Functional Behavior Assessments - What Are They, and How Can They Help Your Child?

Written by Ed Littleton, M.S., BCBA

Often when parents report to a school that there child is having problem behaviors, the first thing they will be told is that an FBA needs to first be conducted.  Before any behavior analyst writes up behavioral recommendations they begin with an FBA.  So what does this acronym mean and what does the process involve?

FBA stands for Functional Behavior Assessment.  It means that before we come up with any behavioral recommendations, we first want to determine the function of each of the problem behaviors we are trying to treat.  Why is this child exhibiting this behavior? Without first determining the function of the behavior there is no way to implement an effective intervention.  This is often why parents get confused when time-out doesn’t work to treat a behavior which has an escape function. 

Next let’s look at the process of conducting a Functional Behavior Assessment.  The first step usually involves structured interviews with those who most frequently interact with the child.  This can include parents, teachers, paraprofessionals, group home staff, etc.  The purpose of this interview is to gather information on the individual engaging in the problem behaviors.  This information includes, relevant background information, frequency/duration/intensity of the behaviors, settings in which the behaviors are most likely, medical issues, a reinforcer survey and more.  A Functional Analysis Screening Tool (FAST) and/or Motivation Assessment Scale (MAS) may also be used at this time.  This is a survey that uses a number score to generate a graphical display of hypothesized function for each behavior.  An ABC data sheet may be given to the parents at this time allowing them to collect data regarding the antecedent and consequences surrounding the behaviors.  For more information on ABC data visit this blog.

In addition to interviewing those close to the child engaging in the problem behavior, all prevalent records are reviewed.  This could include a case file, previous assessments, medical information, IEP’s, etc.  The next step would involve the assessor conducting a direct observation of the child.  The goal here is to witness the problem behavior first hand and see how certain antecedents and consequences may affect the behaviors.  Following the observation the assessor would gather all the information together and write the Functional Assessment report which will hypothesize the function of each of the problem behaviors.

If you have any questions or are interested in having a Functional Behavior Assessment conducted for your child, please leave a comment or contact Behavioral Consulting of Tampa Bay at 813-814-2000.