1. PYRAMID PLUS APPROACH Session 17: Functional Behavior Assessment

2. Learning Objectives  Participants will gain an understanding of the purpose and function of behavior interventions  Participants will learn the components of ABC’s and how to apply those to shaping behaviors  Participants will learn the importance of identifying functions of behavior  Participants will gain tools for conducting FBA’s and will practice using these tools

3. Intensive Interventions

4. Functional Behavior Assessment PTR LEAP

5. Benjamin Franklin… “The definition of Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and then expecting different results.”

6. Video Perception

7. Who has challenging behavior? Who’s problem is it?… Large Group Discussion

8. Reframing  Behavior____________  Unmet Need_________

9. Terms  ABA – Applied Behavior Analysis Scientific study of behavior Focuses on both biology and environmental factors Components Include: measurable, baseline logic (with baseline data and able to be replicated), assessment/data driven  LOVAAS Model- of ABA  PBS – Positive Behavior Support

10. Purpose of Behavior Intervention Meet function of the behavior by teaching appropriate replacement skills. 1. Need to decrease inappropriate behavior 2. Need to increase appropriate behavior

11. Three Means… for Inappropriate Behavior- Part 1 1. Make the problem behavior irrelevant: decrease or eliminate the need to engage in the behavior. 2. Make the problem behavior inefficient: provide the student with a replacement behavior that serves the same function. 3. Make the problem behavior ineffective: do not allow the child to obtain what he or she wants through inappropriate behavior. Crone & Horner (2003)

12. Three Means… for Appropriate Behavior – Part 2 1. Make the appropriate behavior relevant: decrease or eliminate the need to engage in the behavior 2. Make the appropriate behavior efficient: provide the student with a replacement behavior that serves the same function 3. Make the appropriate behavior effective: do not allow the child to obtain what he or she wants through inappropriate behavior

13. Positive Behavior Support: The ABC’s of Behavior  Behavior A specific action that a person does that can be observed Feelings Words vs. Descriptive Words Learned vs. Reflective  Antecedent Setting for the behavior, the “trigger”, could be a change in the physical surroundings, social circumstances, or behavior of others  Consequence What happens immediately after the behavior

14. Parent Skills Training Worksheet Activity

15. Emphasis… Every communicative behavior can be described by the form and function.  Form: the behavior used to communicate  Function: the reason or purpose of the communicative behavior To get To get away

16. Madison Madison is in housekeeping, putting on high heels and a hat. Emily moves into the area and selects a purse from the dress-ups. Madison shouts “no” and bites Emily. A teacher comes over, she asks Madison to go to the thinking chair and takes Emily to the bathroom to look at the bite. After 4 minutes, Madison leaves the thinking chair and returns to housekeeping. She grabs the purse Emily had selected and continues to play. Emily leaves the bathroom with the teacher and then begins an art activity where the teacher is present.

17. Madison Setting E Setting Event TriggerBehaviorMaintaining Consequence Another child moves to area and gets a toy (purse). Shouts “no,” bites child. Function: Avoid sharing the purse. Sent to “thinking chair,” other child consoled. 4 minutes later, Madison leaves chair and returns to play with purse.

18. Tim Video

19. Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA)  The FBA is the central feature of PBS  FBA is a process for gathering information about problem behavior and the environmental conditions that predict and maintain it (Crone & Horner, 2003)  The goal of FBA is to improve the effectiveness and the efficiency of the behavior support plan (BSP).

20. Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA)  The process involves gathering information about the problem behavior, the situations where the problem behavior is most and least likely to occur, and the consequences that reward and maintain the problem behavior  A major outcome of FBA is a hypothesis statement that identifies the function(s) that the problem behavior serves for the person Horner et al., 2006

21. Outcomes of FBA  Description of child’s problem behavior (B)  Identification of consequent conditions that maintain the problem behavior (C)  Identification of antecedent conditions that set (and do not set) the occasion for the problem behavior (A)  Production of hypothesis (Function) (Horner et al., 2006)

22. Hypotheses Statement  Triggers of the challenging behavior  Description of the challenging behavior  Responses that maintain the challenging behavior  Purpose of the behavior

23. Not Sure About the Hypothesis?  What would make the challenging behavior stop? Is it something you would provide or allow the child to access? Or is there something to remove? Or can you allow the child to leave?  If still unsure, collect more data in the same context.  Some challenging behavior may have the same form, but serve multiple functions.  Some challenging behaviors may begin around one function (e.g., escape) and continue to serve another function (e.g., gain attention).

24. Functional Behavior Assessments Tools  About our child  PTR assessment  CSEFEL  TACSEI  Observation cards

25. Use case studies to practice with assessment tools in small groups. Activity

26. Old Way New Way  General intervention for all behavior problems  Intervention is reactive  Focus on behavior reduction  Quick Fix  Intervention matched to purpose of the behavior  Intervention is proactive  Focus on teaching new skills  Long term interventions

27. Albert Einstein … “If at first the idea is not absurd, then there is no hope for it.”

28. Major Message  Behavior serves a function  Behavior can be shaped  FBA is not a bad word or an “F” word  Data shapes intervention plan  Old way vs. new way

29. What went well today? What needs improvement? Quality Improvement

30. Thought Seeds  What will I change in my behavior in regard to Functional Assessment?  What will I apply to the families and the children with whom I work in regard to Functional Assessment?  What will I take back to my team/co-workers in regard to Functional Assessment?  Additional Thoughts:

31. Contact Us Pyramid Plus: the Colorado Center for Social Emotional Competence and Inclusion University of Colorado Denver 1380 Lawrence Street, Suite 643 Denver, CO 80204 pyramidplus@ucdenver.edu www.pyramidplus.org Join us on facebook