Descriptive Analysis of Functional Behavioral Assessments for Students Who Display Challenging Behaviors

John W Maag

doi:10.7176/jep/12-14-01

Abstract

Functional behavioral assessment (FBA) has become an integral component in schools for addressing students’ challenging behaviors within a school-wide positive behavior interventions and supports (PBIS) approach and under the individuals with disabilities education act (IDEA). There have been literally hundreds of studies conducted on various aspects of FBA including methodologies and participants; and many literature reviews have been undertaken. However, an unanswered question is how necessary and sufficient are complicated, multi-faceted FBA experimental procedures to determine function and an intervention for students who display challenging behaviors? Two previous reviews (Common et al., 2017; Maag, 2018) that focused on students with high incidence disabilities (e.g., learning disabilities, ADHD) or those at-risk had more included studies with students at-risk than with any disability or mental health condition at all. Therefore, the purpose of this review is to describe and analyze the need for educators to perform FBAs prior to developing an individual intensive intervention for students who display challenging behaviors but without a high incidence disability based on information from those two reviews. Keywords: functional behavioral assessment, at-risk, challenging behaviors DOI: 10.7176/JEP/12-14-01 Publication date: May 31 st 2021

Highlights

Functional behavioral assessment (FBA) refers to a series of heuristic approaches for determining the purpose students’ challenging behaviors serve
Under the 1997 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) amendments, FBAs must be conducted for behaviors that interfere with the learning environment for students with disabilities who are suspended for more than ten schools days, when misconduct results in a manifestation determination, or when weapons, drugs, or serious bodily injury occurs (Katsiyannis & Maag, 2001)
Within school-wide positive behavior interventions and support (PBIS), FBAs play a role at the tier 3 level for developing individual intensive interventions

Summary

Introduction

Functional behavioral assessment (FBA) refers to a series of heuristic approaches for determining the purpose (i.e., source of environmental reinforcement) students’ challenging behaviors serve. Under the 1997 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) amendments, FBAs must be conducted for behaviors that interfere with the learning environment for students with disabilities who are suspended for more than ten schools days, when misconduct results in a manifestation determination, or when weapons, drugs, or serious bodily injury occurs (Katsiyannis & Maag, 2001). Within school-wide positive behavior interventions and support (PBIS), FBAs play a role at the tier 3 level for developing individual intensive interventions. Tier 3, tertiary prevention, provides intensive individual interventions, typically based on the results of a FBA. 80% of students who display inappropriate behaviors respond to tier 1 interventions with another 15% requiring additional interventions to behave appropriately with the remaining 5% displaying the most challenging behaviors requiring the intensive individual interventions (Simonsen et al, 2008)

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