Functional Behavioral Assessment

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 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

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

As state by the student scenario, Gloria is self-biting when being reprimanded by an adult or peer. The scenario also states that a Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA) has been conducted, and suggests that Gloria is self-biting as an avoidance/escaping behavior to avoid situations where she is being reprimanded. To support Gloria in reducing the self-biting behavior, I would take a proactive approach and implement positive reinforcements. First I would review the FBA, to make note of when and in what situations the negative behavior was occurring most often. I would assess these situations to see if there were factors contributing to the behavior that could be altered or removed. I would then devise a behavior intervention plan (BIP) that

The B A.T. clinical team met Oscar’s mother, Mariciela, his sister Giselle on August 8, 2016. Giselle acted as translator for her mother. On this date the B.A.T. team conducted an indirect functional assessment, which consisted of a parent interview and review of ABA services in relation to Oscar. The clinical team gathered information regarding Oscar’s history (as outlined in the above section) and inquired about the challenges they encounter, including any behaviors that are of concern.

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.

The PBIS framework provides behavior supports through essential strategies that enhance academics and social outcomes in schools, (Responsive Classroom and PBIS Can Schools Use Them Together, n.d). According to the Office of Special Education Programs Technical Assistance Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports, OSEP TA Center on PBIS (2013) it is reported that school-wide PBIS has been implemented in 50 states and over 19,000 schools across the United States. Hence, the PBIS framework is a structure that provides a strong foundation in positive discipline. Using positive discipline and positive reinforcement centers the attention on desired outcomes and redirection. Some of the strategies include a focus on skill teaching, the use of positive statements through respectful practices, data-based decision making and the implementation of three tiers of positive behavior support to meet the variety of student needs. Tier one is intended to support all students in all situations (Responsive Classroom and PBIS Can Schools Use Them Together, n.d). This is done through the use of common language, positive reinforcements, frequent verbal connections of behavior to expectation, morning and closing classroom meetings, logical consequences and problem-solving

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.

Behavior is communication and for young children behavior is used to have their needs met. Howard is a sixth grader that has been referred to the office six times in four month by his first-year teacher Ms. Anderson. Based on Ms. Anderson’s observations Howard exhibits specific weakness in mathematics resulting in incomplete in-class work and homework assignments, and avoidance behaviors when asked to work at the whiteboard. Howard’s outbursts according to Educator Richard Lavoie M.A., M.E. students would rather be bad than dumb. Creating an intervention plan will accurately document the function, and communication behind his behaviors. Howard displays behaviors that may be misinterpreted as misbehaviors in the classroom at times. The purpose of this to create an intervention plan based on Howard’s Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA).

1) A functional assessment of a problem behavior would be gathering information about antecedents and consequences that relate to the behavior. It is important to conduct functional assessment because it gives you information that helps you determine why a problem behavior is happening.

Emotional disturbance disorder can be broken into two categories internalized or externalized. A child primarily exhibits only one form of behavior, but on rare occasions display both. External behaviors are easily noticed by teachers because they may consist of acting aggressive, provoking peers, getting out of seat constantly and refusing to stay on task. Internal behaviors are much harder to recognize because they have good grades and very few discipline problems but the issue of attendance may be an issue (Davis, Young, Hardman, & Winters, 2011). The best solutions to prevent disruptions are to use preventative measure when possible. Parental approval for a functional behavior assessment (FBA) will allow for a licensed specialist in school psychology to evaluate what leads to the child’s behavior. This will allow for the LSSP to create preventative strategies and a behavior intervention plan (BIP) if necessary. Behavior modifications can benefit both teachers and parents; the use of positive reinforcement and incentives to encourage the child the use of less disruptive more socially acceptable behavior will lead to a less stressed environment. This can be accomplished if both parents and teachers collaborate with each other along with the professionals involved with the child (Fenell, 2013). Everyone working together will

The Behavior Assessment System for children, Third Edition (BASC-3) includes a self-report, parent and teacher rating scale. The Self-Report (BASC-3-SRP), Parent Rating Scale (BASC-3-PRS) and the Teacher Rating Scale (BASC-3-TRS) measure a variety of emotional and behavioral problems and adaptive skills. The clinical scales measure maladaptive behavior while the adaptive scales measure prosocial skills. This measure is designed to give us a broad view of the child’s overall functioning across the home and school settings.

One specific area in which the functional assessment process could be very beneficial is in the public school setting. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in 1997 requires schools to recognize the relationship between student classroom behavior and classroom learning (Gable, 1999). IDEA led to changes in the functional behavioral assessment (FBA) process requiring precise definition, systematic measurement, and careful manipulation and experimentation (Gable, 1999). Gable (1999) added that the major concern of FBA was that teachers were unlikely to do it. However, tools such as functional analysis that are a part of the FBA process are invaluable research tools and strategies that need to be adapted to complex community

The likely percentage of those whose needs will be met in Tier 3 is 5%. These students are located at the very top of the pyramid because they are individuals who exhibited patterns of severe or extreme problem behaviors. The supports that are given during this Tier should involve the behavior support team (BST) because these are individuals who know him/her best. A functional behavior assessment (FBA) is given to investigate why a behavior is occurring in more detail. Then a Behavior Implementation plan (BIP) is developed that includes more intensive research-based interventions, more detailed progress monitoring , and more staff involvement to discover the problem for individual students. Students with the most severe needs may require wraparound services which include processes for identifying and coordinating family and community services. The difference between Tier 3 and the other levels of positive behavior supports are the focus and intensity of the interventions. The defining features of a students are in a more comprehensive manner. Tier 3 interventions are implemented in a more flexible, but systematic process of functional behavioral assessment and behavioral intervention planning. The problem-solving process gives a step by step of how the problem is handled. The first step is identifying the problem, second is figuring out why the problem is occurring, third is what steps are we going to take to handle the problem, and the fourth is asking yourself whether or not the response to intervention is working. The data that is collected during Tier 3 is the BIP, RTI, and the FBA. The progress monitoring is daily and intervention is given weekly. Adjustments are made when appropriate for the individual student with the problem

Furthermore, as special education teachers, asked to fill out questionnaires regarding student performances on a regular basis, being for initial testing into the special education program or for behavioral plans. We feel that after completing this week’s activity and reading assignments, beside it is supplementary cognizant of student’s behaviors. We learned that observation is paramount, and that attention drawn to detail when attempting to record responses to identify the antecedent, behavior itself and later address the consequences.