Functional Behavioral Assessment, Diagnosis, and Treatment

Abstract

This book provides a comprehensive approach to designing behavioral treatments for children in homes and residential facilities, students in special and general education settings, and adults residing in inpatient units and facilities. A comprehensive approach to a behavior-analytic model involves the following: conducting a functional behavioral assessment (FBA), selecting a function-based hypothesis or classification of the problem, and designing a function-based behavioral intervention or treatment. The book features the Cipani Behavioral Classification System (BCS). The Cipani BCS is a pioneering and groundbreaking taxonomy for classifying the functions of problem behaviors. It also provides a revolutionary classification system for determining the strength of replacement behaviors and functions: The Cipani Diagnostic Classification System for Replacement Functions. The book serves as a primary text for university graduate training programs in applied behavior analysis (ABA). It is also intended for applied personnel such as school personnel, psychologists, psychiatrists, nurses, and other mental health providers, who design behavior programs for persons with challenging behaviors in a variety of settings. The book is helpful to people who are trained in ABA and are looking for an additional resource to guide them in their assessment and treatment design activities. This book is divided into six chapters. Chapter 1 presents material that will allow the reader to acquire the basics of an ABA approach to understanding human behavior. Chapter 2 allows the user to develop skills in collecting the requisite behavioral data needed for an FBA. Chapter 3 covers the four major categories of the Cipani Behavioral Classification System. Chapter 4 covers the identification of the replacement behavior and the delineation of a number of replacement function options for each major function. The last two chapters describe the functional behavioral treatment protocols for 2.0 Socially Mediated Access (SMA) target behaviors and 4.0 Socially Mediated Escape (SME) problem behaviors.