What Exactly Is Functional Behavioral Assessment?

Functional behavioral assessment (FBA) examines why problem behaviors occur in order to guide prevention and intervention efforts, thereby increasing efficiency and effectiveness. Functional behavioral assessment is one of the most misunderstood processes in education. This is largely because at the time it was mandated as part of the amendments to IDEA in 1997, practice exceeded the research base. That is, there was no consensus among researchers regarding the essential components and processes of FBA in the educational environment,⁷ and the techniques traditionally researched were originally designed for students with severe development disabilities in clinical settings.⁸

As educators, we are keenly aware that the variables that exist in a public school setting (such as individual teaching styles, academic and social demands, and sensory stimulation) are much more complex than the fairly controllable environments in clinical settings, and therefore the practice of FBA has not translated well to the education field. This confusion has resulted in the development of several common myths that surround functional behavioral assessment in the educational setting:

Myth: Functional behavioral assessment is a paperwork process conducted by highly trained and skilled behavior analysts or school psychologists that only exists in special education.

The reality: Some FBAs can be quite simple. For example, if an administrator believes that a student behaved inappropriately with the goal of being suspended so he or she could escape the aversive school environment and go home to a preferred or more reinforcing environment and activity, the administrator may choose to instead give the student in school suspension. No data were taken, and no formal plan was written. Other forms of FBA can be quite complex, involving specialists, multiple observations, and various forms of data collection and analysis. Although FBA was developed with developmentally delayed individuals in clinical settings, a more third-tier intervention, it should provide guidance throughout all three tiers of intervention.⁹

Myth: There is only one way to conduct an FBA, and it requires using specific data collection tools.

The reality: Not all individuals are comfortable and fluent using certain assessment and intervention tools. Instead, they can use a process that results in the most helpful information for designing effective behavioral interventions in their situation. For example, we have both conducted multiple functional behavior assessments at all levels of complexity and neither of us have ever used a scatter plot. Although a scatter plot is an excellent tool for some, it is not one that we prefer using.

Myth: A formal FBA needs to be conducted and an individualized behavior intervention plan (BIP) designed and implemented for every problem behavior that students exhibit. These plans need to be included in each student's individual education plan (IEP), and the IEP team needs to reconvene every time the plan is changed.

The reality: At the time of the 1997 mandate, we were coteaching in a program for students with severe and chronic behavior challenges and felt that we had a pretty good handle on considering functions of problem behaviors and having that guide our interventions. Our supervisors at the time informed us that we needed to do what is stated in this myth, and our first response was ''What!!'' Although we agree this is ideal, it is often not realistic. Our reply at the time was that the IEP team may as well set up camp in our classrooms because we would be meeting every day, if not multiple times a day, in order to meet this requirement. Anyone who has worked on a daily basis with students with chronic, severe behavior problems in the public school setting knows that functions of behavior can change very quickly, that different behaviors can serve the same function, and that the same behavior can serve different functions based on many environmental variables that are constantly interacting and changing.

Experts in the field acknowledge that the content, intensity, and complexity of functional behavioral assessment activities will vary.¹⁰ Some problems are much simpler than others and in many cases conducting a lengthy and complex formal FBA would be a waste of valuable educator time. Clearly, the public school environment is much different from a clinical environment, and we need to develop more school-friendly, efficient, and effective FBA processes than what has traditionally been used in the clinical world.¹¹ We hope this book will do just that.

Three Key Concepts of FBA

Becoming proficient in determining the functions of behavior begins with a clear understanding of three key concepts: setting events, triggering antecedents, and maintaining consequences. These concepts, especially setting events and maintaining consequences, are often misunderstood because the everyday use of these terms in an educational setting tends to mean something quite different from what they mean in the world of FBA. Let's clear up this confusion.

Setting Events

Educators typically think of the word setting as meaning where something happens, like the setting in a fictional story. In the world of functional behavioral assessment, however, setting events mean something quite different. We call this, ''You know it is going to be a bad day when ____.'' Fill in the blank thinking about a student you work with or have worked with who exhibited problem behaviors:

You know it is going to be a bad day when he spent the night at Dad's rather than Mom's.

You know it is going to be a bad day when there is a special activity such as a holiday party or field trip.

You know it is going to be a bad day immediately after a weekend or long break.

We find that once they get to know their students, many educators often instinctively know these things; they just don't realize they are identifying setting events. Setting events exaggerate the likelihood that the problem behaviors will occur or makes them worse. These events do not always mean that the problem behaviors will occur, but the behaviors are more likely to happen, and happen at a higher intensity, when these variables are present.

Triggering Antecedents

We call triggering antecedents ''the straw that broke the camel's back.'' Often when there is a setting event present, or more than one, the student is experiencing negative emotions such as anxiety, anger, or disappointment. Then something happens, and the student exhibits problem behavior seemingly out of nowhere. Maybe you give the student an academic task that involves writing, which tends to be hard for him (this is a common trigger); ormaybe there is a sudden change in the schedule, a loud noise, a strong smell, or other sensory input that he finds aversive. Triggering antecedents can be internal too—a negative memory evoked by something in the story being read or suddenly not feeling well. Identifying these events can be challenging, especially with students who are nonverbal or have language difficulties. (Strategies for minimizing the influence of setting events and triggering antecedents are the focus in Part Three of this book.)

Maintaining Consequences

The third key concept in FBA is maintaining consequences, that is, what happens after the problem behavior that contributes to its occurrence and maintenance. Educators typically think of punishment in connection with the word consequences—something they ''give'' students to try to discourage them from repeating the problem behavior. However, in the FBA world, maintaining consequences refers to what naturally happens after the behavior that reinforces it. We call it the ''payoff,'' or ''what the student gets out of it.'' Is the student getting attention or a reaction from others in the environment, either adults or their peers? Are they able to escape from an undesirable task or environment even temporarily? Are they getting some sort of desired sensory input? The student may or may not be aware that he or she is doing it for this reason because it is often subconscious.

If you can identify what is serving as the natural reinforcer in the environment, you have come a long way toward intervening effectively by minimizing that reinforcer and providing an alternative, more powerful reinforcer for the desired replacement behavior. (We explore maintaining consequences in more detail in Part Four.)

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What Exactly Is Functional Behavioral Assessment?