Functional Behavioral Assessment

1. Functional Behavioral Assessment What is it and how do I do it? MN Department of Education, Martha Simpson, consultant/author

2. Challenging Behavior • Behavior demonstrated by a student that • results in self-injury or injury to others • causes damage to the physical environment • interferes with learning by student or others • socially isolates the student

3. Traditional Approach to Challenging Behavior • Identify and clearly define behavior problem(s) • Assess current level of behavior • Establish goals & objectives • Select & apply intervention • What has the research shown to be effective for this behavior? • Evaluate effects of intervention on behavior per objectives and goals

4. Behavior Increasing Catch the kid being good Behavior contracts Self-recording & management Token reinforcement & levels systems Social skills training Behavior Decreasing Time-out from positive reinforcement Contingent exercise Over correction positive practice restitution Reprimands Contingent loss of privileges, points Research-based Interventions

5. Issues • Traditional approach & research helpful BUT • Individual student assessment required • Legal - IDEA requires FBA • Conceptual • Behavior happens for a reason or reasons • Practical • All interventions have worked but also failed • Assess environment as well as behavior • What events currently motivate or maintain behavior?

6. IDEA 97 & FBA • IEP team • must explore need for strategies & supports to address behavior that may impede learning of child or peers • certain types of disciplinary actions • meet within 10 days to formulate functional behavioral assessment plan • already existing plan, review & revise as necessary to address behavior that is being disciplined • states must address pre- & in-service personnel need for developing & implementing positive behavioral strategies

7. Functional Behavioral Assessment • To develop better, quantifiable goals & objectives for conduct and social skills • Premise: • understand WHY behavior happens & why it doesn’t happen • Improves selection of • what to teach • how best to teach it • individual student & his/her environment

8. Tom Challenging Behavior tears up paper during math assignment Bob Challenging Behavior tears up paper during math assignment Case Examples

9. Behavior Reduction/Elimination • Reactive Interventions/Techniques • Ignoring - extinction • Timeout (from positive reinforcement) • Punishment • Reprimand - verbal/physical • Response cost - fine/penalty • Overcorrection • Positive practice - “write-offs” • Restitution - “make it better than before” • Restraint - punishment (or reinforcement???) • Suspension/expulsion

10. Tom When presented with his daily tasks by the teacher, Tom will not tear up his assigned tasks on 3 of 5 days Bob When presented with his assignment by the teacher, Bob will not tear up 4 of his 5 assignments for that day “Reactive Objectives”

11. Tom Teacher reprimand, redirect Ignore - consequences of not completing work Time-out Bob Response cost - lose free time Ignore - consequences of not completing work Time-out Behavior Reduction Examples

12. Disadvantages: Reactive Tactics • Restricted by law, policy • corporal punishment • Time, effort intensive • 100% or not at all • Aversive for all • Avoidance effects; counterattacks • Doesn’t teach WHAT to do • “Symptom Substitution” • behavior occurs for a reason • reason intact, behavior recurs or new problem

13. Teach Alternative Behavior • Replacement, competing prosocial behavior • “fair pair rule” • Basic tactics • Rules, praise, ignore • Catch the kid being good • target specific behavior • praise/reward appropriate, ignore inappropriate • Other • Token reward/economy; levels system • Behavior contracts • Self-management

14. Tom Presented with his daily assignments by the teacher, Tom will write answers to the questions & receive 1 point for each min. of task engagement, points exchangeable for free time during the last 10 min. of class. Bob When given his daily assignment, Bob will complete at least 50% of his assignment in return for which he will get to choose on of 5 privileges from a reward menu. Alternative Behavior Objectives

15. Tom reward task engagement or completion with free time behavior contract self recording of task completion Bob reward coming to class, activity on time with praise reward task engagement or completion with free time behavior contract self recording of task completion Teach Alternative Behavior

16. Functional Approach • Understand why behavior occurs now • 1 or more current motivations in school/classroom • Use motivations to your advantage in intervention • Motivations • Triggers • Setting events - context • Immediate antecedents • Behavior function • Motivation(s), purpose(s) = consequence(s)

17. Functional View of Behavior • Behavior occurs for a reason or reasons • Past & current reasons • Must identify current reasons to plan • effective, long-term behavior change • Response equivalency (to choose alternativebehavior) • Replacement behavior serves same function as challenging behavior • Response efficiency • Replacement behavior achieves function easier,quicker, better than challenging behavior.

18. Major Steps for FBA and Intervention • Define what person does, should do • Behavior • Identify • When, where, with whom behavior does occur • When, where, with whom behavior does not occur • 1 thing you could do to make behavior happen now • Develop motivation-based intervention(s)

19. Major Steps for FBA and Intervention • State motivational hypothesis or hypotheses • Confirm through observation, manipulation

20. Functions of Behavior • Power/control • When a child’s outcome is the control of events and/or situations • Protection/escape/avoidance • When a child’s outcome is to avoid a task/activity; escape a consequence, leave a situation

21. Functions of Behavior • Attention • When a child becomes the focus of a situation; result is that the child puts himself in the foreground of a situation • Acceptance/affiliation • When a child connects/relates with others; mutuality of benefit is present • Expression of self • When a child develops a forum of expression

22. Functions of Behavior • Gratification • When a child is self-rewarded or pleased; distinguishing characteristic is that reward is self-determined • Justice/revenge • When a child settles a difference; provides restitution, or demonstrates contrition; settling the score

23. Functional Assessment Strategies • Strategy1: Indirect Methods • Functional analysis interview • Review existing documents • Strategy 2: Direct Methods • Scatterplot • ABC recordings • Functional analysis observation • Strategy 3: Environmental Manipulations

24. Five Main Outcomes 1. A clear description of the problem behaviors, including classes or sequences of behaviors that frequently occur together. 2. Identification of the events, times, and situations that predict when the problem behaviors will and will not occur across the full range of typical routines.

25. Five Main Outcomes 3. Identification of the consequences that maintain the problem behaviors. 4. Development of one or more summary statements or hypotheses that describe specific behaviors, a specific type of situation in which they occur, and the outcomes or reinforcers maintaining them in that situation.

26. Five Main Outcomes 5. Collection of direct observation data that support the summary statements that have been developed.

27. Before the Assessment Begins • Functional Behavioral Assessment • Considered a formal assessment • Parental consent must be obtained • Assessment must be completed within 30 school days. • After assessment, team re-reconvenes to review results and develop plan

28. Indirect Methods - The Interview • There are two groups who should participate in interviews. • Teachers, paraprofessionals, support staff, related services staff, parents and family members, other relevant persons who work with or know the student well. • Student who is exhibiting behaviors of concern.

29. Interview Outcomes • Description of the behaviors of concern. • Identification of general and more immediate physical and environmental factors that predict the occurrence and nonoccurrence of the problem behaviors. • Identification of the potential functions of the behaviors in relation to the outcomes or consequences that are maintaining them.

30. Interview Outcomes • Development of summary statements describing relationships among situations, behavior, and their functions. • Also an opportunity to collect information about a range of other things that will be helpful in developing support plans.

31. Interview Component #1 - Description of the Behaviors • Describe all undesirable behaviors clearly. • Describe the behaviors in an operational sense. • Identify the extent to which the different behaviors occur together or in a predictable sequence or chain.

32. Interview Component #2Ecological/Setting Events • Facets of a student’s environment or daily routines that do not necessarily happen immediately before or after the undesirable behavior but still affect whether these behaviors are acted out. • Medications • Medical or physical problems • Sleep habits or routines • Bad morning/evening at home or day at school

33. Interview Component #2Ecological/Setting Events • Eating routines/diet • Daily schedule • Number of people • Staffing patterns and interactions

34. Interview Component #3Immediate Antecedents • Ask questions about specific situations in which the problem behaviors happen. • When • Where • With whom • What activities

35. Interview Component #4Identification of Consequences or Outcomes • What types of results do the behaviors produce for the student? • What is the function they appear to serve? • Once desired outcome has been identified, then select a replacement behavior.

36. Potential Outcomes (Function)

37. Potential Outcomes (Function)

38. Potential Outcomes (Function)

39. Potential Outcomes (Function)

40. Potential Outcomes (Function)

41. Potential Outcomes (Function)

42. Potential Outcomes (Function)

43. Interview Component # 5Definition of Efficiency • Determine patterns of inconsistent behaviors. • Determine efficiency of behaviors. • Behaviors that require less physical effort • Behaviors that result in quicker and more consistent payoffs • Behaviors that produce results quickly.

44. Interview Component # 6Identify Behavior Skills • Identify functional alternative behaviors that the student already knows how to do. • Determine instruction needs for teaching new skills. • Determine methods for prompting and reinforcing skills the student already has.

45. Interview Component # 7Communication Methods • Identify the primary ways the student communicates with other people. • Understand the ways in which a student communicates important information to others in the environment. • Solicit information about the student’s receptive abilities.

46. Interview Component # 8Things to Avoid • Identify the things to do and those to avoid in working with the student. • What strategies do/don’t work well.

47. Interview Component # 9Identify Reinforcers • Identify things the student likes. • Identify things that are reinforcing to the student. • Objects or social interaction that a student is trying to obtain should be used as reinforcers in a behavior support plan.

48. Interview Component # 10History of Interventions • Solicit information about the history of undesirable behaviors and the success/nonsuccess of interventions that have been attempted.

49. Interview Component # 11Develop Summary Statements • Develop summary statements for each major predictor and/or consequence. • This is also called the hypothesis statement. • These will be important in steering the behavioral observations and behavior support plan.

50. Hypothesis Statements • Hypothesis statements should include three components. • Setting events - the situation in which the behavior occurs. • Behaviors - specific behavior that occurs. • Function - the intended outcome or function of the behavior.