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Functional Assessment Process
1. Conduct an open-ended Interview with the student's teacher
Personalized and practical functional analyses of problem behavior are designed from an open-ended interview. Interview forms are attached at the bottom of this page.
2. Conduct a single brief ABC Observation
Optionally, a member of the Behavior Intervention Team will conduct an ABC observation of the student behavior if it has not been previously observed.
3. Outline the Assessment and Treatment Process
Progressing from a completed open-ended functional assessment interview to a functional analysis and then to a skill-based treatment may be facilitated by a task analysis developed from the procedures described in Hanley et al., 2014.
4. Conduct the Analysis
A quick and simple analysis will be conducted in the classroom during a prearranged time. Two specific conditions are created one designed to evoke precursors to the target problem behavior and another designed to terminate the problem behavior or any precursor behavior related to the problem behavior.
Functional Communication Training
Students will be training in the following life skills in a manner where targeted responses are reinforced intermittently once established and generalized to all relevant staff members.
5. Simple Functional Communication Response
The child will be taught a new request that gives them access to all reinforcers. This teaches the child to obtain the same outcomes in the same contexts with another, more appropriate, behavior.This is often called functional communication training or FCT. During the initial stage of FCT, each communication response (e.g., “My way, please”) is reinforced immediately with the same reinforcers that were shown to be maintaining problem behavior, and problem behavior is no longer reinforced.
6. Complex Functional Communication Training
More developmentally appropriate communication responses are then shaped (The child says, “Excuse me” to obtain a listener’s attention, waits for acknowledgment from the listener, and then says, ” May I have my please”). When training this communication response proper tone, pace, volume, and articulation will be reinforced. A variety of complex communication behaviors will be trained.
Examples:
Getting the listener to respond (i.e. Excuse me....)
Requesting a break (Can I get a drink?)
Getting access to preferred items (may I have my... please?)
Requesting Attention from an adult (will you play with me?)
Tolerance Response Training
After a student learns to emit a variety of simple and complex requests to gain access to preferred items or activities the student is taught two additional skills. The student is taught tolerance to delay or denial and compliance with tasks that are presented during a delay.
7. Tolerance Response Training
During this stage previously reinforced communication responses are reinforced intermittently along with the new toleration response. The child is next taught an effective response to delays and denials (e.g., taking a deep breath and saying, “Okay, no problem”, "I'm good"). Delay tolerance is strengthened by providing the maintaining reinforcers directly following these responses.
Examples:
"Okay, No problem"
"I'm Fine"
"Alright"
8. Teach compliance with tasks
After the student emits a tolerance response, various tasks are presented by adults during delays; meeting those task expectations is then reinforced.
9. Rotate Trials
The student will learn to emit simple and complex functional communication responses, tolerate denials and delays in access to reinforcers as well as tolerate task demands given by a variety of adults in the classroom. Staff members working with the student will print and cut the FCT/Tolerance/Compliance Generalization cards below. The staff member will draw a card from the stack and reinforce the trained behavior on the card. Providing variable reinforcement for previously trained responses will maintain each of these important life skills and teach the student to emit them with a variety of people in a variety of settings.
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