Functional Assessment

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Chapter 13

• Functional Assessment

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Treatment Process - Decreasing Problem Behaviors

• 1. Identify and define problem behavior(s)
• 2. Initiate data collection
• 3. Complete functional assessment
• - Hypotheses about antecedents and consequences
• 4. Treatment development and implementation
• 5. Evaluation

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5. Evaluation (cont)

• Was treatment effective? (Did problem behaviors
  decrease/desirable behaviors increase?)
• YES - Promote maintenance generalization
• NO - Was treatment done correctly?
• YES Repeat step 3 (Functional Assessment)
• NO Do it right

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Behavioral Model

• Behavior is influenced by antecedents and
  consequences A ? B ? C
• - Consequences reinforcement, extinction,
  punishment
• - Antecedents SD, S-delta, EO
• Behavior is influenced by competing behaviors
  (concurrent operants)
• - Desirable behaviors vs undesirable behaviors

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Functional Assessment What to Assess?

• Antecedents SDs S?s EOs
• - When, where, with whom, what circumstances or
  situations does the behavior occur?
• - Social and environmental antecedents
• Behavior Problem behavior
• Alternative behavior
• Response effort
• Consequences Positive or negative reinforcement
• - What does the person get or get out of
  following the behavior?
• - Social and environmental consequences
• Schedule of reinforcement
• Magnitude of reinforcement
• Immediacy of reinforcement

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Categories of Reinforcement (Functions of
Problem Behaviors)

• Social positive reinforcement
• attention, praise, reactions, activities, things
  
• (mediated by others)
• Social negative reinforcement
• escape from tasks, activities, interactions
• (mediated by others)
• Automatic positive reinforcement
• sensory stimulation
• (not mediated by others)
• Automatic negative reinforcement
• relief from pain, anxiety, or other aversive
  stimulation
• (not mediated by others)

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Examples

• A 4 year olds tantrums
• antecedents requests during preferred activities
• consequences escape from requested activity
• A 4 year olds tantrums
• antecedents told he cant have something
• consequences gets the thing he asked for
• 10 year olds hair pulling
• antecedents alone, negative thoughts and
  emotions
• consequences relief from negative
  thoughts/emotions
• A 6 year old autisitc childs hand waving
• antecedents not engaged in a task or interaction
• consequences visual stimulation

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Examples

• 17 year olds hair pulling/manipulation
• Antecedents Alone, watching TV
• Consequences tactile stimulation
• 17 year olds hair pulling
• Antecedents watching TV, mom busy in the room
• Consequences attention
• 8 year olds wrist biting
• Antecedents during tooth brushing, sore gums
• Consequences escape fro tooth brushing
• 18 year olds binge eating
• Antecedents aloe, sad, negative thinking
• Consequences relief from negative
  feeling/thoughts

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Functional Assessment Methods

• 1. Indirect (informant) assessment
• - behavioral interview
• - questionnaires and rating scales
• 2. Direct observation assessment
• - scatter plot recording
• - descriptive A-B-C recording
• - checklist recording of A-B-Cs
• - interval recording of A-B-Cs
• 3. Experimental manipulations
• (functional analysis)
• - manipulate antecedents and/or consequences
• - evaluate a number of possible functions or
• - test hypothesis from descriptive assessments

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Conducting a Functional Assessment

• Begin with an interview or other indirect
  assessment method
• Develop a hypothesis about the antecedents and
  consequences (the function of the behavior)
• Conduct direct observation assessments
• Confirm or modify original hypothesis based on
  direct observation assessment
• If assessments are consistent, develop and
  implement treatment that addresses the function
  of the behavior
• If indirect and direct assessments are not
  consistent, conduct further functional
  assessments
• Conduct functional analysis to confirm hypothesis
  or resolve inconsistency between indirect and
  direct assessment