The first potential function of a behavior, and the most important one to rule out is medical. One of the functions of a behavior may be that someone is hurt or in need of help. For example, at a restauraunt if someone is chocking they may start flailing, putting their hands to their neck or looking for help in other ways. Frequently behavior can be a means of communication, and for some their only means. It is important to rule out the function of Medical first, as we do not want to put anyone in harms way, force them to feel pain or discomfort, and do want to grant them assistance as soon as possible.

Escape and avoidance area singular function, but knowing the difference can help to understand a behavior. Escape, is when a person wants to get out of something they have already started doing, while avoidance, is when a person will attempt to not engage at all. A good way to think about the difference is to think about a rainy day. If you leave your house with an umbrella, and open it before stepping into the rain you have acted in an Avoidant manner, entirely avoiding the unwanted water. Meanwhile if you are already outside and the rain begins, and you open the umbrella while aready getting rained on you are Escaping the rain. Escape and avoidance are important to be aware of, so that we can effectively intervene with students and not accidentally reinforce negative or maladaptive behaviors.

Most of us have heard the line; theres no such thing as bad publicity. This function works in the same manner, when someone is acting out for attention it typically doesn't matter if this attention is good or bad they just want it. This can be something as simple as a student calling out to get the teachers attention, or someone breaking rules in order to get one on one time with the principal. Attention can be positive in that they seek someones approval or admiration but may also be negative, meaning they want someone to be upset toward them or in genral. There are many ways to manage this function like the others, which can be discussed and implimented with relative ease.

Tangibles, or access to tangibles suggests the person engaging in the behavior is doing so to gain access to something. For example, if a child's tantrum stops when they are given a toy, it likely fits this function. For a broader example, the idea of going to work in order to get paid is a function based chain adults follow. In the theory of behavior all actions are caused by or operate due to reinforcement and this is one of the easiest to observe.

Sensory means that someone is acting in a specific manner because it feels nice to them or they enjoy the feeling of something. For example, when children with autism flap, it may be because they like how their muscles feel when they do so, or if they do it in front of their eyes they might like how it changes their perception. For others it can be when a child keep pressing a loose tooth even when it hurts, or when we chose to get a massage. Sensory activities can be reinforcing without making sense, such as if someone continually touches a bruise, it may not feel nice, but something makes the person keep doing it. Some students may enjoy activities like playing with sand because it is calming, but may also reinforce their sensory input.