Functional Assessment of the Causes of Problem Behavior Psy 407 Functional Assessment of the Causes of Problem Behavior

Functional Assessment Functional assessment: Refers to the systematic gathering and analysis of a variety of information sources in order to form an _____________as to the relative roles of __________ ___ _____________ variables for the occurrence of a target behavior. hypothesis antecedent and consequent

Functional Analysis Functional Analysis: Refers to the _________ __________of specific antecedent and consequence variables in a ___________ setting over several___________, in order to determine if the occurrence of a target behavior is associated with one or more of the manipulated conditions. experimental manipulation controlled sessions

Three levels of data on behavior Indirect _____________ (Third party) information gathering: Questionnaires and interviews). Gathering information as to the situations, times, conditions and typical ______________ of a given behavior as ________ __ _________familiar with the behavior and the person. E.G., the Motivational Assessment Scale; the School Refusal Assessment scale. consequences reported by others

Indirect (Third party) information gathering Problems: All the problems associated with indirect measurement. It is NOT the _________ in question It is some one else’s ______ behavior It is subject to error, bias, forgetting There is no ____________ measure behavior verbal reliability

Three levels of data on behavior Descriptive assessment: (Direct observational assessment) ABC analyses, scatter plots, etc. The behavior is observed in the _________ environment and the results are analyzed in terms of ____________,__________ and possible ________ __________ relationships. . natural Antecedents consequences, stimulus control

Descriptive assessment Better than indirectly gathered data because at least they are _______ measures of the actual behavior Problems: The data are only ___________ and not experimental. (I.E., no empirical demonstration of a causal relationship between events) Plus the usual problems with ____________ and ___________ of the data collected direct co-relational accuracy reliability

Three levels of data on behavior (experimental) Functional ______________analyses. Specific ____________circumstances (scenarios) are arranged (e.g., attention, escape, tangible, sensory, control) such that a ______ _______, when it occurs, is followed by specific consequences. environmental target behavior

Functional (experimental) analyses By conducting several “__________” of equal length, in a random order, over a set time frame (multi-element design), data on the relative ________ __ _____________of the target behavior is obtained for each _________ . scenarios frequency of occurrence condition

Functional (experimental) analyses Ideally a clear picture, that is…… (_______________________________) emerges (IE. higher frequency of occurrence in one condition) indicating that the target behavior is maintained by that specific function. For example: More behavior is observed in the attention condition differentiation of function

Functional (experimental) analyses With a FA we see behaviors maintained by _______ __________ reinforcement that is either ________ mediated. (IE. It gets attention, tangibles, escape, or avoidance) or maintained by sensory (________) reinforcement). E.G.,same _____ over all conditions, or higher in the _______ condition positive or negative socially automatic rate alone

Three levels of data on behavior Functional (experimental) analyses It’s the best measure because it is ______ and demonstrates _____________ control. Problem: It is difficult with low ____________ behavior; ___________ behavior; and behaviors under _________ control Only as accurate as its representativeness of the contingencies in the_______ environment. Expensive, sophisticated methods, requires training,and careful idiosyncratic design. direct experimental frequency dangerous multiple natural

Why Functional Assessment? It allows for intervention with the actual __________ reinforcer that maintains the target behavior. It avoids interventions with consequences that will in fact make the problem ______ . (e.g., using time out to treat negatively reinforced behavior or sensory maintained behaviors). functional   worse

Major causes of problem behavior Attention _______(social positive reinforcement) Social attention ________ behavior. The person looks at or approaches others prior to the behavior; may engage in smiling before or after the behavior. Plausible treatments: _____ of target plus DR__, DR__, DR__, NCR, stimulus control. follows EXT O A I

Major causes of problem behavior Escape _________ from Demand (Social negative reinforcement) Behavior observed only when certain _______ _ _________are presented. (requests, instructions, teaching materials etc.) (OR a change from desirable to undesirable events, termination of reinforcement, etc.) (E.G., “time for bed now”) Plausible treatments: ____________ (Persist with demands), provide an ___________ response for escape (DRA, FCT- sign, gesture) and then provide escape on a more delayed or ___________ basis. Behavioral ___________ , (low probability requests interspersed with compliance to high probability requests). Also signal activity changes _______ and reinforce compliance. Provide ________ of activities, alter curriculum to reduce difficulty. requests or situations EXTINCTION alternative intermittent momentum earlier choice

Major causes of problem behavior sensory Environmental stimulation (external _________ positive reinforcement). Behavior continues irrelevant of ________ consequences. Followed by environmental sights and sounds (stimulation) Plausible treatments: DRA, DRI, DRO, altering environmental consequences (EXT), Provide similar saturating environment with sensory events(NCR). social

Major causes of problem behavior Self-stimulatory (internal sensory positive reinforcement) Behavior continues at a steady rate without observable effect of _______ or the _____________. Maintains when alone. Plausible treatments: Enrichment of environment with sensory Sr+, altering sensory consequences, EXT of identified stimulatory consequence when feasible others environment

Major causes of problem behavior  Elicited __________ problem behaviors (respondents) Behavior appears typically only in the presence of a specific stimulus, never followed by ____________ ; seems involuntary ________ causes: always rule these out!! Escape or termination of ________ discomfort. Emerges suddenly, unrelated to ____________ changes or lack of these (infections, headaches, rashes, sensory impairment, other pain or discomfort) reinforcement Medical internal environmental

Analog Functional Analysis 10 minutes All sessions are typically __ _______in length and are usually conducted in a session room. We collect data with Palm Pilots using __ ______ intervals and specific FA templates that are programmed onto the palm. There are different category boxes on the screen that the observer “taps” every time that event happens. The Palm “beeps” every 10 seconds and the program stops after 60 intervals 10 second

Analog Functional Analysis Four conditions of the standard FA: 1.No interaction (or alone), 2.Attention, 3.Toy Play (or the control condition), and 4. Demand. Conditions are run in random order over several days in a Multi-element or _________ __________ design No interaction ( sometimes alone) Therapist does not _______ whatsoever with the client.This includes eye contact. The session is conducted in a barren room (in some cases a chair and table may be present). The reason for this condition is to see if the client engages in the behavior for ________(automatic) reinforcement.The client can have low-preferred items in this condition. Alternating treatments interact sensory

Analog Functional Analysis In the Attention condition the therapist will give the client attention for approximately 10 seconds whenever the client engages in the ______ ________. Examples include “I don’t like it when you do that.”, “I wish you wouldn’t do that, you might hurt yourself”. The client can have low-preferred items during this condition. The reason for this condition is to see if the client is engaging in the target behavior in order to receive __________. Data is usually collected on attention and the target behavior. target behavior attention

Analog Functional Analysis The Demand condition consists of 3-4 demands that the client has mastered. These demands are given throughout the session by the therapist. The three-step prompting hierarchy is used (Sd, model, full physical) for all demands. If the full physical prompt is used, do not reinforce the response. All other appropriate responses should be verbally reinforced. If the client engages in the target behavior after the therapist has began the demand the therapist should say, “Okay, you don’t have to” and allow the client to escape for __ ________. The therapist then continues to place demands on the client. The function of this condition is to determine if the client engages in the target behavior to _______ from demands. Data is usually collected on the target behavior, escape and demand (only counting the Sd, not counting prompts). 30 seconds escape

Analog Functional Analysis Toy Play (or control condition) consists of giving the client all high-preferred items for the entire session. The therapist will give ________ _________ every 30 seconds ex) “I like how you are sitting so nicely!”. “I like how you are playing with your toys so well!” as well as providing light physical contact (like a pat on the back). If the client engages in the target behavior when it is time to give the social praise wait 5 seconds after the behavior and then provide the social praise. The target behavior usually does not occur during this condition unless the behavior is automatically reinforced. So, the reason for this condition is to serve as a _______ condition and to determine if the behavior is _____________ maintained. Data is usually collected on toy play (interval) the target behavior, and attention. positive attention control automatically