Functional Behavior Assessments (FBAs) are crucial for understanding and addressing challenging behaviors in our students. An FBA is a process used to identify the underlying causes and functions of specific behaviors. By understanding why a behavior occurs, we can develop effective strategies to address and modify it. FBAs help create personalized behavior intervention plans that improve student outcomes, enhance learning environments, and support positive behavioral change. This step-by-step guide will help you create a comprehensive and effective Functional Behavior Assessment, ensuring you cover all necessary components.
Gather Background Information
Start your Functional Behavior Assessment process by collecting detailed background information about the student. This sets the stage for understanding their behavior in context.
- Name and Age: Record the student’s name and age, along with their grade level.
- Diagnoses and School Placement: Include any relevant diagnoses, school placement (e.g., mainstream classroom with pull-out resource instruction for math and language arts), and current medications.
- Support: I also like to include how much staff assistance the student receives throughout the day (e.g., “student requires the support of a 2:1 ratio of students to paraprofessionals or “there are ten students in the class, with one special education teacher and 2 paraprofessionals”).
- Reason for Referral: Clearly state why the student is being referred for an FBA (e.g., “student was referred to the behaviorist for disruptive behaviors such as kicking and hitting”).
Define Target Behaviors
Clearly define the behaviors you want to assess in a way that anyone can understand. This ensures everyone is on the same page when observing and recording data.
Examples include:
Aggressions: any instance of student hitting, kicking, pushing, or biting another student or staff member.
Disruptions: any instance of student tearing, crumpling, throwing, or hitting materials or objects.
List Procedures Used in the Functional Behavior Assessment
Outline the methods and tools you’ll use during the Functional Behavior Assessment.
These can include, but are not limited to:
- Teacher/Parent Interviews: Gain insights from those who know the student well, as well as the student themselves (if applicable)!
- Functional Analysis Screening Tool (FAST): Identify potential functions of the behavior.
- Behavioral Observations: Observe the student across different settings and times of day, and with varied levels of demands.
- Descriptive Assessment (ABC analysis): Analyze Antecedent-Behavior-Consequence patterns by observing which types of events occur most frequently prior to and following target behaviors.
- Functional Analysis: Systematically test different hypotheses about the behavior’s function.
Summarize Interview Results
I like to begin the body of the Functional Behavior Assessment with the interview results. This provides multiple perspectives on the behavior. I use a structured interview so that I ensure I am getting information on:
- what types of behaviors occur
- how often and intense the behaviors are
- how peers or siblings react to the behavior
- during which classes or activities are the behaviors most or least likely to occur
- what the student enjoys doing in their free time
- what the teacher or parent perceives the underlying intent of the behaviors to be (if they have an opinion on this)
Analyze Screening Tool Results
The Functional Analysis Screening Tool is one that I commonly use as part of a Functional Behavior Assessment. The FAST is designed to identify potential functions of a behavior by asking questions about various scenarios and contexts in which the behavior occurs. Once the FAST is completed, review the responses to identify patterns or common themes. For instance, if the results indicate that the behavior frequently occurs following low levels of attention or during demanding tasks, it suggests that the behavior may be maintained by attention-seeking or escape. Summarizing these findings helps to hypothesize the function of the behavior, guiding the development of targeted interventions.
Analyze ABC Data
Once you have collected enough instances of the target behavior (this could take anywhere from 2 days to 2 weeks!), review the data to identify patterns and commonalities. Look for recurring antecedents—events or conditions that precede the behavior—and consistent consequences—responses that follow the behavior. For example, if the ABC data shows that the behavior often occurs when the student is given a challenging task (antecedent), this suggests the behavior could be maintained by seeking to escape demands.
Summarizing these patterns in helps hypothesize the function of the behavior, such as attention-seeking, escape, or sensory stimulation. Combining ABC data with other assessment results in the Functional Behavior Assessment (interviews and screening tools), provides a comprehensive understanding of the behavior, enabling the development of effective, individualized intervention strategies.
Functional Analyses
A functional analysis involves systematically manipulating the environment to observe how different conditions affect the target behavior. Typically, this involves creating scenarios where potential antecedents and consequences are introduced, such as providing attention, presenting demands, or allowing sensory stimulation, and then measuring the behavior’s frequency or intensity in each condition. Unless absolutely necessary, I do not typically conduct an FA as part of a Functional Behavior Assessment in public school settings as it can evoke very challenging behaviors that can severely disrupt a learner’s school day.
However if you are completing an FA, you can identify which factors most strongly influence the behavior by comparing the behavior’s occurrence across conditions. For example, if the behavior is highest when demands are presented and decreases when demands are removed, it suggests the behavior functions to escape from tasks. Analyzing these results provides a clear understanding of the behavior’s function, confirming or refining hypotheses generated from earlier assessment steps. Read more on conducting functional analyses here.
Summarize Findings
After collecting and analyzing all relevant data from the Functional Behavior Assessment interviews, screening tools, behavioral observations, ABC data, and functional analyses, it’s time to summarize the findings. This synthesis involves determining the most likely function of the target behaviors based on the patterns observed. Behaviors are typically maintained by one of four primary functions: to gain attention, to escape or avoid tasks, to obtain tangible items, or to gain sensory stimulation.
For example, if the data indicates that the student frequently exhibits the behavior when they are not receiving attention and it consistently results in gaining attention from peers or teachers, the behavior is likely attention-seeking. Alternatively, if the behavior occurs predominantly during difficult tasks and leads to the student being excused from these tasks, the function is likely escape. By clearly identifying the hypothesized function, you can provide targeted recommendations within the Functional Behavior Assessment to address the specific needs of the student, ensuring the strategies are effective and evidence-based. This comprehensive understanding is crucial for developing a behavior intervention plan that promotes positive change and supports the student’s overall well-being.
Provide Recommendations
Based on the findings from the Functional Behavior Assessment, develop and outline function-based treatment recommendations. These recommendations should be comprehensive and tailored to address the identified functions of the target behaviors. Here are the key components to include:
- Antecedent-Based Interventions: These proactive strategies aim to prevent the behavior from occurring by modifying the environment or context. For example, if the behavior is attention-seeking, you might recommend providing regular, scheduled attention throughout the day to reduce the student’s need to engage in the target behavior.
- Teaching Replacement Skills: It’s important to teach the student appropriate alternative behaviors that serve the same function as the target behavior. For instance, if the behavior is to escape tasks, teach the student to request breaks or assistance appropriately.
- Reinforcement Strategies: Use positive reinforcement to encourage the replacement behaviors and other appropriate behaviors. This might involve providing praise, tokens, or preferred activities when the student engages in the desired behaviors. Make sure the reinforcement techniques outlined in the Functional Behavior Assessment are meaningful and motivating to the student.
- Consequence-Based Interventions: Develop systematic responses to the target behavior that do not reinforce it. For example, if the behavior is attention-seeking, ensure that the attention given for the target behavior is minimal and not rewarding.
- Ongoing Data Collection and Monitoring: In every Functional Behavior Assessment I write, I recommend ongoing data collection to monitor the effectiveness of the interventions. Regularly review the data to make data-based adjustments as needed. This ensures the intervention remains effective and responsive to the student’s changing needs!
Conclusion
Conducting Functional Behavior Assessments can initially feel overwhelming! It’s natural to encounter challenges as you familiarize yourself with the process and its components. However, with practice and experience, the process becomes more intuitive and manageable. As you continue to refine your skills and deepen your understanding, you’ll find that FBAs not only become easier but also more insightful, leading to more effective interventions.
