Instruction in Functional Assessment, 2014a

Instruction in Functional Assessment Chapter 2
behavior well to identify antecedents and consequences correlated with the behavior (Iwata,
DeLeon, & Roscoe, 2013).
When using an open-ended FA interview, persons who are the closest to the individual
with challenging behaviors are asked to describe in detail the circumstances occurring
before and after the challenging behavior, the conditions under which it occurs most and
least, its characteristics, and more (Hanley, 2012; O’Neill et al., 1997). Correlated variables
noted from the information gathered during the interview can then be further examined
with other types of FA. Additionally, an indirect functional assessment may be helpful
with initially defining the challenging behavior since the relevant individuals are asked to
describe exactly what the individual does when performing the challenging behavior.
There are limitations of using an indirect FA. Since the type of data gathered with
indirect methods is not based on objective direct observation, it may be laced with differing
perspectives and subjective viewpoints and be prone to memory errors. For example, interview
data can provide much information, but can also be biased. A parent may relay during
an interview that her child’s challenging behavior only “occurs when his dad is taking care
of him.” In this example, the parent seems to identify the father as part of the problem. In
a recent study, Iwata et al. (2013) found that reliability, or the agreement between raters,
using the FAST was 71.5%. The validity of the FAST, or an outcome comparison of FAST
to an experimental analysis of behavior, was found to be 63.8% across 69 cases. These results
suggest that although indirect methods, such as the FAST, can be a quick means of obtaining
preliminary information about the nature of the individual’s challenging behavior,
additional corroborating evidence about the function of the behavior is necessary. This additional
evidence may be obtained by the therapist or teacher conducting an observational
FA.
Observational Functional Assessment
In an OBSERVATIONAL FUNCTIONAL ASSESSMENT, the professional directly and unobtrusively
observes the individual’s challenging behavior in the natural environment, and
records the circumstances surrounding the behavior (Lalli, Browder, Mace, & Brown,
1993). One method of collecting observational assessment information is to use a TIME
CHART, where a mark is made in the appropriate cell to indicate the time period and day in
which a particular behavior was observed (Touchette, MacDonald, & Langer, 1985). From
this information, certain activities, events or people correlated with the occurrence of the
challenging behavior can be identified as possible causes of that behavior. For example, as
seen in Table 6 below, if it is found that Sally consistently runs around and screams at 10
am, then the activity and conditions that usually occur at that time, say, during spelling, can
be explored as somehow being associated with her behavior (e.g., difficult, noisy, boring,
peer attention) and possibly contributing to it.
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