Instruction in Functional Assessment, 2014a

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Instruction in Functional Assessment Chapter 2 & Rudrud, 2011; Shayne & Miltenberger, 2013), students (Iwata et al., 2000), teachers (Wallace, Doney, Mintz-Resudek, & Tarbox, 2004), and staff (Moore & Fisher, 2007). The main reason for conducting a FA is to identify the possible causes of an individual’s challenging behavior so that an effective treatment can be designed (Chander & Dahlquist, 2010). Identification of the variables maintaining the challenging behavior prior to designing treatment is necessary since certain treatments can be contra-indicated or ineffective, depending on the function of the behavior (Iwata, Pace, Cowdery, & Miltenberger, 1994; Newcomer & Lewis, 2004). Other reasons for using a FA include that it: Is required by federal law (IDEIA, 2004) May provide convincing evidence for treatment team decision-making and provide accountability May result in less use of a punishment procedure (Pelios, Morren, Tesch, & Axelrod,1999) Is recommended by professional associations (National American School Psychologists) A FA approach is used to gather data regarding why the individual’s challenging behavior is occurring. Challenging behaviors may serve a purpose or function for the individual and are often a function of environmental conditions (Hanley, 2012). After the reinforcers maintaining the individual’s challenging behavior are clearly identified, it should be possible to predict the circumstances under which the behavior is likely to happen and what is causing it to recur. The motivating conditions and antecedents for the individual’s challenging behavior may be altered to decrease that behavior. For example, if Mary cries and hits herself due to fatigue when her bedtime approaches, then an earlier bedtime can be arranged. Similarly, Darrell’s hitting and screaming for candy at the grocery store may be prevented by bringing some of his favorite snack on the shopping trip and keeping the trip short. Additionally, more appropriate behaviors that achieve the same result may be taught, called FUNCTIONAL REPLACEMENT BEHAVIOR. For example, Nija’s crying when she wants her doll can be decreased by teaching her to make the sign for doll in situations where she cried to get it in the past. To decrease the likelihood that Caden runs out of the classroom when reading class begins (a difficult skill for Caden), his teacher provides additional one-on-one instruction to establish his reading skills. FA Methodology There are three main categories of functional assessment approaches—indirect (e.g., questionnaires, rating scales), observational, and experimental/functional analysis. Gathering information about the conditions surrounding the behavior, asking relevant individuals questions about the behavior are initial steps. If the results of indirect and observational assessment are unclear, testing the possible maintaining variables for the individual’s challenging behavior would next be performed. See Figure 1 of the FA process for an outline of this overall way to proceed when addressing the individual’s challenging behavior. 18
Instruction in Functional Assessment Chapter 2 Figure 1 The Functional Assessment Process Referral/ Screening Behavioral Definition Medical Consultation Indirect Methods Observational Method Y Identify function for challenging behavior? N Functional Analysis Y Review Research Literature Design Treatment Based on function Implement Treatment Treatment Effective? N Y Program Generalization Indirect Functional Assessments An INDIRECT FUNCTIONAL ASSESSMENT is a procedure in which information about the challenging behavior is gathered from persons who are closest to the individual, such as parent(s), teachers, service providers, and aides. Rating scales, questionnaires, and interviews are used to gather information on potential factors that contribute to the individual’s challenging behavior (e.g., O’Neill et al., 1997). One example of an indirect assessment method is the Functional Analysis Screening Tool (FAST). The FAST is a 16-item questionnaire that can be administered to individuals who know the person with challenging 19
Page 1 and 2: The Missing Link: An Introduction t
Page 3 and 4: ©2014 Marcie Desrochers & Moira Fa
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