On Functional Behavioral Assessment

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BRIEFING PAPER (On Functional Behavioral Assessment: Principles, Procedures, and Future Direction) Introductory Note: The Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA) is an investigative process that examines the context of challenging behaviors in the classroom. Information gleaned from the FBA process is used to develop a behavior intervention plan to address the challenging behavior and teach a socially acceptable replacement behavior. However, the FBA has remained almost exclusively used with students identified with disabilities, particularly those with emotional/behavioral disorders (EBD) as a last resort before removal from the general school campus. Fortunately, there is a growing awareness of the FBA as positive behavior support practice…show more content…
The goal of FBA, regardless of which methods are used, is to answer certain questions: 1) Under what circumstances is the behavior most/least likely to occur (e.g., when, where, with whom)? 2) What outcomes does the behavior produce (i.e., what does the person get or avoid through his or her behavior)? To answer these questions, the information gathered must be analyzed and summarized. A variety of tools are available for data collection and synthesis. In many cases, an informal or abbreviated approach can lead to reasonable interventions. However, in other circumstances, a more comprehensive and systematic process is required. An appropriate FBA is one that is matched to the circumstances and leads to an effective behavioral support plan. When enough data have been collected for FBA, the information must be summarized in a way to be useful in making intervention decisions. There are three steps: (A) formulation behavioral hypotheses, (B) constructing a completing behaviors pathway model, (C) compressive intervention planning based on behavioral hypotheses and competing behaviors pathway (Sprague, Sugai,& Walker,…show more content…
The development of positive behavioral interventions and plans that are guided by FBA is the foundation approach. A central message from this advancement is that the design of successful behavior change interventions requires identification of the events that reliably predict and maintain problem behaviors (Carr, 1994; Horner, 1994; O'Neill et al., 1997; Repp, 1994; Sugai, LewisPalmer, & Hagan, 1998). Historically, problem behaviors have been viewed as residing within a child, and the diagnostic emphasis has been on the type of problem behavior or the link with disability type. Although useful in guiding decision making at all levels, the FBA approach is the cornerstone of systems that address the educational programming of students who display the most significant and challenging problem behavior. These students require behavior support plans that are specialized, individualized, and highly intense. Such plans must be based on information about the nature of the problem behavior and the environmental context in which the problem behavior is observed. The FBA approach provides a systematic and informed means by which targeted interventions can be developed and monitored. Whatever the approach, the more proactive and inclusive the behavior intervention plan – and the more closely it reflects the results of the functional behavioral assessment – the more likely that it will succeed. In brief, one’s options for positive behavioral interventions may include:

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