Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA) :
What does Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA) mean? - An FBA is a process for gathering information about behaviors of concern, whether the behaviors are academic, emotional, or social (Colorado- Department of Education, n.d.). An example of an academic-related behavior could be not completing homework assignments or participating in class work. In order to help students, schools use a process to identify and understand the behaviors being demonstrated and come up with solutions.
-An FBA starts by defining the student's behavior in a specific and objective way. For instance, instead of describing a student as "non-compliant", the team might say the student "doesn't respond when asked to show work in class and rips up the worksheets that are handed out (Colorado- Department of Education, n.d.)."
Where did this term come from? - FBA originated in the Individuals With Disabilities Act of 1997 (Clark, 2018).
How does this affect general education teachers?- Teachers will be able to use the FBA in order to understand the student's behavior and hopefully come up with a solution best fit for the child.
-Behavior can be addressed by behavior goals and specifically designed instruction (IIEP Online Help, 2019). An example of a specifically designed instruction would be a behavior plan.
References:
Lee, A. (n.d.). What is functional behavioral assessment (FBA)? Understood. https://www.understood.org/en/articles/functional-assessment-what-it-is-and-how-it-works
Clark, M. (2018, May 12). Functional behavior assessments through the lenses of a general ... Retrieved March 7, 2023, from https://digitalcommons.acu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1009&context=metl
Colorado- Department of Education. (n.d.). Functional behavioral assessment (FBA) and behavior intervention https://www.cde.state.co.us/cdesped/ta_fba-bip
IIEP Online Help. (2019, December 12). IEP process. Special Considerations and Behavior. http://www.sped.sbcsc.k12.in.us/iiep/iepprocess/considerations.html