What to do when Descriptive Assessment is not Enough: Choice Assessment

1. What to do when Descriptive Assessment is not Enough: Choice Assessment December, 2009 School Social Worker & School Psychology Discipline Days

2. Objective

3. Increasing Rigor And Increasing Accuracy Choice Assessment

4. Current problems with Indirect and Descriptive methods Indirect = 30% accurate functions identified Descriptive assessments increase accuracy (60 – 80%) Steege and Northup, Journal of Proven Practice 1998 • Positive bias to attention in a school setting (Iwata) • May appear to be Escape to Attention when the student might really be Escape

5. Functional Analysis In General: • Set up situations that allow you to compare conditions • Attention • Demand • Alone • Play • Take data on the problem behavior • Reliability and Validity are high • Considered the “Gold Standard”

6. Functional Analysis Video

8. If the behavior is escape maintained the data might look like this graph.Graph from Berg et al., 2007

9. If the behavior is attention maintained the data might look like this graph.Graph from Berg et al., 2007

10. If it is the Gold Standard, why aren’t we doing more Functional Analysis? • Potential risk to individual • elicit the behavior • Complex • Requires control over environment • Hard to do it with elopement, low frequency behaviors • Requires extensive Supervised Experience • If you believe a Functional Analysis is needed contact the CBAT

11. Paired Choice Assessment for FunctionAlso called Contingent Operant Assessment • Identifies relative preferences • Can be done in a Classroom Setting • Increase Teacher buy-in of function • 3/4 determined the same function as Functional Analysis (Berg, Wacker, 2007) • Not intended to elicit problem behavior

12. What is the difference? Functional Analysis • Identifies conditions that will increase problem behaviors • Most reliable method • Controls for attention • Very controlled environment Paired Choice • Identifies student preferences • 3/4 indicated same function as FA • Controls for attention • Can be done in a classroom

13. What do I get from it? • Information about antecedents that are more likely to produce positive behavior • Likely to gain confirmation of function • Manage the influence of attention • Can get information on preferred materials, items, settings, tasks • May take less time than a comprehensive descriptive analysis • Paired choice –min. of 25 to 30 min • Descriptive assessment – min of 3 20 min observations

14. How do I set up the space? • 2 age appropriate spaces (tables) • 3 to 5 feet apart • Different choices placed on each table • Each session is 5 min. • Break between sessions

15. What are the rules? Adult • Adult explains options before • The choice is repeated every 90 seconds for 5 minutes • Adult responds to child as indicated in the condition Child • Starts between the tables • Is Free to move between both tables • Can’t take toys back and forth

16. What happens if the child demonstrates the problem behavior? • If the behavior is mild • Prompt the child to make a choice • If the behavior is severe • End the session • Consider other assessment techniques

17. 5 min. Choice Session 1

18. 5 min. Choice Session 2

19. 5 min. Choice Session 3

20. 5 min. Choice Session 4

21. What data should I collect? 10 sec. Partial Interval Recording • Records which side of the midpoint the student is standing during each interval • If student was in both sides, record the one that the student spent the most time • Standing on the midline is not recorded Duration Recording • Record total time on each side

22. Escape Profile (Berg et al., 2007) Child wants to be alone with or without toys

23. Escape Profile (Berg et al., 2007) Child wants to be alone. But will tolerate Attention paired with Toys.

24. Attention Profile (Berg et al., 2007) Higher Problem Behaviors Prefers Attention, Less PB when not paired with a Demand

25. Not Fail Proof(Berg et al., 2007)

26. Lyle • Problem Behavior was maintained/reinforced by escape from demands • Choice was maintained/reinforced by positive reinforcement such as teacher attention Choice Assessment based instructional strategies reduced the problem behavior and Functional Analysis based strategies eliminated the problem behavior.

27. What if I want to know more than just what the child prefers? Collect more data • Problem behaviors during choice activity • Engagement or compliance while in preferred setting

28. Paired Choice— Simplified

29. Paired Choice: Hypothesized Functions • Find a partner • Go to the following SurveyMonkey link: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/2B8BD2R • Consider the possible function in each scenario to answer each item We will go over each item at the end of the activity.

30. How can Paired Choice reduce time spent on FBA summaries? 30-60 minutes compared to multiple observations in multiple settings May choose to do a paired choice assessment early in problem analysis when escape and gain are both present as consequences for problem behavior.

31. How can Choice Assessment be used to complete an FBA summary?(Graph from Berg et al., 2007)

32. Warren: Choice Assessment Results • Aggression and property destruction • Warren chose teacher attention consistently • Problem behaviors: • 36% of the intervals with attention and task demand • 0-5% with attention or attention with toys • Chose attention with demands over alone with toys • He engaged in the leisure, attention and tasks a median of 81% of intervals • Direct observations during independent work tasks and leisure time alone show he has appropriate behavior for about 1 minute prior aggressing

33. Warren: FBA Summary Components • Function of Problem Behavior: Gain Attention • Summary Statement: • When Warren is left alone in leisure or independent work he is more likely to aggress or have property destruction to gain attention from adults.

34. Warren: FBA Summary Components • Summary Statement: • When Warren is given demands and leisure time paired with adults he is more likely to engage in the activities appropriately and has less aggression.

35. Warren: BIP Recommendations • Prevention: • Reduce independent work times/leisure times to less than 1 minute until tolerance for delay is gained. Include adults in leisure and work activities. • Teach Alternatives/Replacement: • Warren should be taught to request a teacher to help him during work tasks and engage with him during leisure time. He should also be taught increasing amounts of tolerance for delay.

36. Warren: BIP Recommendations • Response Strategies: • Provide frequent social attention during all tasks • Planned ignoring for minor off-task, disruptive, aggressive behaviors • Time-out from attention for aggressive behavior

37. Your Turn: Jack’s Choice Assessment(Graph from Berg et al., 2007)

38. Jack: Choice Assessment Results • Self injury, aggression and noncompliance • Chose the alone side of the room with or without leisure items • Chose leisure with teacher over alone • Problem behaviors: • 3 problem behaviors occurred in the attention with demand and attention with toys conditions • He engaged in the the side of the room he chose a 80% of intervals

39. Jack: FBA & BIP Components At your table: • What is the hypothesized function of Jack’s problem behavior? • Write a summary statement for problem behaviors for Jack • Determine Prevention, Replacement & Teaching, & Response strategies for Jack’s BIP I’ll be floating by and will share out your work at the end of the activity.

40. When is consent for evaluation for choice assessment necessary? • Get Consent for evaluation • Initial FBA Summary during an evaluation • Collecting information intended to inform a placement change • During a reevaluation • Consent for Evaluation is typically not necessary when part of ongoing evaluation that is intended to inform instruction • In General—You can never go wrong with telling the parent

41. Next Steps • Consider a choice interview with an older student • Start with a choice assessment for the purpose of determining preferred leisure activities • Consider a choice assessment for a student you think might have problem behavior maintained by multiple functions • Use a choice assessment to make recommendations for an EER

42. For Teachers & Parents:

43. For more information . . . Berg et al., (2007). Comparing functional analysis and paired-choice assessment results in classroom settings. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 40, 545-552.