Developing Feasible and Effective Interventions based on Functional Behavioral Assessment

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Developing Feasible and Effective Interventions
based on Functional Behavioral Assessment

• Cindy Anderson and Rob Horner
• University of Oregon

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Assumptions

• Participants bring experience and knowledge about
  behavior support and functional behavioral
  assessment
• Two Challenges
• How to efficiently move from functional
  behavioral assessment information to a practical,
  effective, comprehensive behavior support plans.
• How to teach and support others in the use of FBA
  content to build and implement behavior support
  plans within typical school, district and state
  contexts.

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GoalsDefine

• Current updates on guidelines for conducting
  functional behavioral assessments.
• Use of the Competing Behavior Model as a
  framework for moving from FBA to Behavior Support
  Plan.
• Elements and format for writing, monitoring and
  adapting behavior support plans.

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Main Messages

• Behavior support is about the design of effective
  environments.
• Without a functional behavioral assessment (FBA)
  an intervention plan is as likely to make a
  problem worse as to make it better.

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Main Messages

• We need more attention to the process by which
  FBA information is used to guide the development
  and implementation of behavior support.

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Ntina, Asteriou-Yerofoka, Yiannaros,
Koutsouridis, Nanna, Papdimitriou, 2007

• 52 Special Education Teachers
• Assessed their ability to determine FBA content
  base on vignettes.
• Assessed their ability to select interventions
  based on FBA content.
• Results
• The results indicated that teachers can reliably
  identify the cause of the behavior but they are
  not yet able to link function with relevant
  intervention p.
  153
• Teachers were very good at identifying FBA
  information.
• Teachers were not good at using FBA information
  to build behavior support plans.

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Functional Behavioral Assessment(The fast way)

• Functional behavioral assessment is a process for
  identifying the events that reliably predict and
  maintain problem behavior.

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Primary Purposes of Functional Behavioral
Assessment

• The primary purpose of functional behavioral
  assessment is to improve the effectiveness and
  efficiency of behavior support.
• Behavior support plans built from functional
  assessment are more effective
• Didden et al., 1997
• Carr et al., 1999
• Create order out of chaos (define contextual
  information, where, when, with whom, etc)
• Professional accountability (IDEA, 1997)

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FBA Updates

• Emphasize Levels of FBA
• Gathering information to generate summary
  statements.
• Build capacity for schools/districts to
• Conduct FBA
• Move from FBA to BSP

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Levels of Functional Behavioral Assessment

• Informal Functional Behavioral Assessment
• Done in school by typical teachers/staff
• Done as part of normal daily problem solving
• Level I Simple FBA
• Done by trained members of school setting
• Typically involves interview(s), and brief
  observation
• Level II Complex FBA
• Done by behaviorally trained member of school or
  district
• Typically involves interviews and observation
• Level III Functional Analysis
• Done by trained behavior analyst
• Involves interviews, direct observation, and
  systematic manipulation of conditions.

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Building FBA Capacity
Teachers Staff School Specialist District Specialist Behavior Analysts
Informal FBA X
Level I Simple FBA X X
Level II Complex FBA X X X
Level III Functional Analysis X X X X
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Levels of Functional Behavioral Assessment

• All levels of FBA focus on the same basic goals
• Define the behavior of concern
• Determine if behavior is a response class
• Identify the events that reliably predict
  occurrence and non-occurrence
• Identify the consequences that maintain the
  behavior in the most common predictor
  conditions
• Identify setting events that increase likelihood
  of problem behavior.
• Summary statement
• Setting Event ? Antecedent ? Prob Beh ?
  Consequence

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Functional Assessment places problem behavior in
context

• Behavior
• Predictors/Controlling Antecedent Stimuli
• Maintaining Consequences
• Setting Events/Establishing Operations
• Setting --gt Predictor --gt Problem --gt
  Maintaining
• Event (Antecedent) Behavior
  Consequence

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Problem Behavior

• Operational Definition
• Observable
• Countable
• Organized in Response Classes

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Antecedent Stimuli

• The trigger that occasions problem behavior
• Embed within routines
• Organize behavior support so routines are
  successful, not just so problem behavior is
  reduced.
• Equally important to define when problem behavior
  does NOT happen as to define when it DOES happen.

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Maintaining Consequence

• Always identify the consequence in context
• Define the behavior, routine, Sdthen ask about
  consequence
• Typically define the most powerful consequence.
  Avoid labeling multiple consequences.

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Identifying Maintaining Consequences
Given a Problem Behavior
Get Object, Activity, Sensation
Avoid Object, Activity, Sensation
Object/ Activity
Social
Physiological
Social
Physiological
Object/ Activity
Precise Event
Precise Event
Precise Event
Precise Event
Precise Event
Precise Event
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Setting Events

• Events that change the likelihood of a behavior
  by momentarily altering the value of the
  maintaining consequence.
• Last item to define
• Important in about 20-30 of situations
• When important, they are often very important.

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Setting Events
Triggering Antecedents
Maintaining Consequences
Problem Behavior
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1
4
2
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Example

• When given math worksheets other assignments,
  Caesar does not do his work, uses profanity,
  disrupts lessons, especially, when he has worked
  alone for 30 minutes without peer contact. His
  work does not get completed, he avoids teachers
  requests.

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Setting Events
Triggering Antecedents
Maintaining Consequences
Problem Behavior
No peer contact in 30 minutes
Escape work requests compliance requests
Noncompliance use of profanity
Math worksheet assignment
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Alba

• During recess Alba will steal equipment, and push
  to the front of lines when not actively included
  in a game (especially with wall ball, and 4
  square). This pattern is most likely when Alba
  has been working without peer collaboration in
  previous class period.

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Testable Hypothesis
Setting Events
Triggering Antecedents
Maintaining Consequences
Problem Behavior
Steal ball, Push to the front of the line.
Lack of peer contact for 30 minutes.
Not part of game at recess
Peer attention
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One Tool for FBA Interviews

• FACTS
• Gathering data to build an hypothesis statement.
• Interview the person(s) who knows the student
  best.
• 20-40 min interview
• Use the interview for basic questions and
  follow up questions
• Follow up to test and clarify initial responses

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Using Summary Statements to build Competing
Behavior Model

• List FBA summary statement
• Add Desired Behavior and maintaining
  consequence
• Add Alternative Behavior
• Socially appropriate
• Functionally equivalent (same function as prob
  beh)
• Efficient

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Desired Replacement Behavior
Typical Consequences
Problem Behavior
Setting Events
Triggering Antecedents
Maintaining Consequences
Acceptable Replacement Behavior
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Desired Replacement Behavior
Typical Consequences
Perform Task
Teacher praise and more work
Problem Behavior
Setting Events
Triggering Antecedents
Maintaining Consequences
Teacher request to do hard task
Profanity, Hit Teacher
Peer Conflict
Avoid, escape task
Acceptable Replacement Behavior
Ask for Help, Ask for Break