Tuesday, May 8, 2018

Important Functional Behavior Assessment Steps To Be Followed

By Harold Olson


Functional Behavioral Assessment, FBA, is designed to identify, evaluate and devise an intervention plan to the behavior of a given individual. It is mostly used for students who behave in an unusual manner. The approach aims at getting to the root cause of the problem and creating an appropriate team to intervene. Functional behavior assessment steps enumerate the who, what, how, why, where and when is the problem at hand.

Students with general learning disability were the original targets in this assessment. It was easy to point out autistic students due to the odd personality they manifested. Being able to identify them early helped a great a deal in addressing both their social and academic issues in a comprehensive manner.

Firstly, the FBA team is faced with the task of defining the problem. A single observation is not enough to conclude that someone is problematic. The team needs to study the individual in question over a period of time, under a variety of conditions. The assessment team should take into consideration background factors such as culture, race, religion and so on.

The next step is to gather information using both direct and indirect methods. Direct assessment involves observing the problem firsthand and taking note of the circumstances surrounding the problem. The indirect method uses the opinion of a third party to assess the behavior of the subject and to get to understand them using a different perspective. The third party is usually a person close to the subject such as parents, teachers, siblings and friends. Various tools can be used in indirect assessment, including questionnaires and interviews.

After collecting data, the next step is to formulate a hypothesis which aims at drawing conclusions from the data collected. For example, some individuals behave the way they do because they feel neglected. Dismal academic scoring could be due to lack of knowledge and skills. Misbehavior could also be because the subject may not be aware that their actions are outside the norm.

The fourth step entails coming up with an intervention plan which aims at modifying or changing the behavior of the individual in entirety. It incorporates people who directly affect the life of the subject. In the employee example, several categories of people need to be brought in to ensure the plan is fully implemented. If the subject is a student, it may involve their teacher, friend, caretaker and sibling among other relevant groups.

The final step in FBA is to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention. Data collection from close contacts and direct observation are the main tools used in analysis. If the intervention proves fruitless, the team needs to re-evaluate and come up with a different approach.

In summary, FBA is a process that calls for resourcefulness, skill, patience and objectivity while at it. It has five main steps including problem establishment, collecting data, hypothesis formulation, planning for intervention and assessing the effectiveness of the entire procedure. While these may appear all organized, one should be aware of the changing environment during the study and to make appropriate adjustments towards achieving success.




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