302 FBA1 Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA) Why do students act the way they do? Recall that if a pattern of behavior difficulty develops leading to 10 days of being removed from class, a FBA and BIP need to be developed.

302 FBA2 Trish’s Behavior Read Vignette II: “This is the third time in two weeks Trish has been sent to the office for fighting on the playground!”

302 FBA3 Experience tells us… Behaviors occur in context of a child’s interaction with his or her environment. Changing inappropriate behaviors requires identifying and changing the environment. Challenging behaviors are meaningful and serve a purpose or function. TP: Share something that you’ve done today, its context, and the reinforcer you received.

302 FBA4 Teachers address both dimensions of their students’ behaviors. …behavior’s form…what teachers see a student do. …behavior’s function…what motivates the student to perform the action. Many teachers tend to focus on the form of student behaviors. This has some drawbacks.

302 FBA5 Drawbacks to focusing on form. Similar behaviors (reading assignments, doing homework) are done for dissimilar reasons (please teacher, maintain GPA, earn a scholarship) Dissimilar behaviors (reading assignments, calling out in class, pinching a peer) may be done for similar reasons (obtaining teacher attention)

302 FBA6 Definition: Functional Behavioral Assessment? “…a set of information gathering strategies and instruments. Based on what precedes behavior and what follows it, patterns are identified that lead to the hypothesis.”

302 FBA Part I : FBA Hypothesizing functional assessment The hypothesizing aspect of FBA is described as functional assessment. It generates clues about the ‘whys,’ ‘whens,’ ‘with whoms,” and ‘wheres’ of a student’s behavior. Clues can relate to academics, social interactions, physical concerns. Note: This is what your physician does. 7

302 FBA8 The FBA process tries to help teachers discover… Are there events that consistently precede a behavior that occurs in the classroom? Are there events that consistently follow these behaviors? What are the setting events for the antecedents, behavior, and consequences? (These tend to be more remote in tme.) Can another behavior be taught/acquired that will serve the same function of the challenging behavior?

302 FBA9 5 functions that behaviors serve Gaining Attention (R + ) Gaining a Tangible (R + ) Gaining sensory stimulation (R + ) Escaping external stimulation (R - ) Escaping internal stimulation (R - ) So what tools can teachers use to discover why students are acting the way they do? Basic behavioral belief: All we do tends to have a purpose.

302 FBA10 Tools used for functional assessment Rating Scales - based on group norms –Behavior Rating Profile – An indirect measure. –Interviews are also indirect measures. Scatter Plot grids - based on direct observations ABCs - based on direct observations Data from these sources allow those involved in FBA to create an hypothesis…why the student is behaving in a certain way. Now to test it. See next slide.

302 FBA 11 Part II Functional Analysis …is a set of procedures for determining the function of a behavior by systematic manipulation of environmental variables, antecedents and consequences and documentation of their effect on the occurrence of the target behavior. In collaboration with the special education teacher, you will test the hypothesis by using two progress monitoring procedures.

302 FBA12 Two Progress-Monitoring Designs To test the hypothesis and to develop an intervention data are gathered using a… Reversal (ABAB) Design Changing Conditions or Alternating Treatment Designs

302 FBA13 ABAB (Reversal) Design This picture indicates that aggression increases when hard tasks are introduced.

302 FBA14 IDEA’s Positive Behavior Intervention Plan… “…attempts to link the management of behaviors that impede instruction with positive intervention strategies to reduce the occurrence of inappropriate behavior…”

302 FBA15 When do we use BIPs? …at time of development, review, or revision of an IEP… …an occurrence of behavior subjects a student to disciplinary action… for more info.

302 FBA16 The Process: Step by step