Functional Behavioral Assessment, Diagnosis, and Treatment

Third Edition

Ennio Cipani, PhD

pages 67-80

there are at least five common methods,varying in form and reliability,for collecting evidence via an FBA

(a)behavioral interviewing

(b)A-B-C descriptive analysis method

(c)scatter plot data

the scatter plot is an important tool to determine if certain times and events seem to occassion higher levels of problem behavior across time,it provides general information on possible time periods across the day that seem to promote higher rates of behavior than other time periods.

什么时间段经常出现问题行（比如哭闹、打人等）

什么时间段基本不会出现问题行为

if you are going to collect scatter plot data in residential or inpatient facilities,consider tracking the client's problem behavior as a function of activities,this is particularly ideal for clients who have an established routine during the weekdays.每个时间段要做什么，比如几点到学校，几点上早读，几点大课间，几点眼保健操，几点午睡等

in educational settings,you would set up blocks of time involving specific instructional tasks or content areas,to further delineate what might be a risk condition for target behavior,you can use a coding system to indicate specific activities.

analogue assessment

analogue assessment(also known as a functional analysis of behavior)involves an experimental analysis of the function of the behavior under contrived test conditions.

analogue assessment is a more labor-intensive method that allows you to test potential hypotheses regarding why the behavior is occurring,in terms of controlling variables

multiple EO-function comparison tests

四種：attention，demand，alone，play

大人提供注意後問題行為增多，想獲取注意

發脾氣後允許不完成任務，想逃避任務

置身於沒任何玩具的情境中自傷行為增多，獲取感官刺激

提供孩子喜歡的活動，移除注意、實物、和嚴惡的任務

single EO-function hypothesis tests

presence of EO and absence of EO

quicik switching between conditions:(a)session involving a short assignment and (b) sessions involving a lengthy assignment,get the same(or similar)materials that are used in class(since length of assignment is the EO and not difficulty)

for four sessions,present assignments that last an entire 50mins,that is,student keeps working continuously for 50 mins,with one instructor in one test area,if the individual finishes the assigned material,provide another assignment (i.e.,finishing work should not escape assignment,mimicking hypothesized natural classroom conditions)

for four sessions,present short assignments that last only 10-15 mins,once the assignment is finished,end the session,and to to an entertaining activity,provide a cue that the condition involves a short amount of work,for example,let's do just this one task before we take a break.

brief removal of task assignment is contingent on the problem behavior in both short- and full-length condition(e.g.,why don't you take a short break?)

on-task behavior should be measured across both conditions

comparison of rates of problem behavior and on-task  behavior between these two conditions is used to verify the hypothesis

there are three compelling reasons for utilizing the analogue assessment:

(a)when several prior behavioral programs have not succeeded in reducing the problem behavior

(b)before a student loses his or her current educational or residential placement

(c)when there is a huge time and resource investment in training a large number of staff to implement a plan

問題行為升級案例：

吃早餐前個案被要求去洗手——說不

堅持要個案洗手——尖叫

堅持要個案洗手——吼著說不並且向工作人員吐口水

堅持要個案洗手——停止吐口水但試圖踢工作人員

工作人員閃開，繼續堅持要個案洗手——不再踢人改為捏自己的手臂

要求個案停止捏自己的手臂，要個案去洗手——在自己的腿上抓出傷口（流血）

制止個案的行為並呼叫救護人員——處理傷口，不再要求個案洗手

這裏出現自傷行為究竟是逃避任務還是想獲得他人注意？獲得注意的同時任務任務也不需要完成（把自己抓傷，別人都來關心自己，而且不再要求自己做不想做的事情）

個案說“不”後，停止任務

個案說”不“後仍要求他繼續任務，直到完成任務或者出現自傷行為（less severe）

個案說”不“後停止任務，15分鐘後重新引入任務

in-situ hypothesis testing

an in-situ hypothesis test contrasts with an analogue assessment in two dimensions:

(a)it is conducted in the setting of interest

(b)a functional treatment(based on the entertained hypothesis)is alternated with a baseline condition

an in-situ hypothesis test provides the following advantages:

it is a direct assessment of the target behavior in the setting of interest,with all relevant contextual variable present

if treatment fedelity is obtained,an effective treatment is discovered,leaving only the requirement to develop staff monitoring for extended periods of application

the staff,parents,and teachers who implemented the test will probably need less convincing that an effective treatment will be worth the time because they had a hand in the text

why did you do that?

這樣問孩子一般得不到想要的答案？孩子不會告訴你他打人是因為他注意到打人後他能得到他想要的東西。孩子一般會說：我不知道，他把我弄瘋了，我不知道。需要老師找原因分析孩子為什麼要醬子做，是什麼原因使得孩子一直出現這樣的問題行為。

functional behavioral assessment in popularity since it was specified as a federal requirement for special education students with disabilities who engage in certain problem behaviors.