Instruction in Functional Assessment, 2014a

Instruction in Functional Assessment Chapter 5
provided 90 hours of classroom instruction and supervision to teachers working with a
child with autism. Desirable changes in the children’s behavior and positive evaluations of
the program by teachers and parents were found in this descriptive study.
Summary
Realistic case examples need to be presented to provide the context for learning how to
use FA and to design treatment implemented in the target situation. Multiple examples of
a wide variety of cases involving children and adults displaying various problem behaviors
in different settings may increase college students’ generalization of the skills acquired. Instructional
methods to present cases in the college classroom under controlled and ethically
safe conditions include simulations, role play, case-based learning, and general case strategy
and may be used prior to supervised field experiences.
The instructor’s method of instruction should be geared to the type of behavior targeted
for training. Different instructional approaches are required for establishing students’
knowledge versus skills. Performance-based training can be used to teach and refine the
skills needed to conduct FA. Additionally, promoting the generalization of college students’
acquisition of the procedural and decision-making skills involved in FA may be facilitated
by use of case-based learning and general case strategy to expose students to a variety of
situations and client cases representative of that found in a professional setting. Moreover,
these procedures can be acquired in a relatively short period of time and generalize to reallife
situations even though role play under simulated conditions typically is used during
training. Another necessity involves teaching the broader array of steps in the FA process
(e.g., decision-making, hypothesis identification, data analysis, treatment selections) to
ensure adequate preparation of a professional who will be working in the field, which is the
focus of Chapter 6.
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