Functional Behavioral Assessment in Pennsylvania's public schools.

Abstract

The Pennsylvania Department of Education addressed the need for a competency-based program for trained staff in applied behavior analysis by initiating the credentialing process in behavior analysis. As a result, the development of a training program designed around Functional Behavioral Assessment in public school settings has emerged. A practical tool for school teams, the Functional Behavioral Assessment Worksheet, has been developed using Applied Behavior Analysis principles and procedures. Educational consultants at the Central Instructional Support Center have developed the tool and are currently training Intermediate Unit staff, school district staff, and individual IEP teams in the use of the worksheet within effective behavior assessment procedures and educational programming. The worksheet describes the rationale for functional behavioral assessment and includes an explanation of IDEA requirements for completion of the assessment process for disciplinary changes in placement. The worksheet contains a team interview section, a section on direct observation with data analysis, and a summary section that includes hypothesis formulation. The step-by-step process provides a procedural framework that ensures that the team will conduct systematic and effective assessment. Use of this tool guarantees that teams focus on data collection and analysis and base their decisions on this information. This is a more scientific approach than the sole reliance on informant methods currently in use in public school settings. The worksheet appears below. Appendix A and Appendix B consist of basic data collection materials. For copies of the complete Functional Behavioral Assessment Worksheet, please contact the Central Instructional Support Center. Functional Behavioral Assessment Worksheet Purpose Individualized Functional Behavioral Assessment is typically used only in instances where behavior interferes significantly with the student's learning or that of his/her peers. Effective classroom management approaches embedded within effective instructional design and delivery appropriately address the majority of behavioral issues occurring in classrooms. Process A functional behavioral assessment is a process consisting of information-gathering procedures that result in a hypothesis about the function(s) that the behavior is serving for the student as well as ecological events and the consequences that are maintaining the behavior. First, information must be gathered indirectly through interview(s) of person(s) who has observed the behavior of the student for an extended period of time in a variety of settings and conditions. The purpose of the interview(s) is to review a large number of potential variables and narrow the focus to those variables that are of particular importance to the individual. Information must also be gathered through direct observation of the behavior across settings and times with consideration of a variety of other environmental factors (i.e. other persons present, task demands, changing conditions). Information that was gathered during the interview portion of the functional behavioral assessment is used to narrow the focus of data collection during direct observations. A graphic analysis of the data collected during direct observations together with the interview information results in the following: 1. Development of a specific, clear, description of the behavior of concern 2. Identification of the physical and environmental factors that correspond with occurrences of the behavior 3. Identification of the potential function of the behavior in terms of its maintaining consequences. This information then serves as the basis for the development of a Behavior Intervention Plan that manipulates environmental factors and consequences while providing instruction in the acquisition of new, more appropriate behaviors. …