1. What is functional assessment, and what kinds of information does it provide?
2. What functions do problem behaviours serve?
3. Describe different indirect and direct methods of functional assessment, and explain their pros and cons.
4. What is functional analysis, what are two uses of it, and what are the pros and cons?
5. What are the next steps after completing a functional assessment?
How can you determine if task difficulty or attention is responsible for ____ _______?
(Durand & Carr, 1987)
- Jim, an 11-year-old boy with developmental disability
- described as “__________ ____________,” attempting to avoid classroom work
- started with body rocking, then self-injurious behaviours (head- and face-hitting), and screaming (escape behaviours)
- was this due to the antecedent of task difficulty, or the positive reinforcement of social attention?
- research study:
• baseline: Jim was shown four picture cards, and had to point to one (e.g., “Point to the brush”)
• every third correct response was praised
• increased task __________ condition: more difficult stimuli were selected
• decreased _________ condition: same amount of praise, commands, and comments, but they were combined and given in fewer time intervals
• intervals containing body rocking were measured
- results:
• Jim’s rocking increased as task difficulty increased, but his rocking was not affected by attention
• in a follow-up experiment, Jim was taught to say “____ __” when a task was too difficult
- definition: a set of procedures that allow relationships between a behaviour and its antecedents and consequences to be determined (a.k.a. __________ _________ assessment, or FBA)
- the U.S. Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA, 1997) requires the use of a functional behaviour assessment as the basis for a behaviour support plan
- categories of information provided by FBA
• objective description of antecedents
• objective description of _______ behaviours
• objective description of consequences
• ____________ variables (e.g., EOs, AOs)
• potential ___________
• potential alternative/competing behaviours
• effectiveness of ________ interventions
(i.e., kinds of reinforcing consequences)
• ________ reinforcement: escape
e.g., for children with developmental disabilities, training is often difficult; noncompliance, disruption, aggression, and self-injury can stop the training
• ________ reinforcement
- ______: reinforcement provided by another person
e.g., attention
- _________: target behaviour automatically results in reinforcement
e.g., rocking and flapping provide sensory stimulation
- ________: reinforcer is a physical item
- ________: reinforcement involves access to an activity
• percent of published cases in which reinforcement maintained problem behaviours (Hanley et al., 2003):
• indirect methods (informant assessment): data on antecedents, behaviours, and consequences are collected from the target person or others who know them well (e.g., family, friends, teachers), based on their memory of what happened
- __________
e.g., Functional Assessment Interview (FAI; O’Neill et al., 2015), Functional Assessment Screening Tool (FAST; Iwata & DeLeon, 1995; 2005)
- questionnaires
e.g., Problem Behavior Questionnaire (Lewis et al., 1994)
- ______ ______
e.g., Subjective Units of Discomfort Scale (SUDS; Wolpe, 1990))
- pros & cons:
fast and easy to do
less accurate: rely on fallible memory
only provide ___________ between antecedent/consequences and behaviour
• direct observation methods (descriptive assessment): data on antecedents, behaviours, and consequences is gathered as the behaviour occurs in its natural environment
- unstructured: observations are made without altering events in the environment in any way
e.g., client performs their usual daily life activities
- __________: specific antecedents in the environment are systematically manipulated, and results are recorded; however, consequences are not altered
e.g., client performs a series of movements to determine which ones are impaired by pain
- ___________ analysis: recording period is divided into intervals; every half hour, if the behaviour has occurred, one cell of the grid is shaded in
(W and R refer to different settings)
- ___ observations: record antecedents, behaviours, and consequences under normal conditions as they occur
• descriptive method uses an ABC observation data sheet: has columns for date/time, antecedent(s), target behaviour, consequence(s), and possible function
• checklist method uses a _________ for these previously described elements
• interval (or real-time) recording method
- pros & cons:
more accurate: do not rely on fallible memory
involve more work and time to record and summarize
only provide ___________ between antecedent/consequences and behaviour
(Note: textbook calls both indirect and direct methods “descriptive assessments.”)
• ____________ methods (functional analysis): an experimenter systematically manipulates antecedents and consequences to determine their effect on the target behaviour in a structured situation
- test conditions: present different EO and possible reinforcer for problem behaviour in each condition
- control condition: present an AO and withhold possible reinforcers for problem behaviour
e.g., typically a “play” condition in which client has access to highly preferred items/activities/attention and there are no demands
- compare conditions to determine which (if any) have an effect on behaviour
- ___________: to determine patterns of relationships that are not yet clear
- __________ testing: to confirm predictions from informant or descriptive assessment
- example data from functional analysis with alternating-treatment design
• Jay’s data shows his self-injurious behaviour is increased only by attention:
• Bob’s data is ________________ (inconclusive):
- pros & cons:
can potentially establish cause and effect
requires more time and expertise than other methods
How _________ is it to learn to do functional analysis?
Brian Iwata et al. (2000):
- 11 upper-level undergraduates who completed a _________ ________ course
- played the role of “_________” and performed simulated functional analysis
- mean baseline performance: 69.9% correct therapist responses
- all received specific training in behaviour analysis and took a quiz
- those scoring below 90% on the quiz received more training
- subsequent performance on simulation: ____% correct therapist responses
Najdowski et al. (2003):
- Jack, a 5-year-old boy on the autism spectrum
- ate mainly McDonald’s Chicken McNuggets® and French fries, _____ _____®, and Cheetos®; refused other foods
- Jack’s ______ was trained to do functional analysis
- conditions:
• no interactions: Jack left alone with a plate of non-preferred foods (NPFs)
• attention: upon food refusal, Jack’s mother said, “I know the food is so _____”
• play: high-preference foods (HPFs) paired with NPFs
• escape: demands made using three-step prompting for eating NPFs along with praise for eating it; plate removed for 30 seconds following food refusal
- results:
- behavioural treatment program:
• escape extinction: NPF held 1 inch in front of Jack’s mouth until he opened it or 30 minutes elapsed
• if food was expelled or vomited, a new bite of NPF was presented until he swallowed it
• treatment was begun at home, but also occurred at a restaurant, reinforcing bites of a _________ with Chicken McNuggets® and French fries
- follow-up:
• access to HPFs was reduced
• Jack’s acceptance of broccoli, grapes, cheese, chicken, and ___ ____ increased
1. use ________ methods first (e.g., behavioural interview)
2. formulate a __________ about possible antecedents and consequences of the behaviour; consider any contributing health/medical/personal variables
3. then perform ______ observation
4. determine if data from direct observation support the hypothesis, or require it to be modified
5. if all assessments are __________, then develop behaviour support plan that addresses the function of the behaviour
6. if assessments are inconsistent, then conduct functional analysis to confirm hypothesis
After completing a functional assessment, the next step is to develop a _________ _______ plan (or behaviour intervention plan), which consists of:
• summary of data gathered (target behaviour, antecedents, consequences, etc.)
• hypothesis of function (and results of functional assessment/functional analysis)
• __________ ____________ (or behavioural treatment program): choose procedures for behaviour change and support (e.g., by manipulating antecedents, consequences, etc.)