect is a bit more involved and includes nine separate categories including: emotional, verbal, nonverbal, and circular communications; problem solving, roles, influence and power, beliefs, as well as alliances and coalitions (Wright & Leahey, 2013).. When I think about the family I will be assessing, I feel functional assessments will be utilized the most when assessing

The subject is a three-year old boy named Levi who has been diagnosed with autism. The setting for his observation is in his home and front yard at 11:00 am with his mother and little brother present. His mother reports that he has recently been sick with a cold and is getting restless. It has been five days since he has had any school services and the date of the observation is the first day he has been well enough to have visitors. There are no other reported medical or physiological factors that are known to influence the target behavior.

Sara who is six years old has a behavioral problem of transition both at home and in school. Sara stays with her father, mother, and sisters. Due to the behavioral problem, she was taken to the school of developmental disabilities because the parents felts that is where she could be handled correctly. She is in a class of six students who are aided by two aides and a special education teacher. Though Sara loves going to school, she has the problem of transition throughout the day. Apart from teachers, the parents have also noticed this behavioral problem in their daughter.

Analyzing the data collected using a functional behavior analysis will help to determine operant reinforcers apparent in the undesired behavior. The behavior observed during this process is tantrums; however, in order to correctly address this issue, the behavior must be operationally defined. Defining tantrums objectively with clarity and completeness ensures that the behavior will be noticeable to others. In this scenario tantrums are defined as disruptive behaviors such as: kicking, throwing objects, crying, falling to the ground, (not to be confused with slipping) knocking over or pushing supplies, stomping on the ground and physical violence towards others. This is now a complete, clear, objective definition of the problematic

List two potential problems that a nurse may discover in an assessment of each age group.