FBA and beyond

FBA can be a very useful assessment.  Any BCBA should be familiar with this assessment and use it with any new case when determining the function of the behavior in question.  When taking on a new case a BCBA or behavioral specialist should never assume what the function of a behavior is.  Most assumptions of functions that has no supportive data usually have to be repeated or start over more often, thus doing more work at the beginning of taking on a new client can save one from doing lots more work later on.  This particular assessment seemed to have the right approach to FBAs.  There should always be some sort of baseline data collected before the FBA is done.  How would one know if the treatment worked if you don’t have a baseline.  After one has a good baseline then they can proceed with the FBA.  This particular FBA form covered all parts of the behavior and seemed like it would work well in a team setting.  It is always important to involve a team in the process of a behavior plane.  The more impute one has the more likely you are to have accurate behavior plan.  Also, the more people involved in the process the more likely it is that everyone will follow the plan that will ultimately help the student. 

Functional Behavior Assessments are a necessary assessment for students with intensive behavior needs.   We need to be able to determine the function of the behavior in order to find appropriate replacement behaviors, consequences, or antecedent strategies.  Behaviors that are defined on the FBA need to be measurable and observable – the definitions need to be so clear that ANYONE who picks up the definition should be able to observe the individual and know whether or not the problem behavior is occurring or not occurring, and when it starts and ends.  In the video it states that your team should come up with a consensus as to what the function of the behavior is.  I think it is good to have a hypothesized function that is supported by data, but that you really need to manipulate different variables to figure out exactly what the function of the behavior is.  Perhaps the student is getting attention and escaping from work at the same time, if you guess wrong and say it is attention that is maintaining the behavior the student could still be escaping work and the behavior would continue to be reinforced.  For the organization that I work with, a formal FA done by a BCBA with direct observations is ideal.  We also wouldn’t explain the function or have student input because of the functioning level of the students that I work with.  I think that this is a good starting point but that for severe problem behaviors a formal FA would be necessary.  Once you are confident in the function of the behavior, a hypothesis can be formulated, but not until then.  Replacement behaviors can then be selected, keeping in mind the student’s current repertoire.  Making the replacement behavior easier and more efficient that the problem behavior in gaining access to reinforcement is what aids in decreasing the behavior, in addition to putting the problem behavior on extinction.   I think that RESA has a good tool to aid in the process of determining the problem behavior and building a behavior support plan, it just isn’t the exact process that I am used to.

FBA

As stated in the video, a Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA) helps to understand a child's behavior in order to create an intervention plan.  Before one can complete an intervention plan, discovering the purpose of the behavior is essential, making the FBA the most critical part of the plan.  There are many components to an FBA; first, one must identify student info and sources of data.  Next, the problem behavior must be described in specific, measurable, and observable terms; it must be done this way so the behavior is able to be consistently identified among a number of individuals.  The video stated that one should never attempt to focus on more than three behaviors as this can get far too difficult.  I, however, think that even looking at three behaviors might be too much, especially if you have more than one child in your classroom with a behavior plan.  I feel that one behavior should be tackled before moving onto another as there are so many intricacies involved in each isolated behavior.  Next, triggers and antecedents must be considered.  It is important to look at what comes before the behaviors so perhaps these situations can be altered.  Specific demands, times of day, settings/events, and medical issues should all be considered.  Distal antecedents are also extremely important to consider, and I believe they were left of the video.  I've found that especially with my young population, so much occurs at home that impacts the way the child is behaving at school.  For instance, I have had children who may not have slept through the night, might have moved, been ill, etc.  Consequences for behavior is the next section, followed by current plans/strategies for behavior.  Obviously, it is crucial for everyone to be consistent in the way they are responding to particular behaviors or nothing will change.  The next sections are student input and other.  Throughout the FBA, it is also important to remember that in order for a problem behavior to be removed, a replacement behavior must be offered to the student.  This video was very informing, explained in a very thorough way making it easy for anyone to understand, and much in line with the experience I have had with FBAs in my organization.

I have been teaching in an integrated preschool classroom for three years, and in those three years, I have helped fill out three different FBAs.  Like in the video, we were trying to arrive at the function of the child's behavior in order to come up with a plan to eliminate it/mold it into something more positive.  In the video, however, they state that an FBA should only be used for children with intense behavioral needs.  I'd be very interested in hearing what they would consider "intense" as in my opinion, only one of these cases was "intense."  Additionally, in my organization (a preschool program consisting of 12 special needs preschools), there is only one behavior specialist.  In the video, they state that this should be the individual filling out the FBA; however, when there are not enough behavior specialists present, what does one do?

Lastly, I agree that the hypothesis is certainly a useful tool when looking at children with ASD.  Children with ASD are so complex; it helps to have a single statement to look at and focus on when working with their behaviors.  It is essential to have a hypothesis statement in order to first test it to make sure it is accurate, and to come up with specific interventions to reduce/eliminate problematic behaviors.

FBA

Evaluating the St. Clair County Assessment
I was not thrilled with the functional assessment instrument created by St Clair County RESA.  It may be helpful  for a team completing a functional assessment in a school setting but it just does not provide enough information about the behavior itself to serve as the only assessment tool.  I personally believe there should be a stronger emphasis placed on the target behavior starting with enough room to define it.
1) There should be a clear description of exactly how the behavior looks.  If the behavior is throwing would you call it an occurrence if the student you were watching dropped something on the floor?  There is no way to tell unless you have a really complete definition that lets you know exactly what you are looking for.  Two lines that tell you to describe the behavior (or behaviors) is simply not enough.
2) There should be some area on the form for the assessor to actually take some data on the behavior and a scatter plot is probably not the best way to do it.  The reason being is that scatter plots tend to look at simply frequency or one dimension.  With a variety of problem behaviors (tantrum, head banging) other aspects of the behavior such as duration or intensity may actually be more important to know than the frequency or just as important as the aspect of the behavior being graphed on the scatter plot.
3) It is really important that the behaviors and environment be represented in objective terms.  I did not hear this emphasized on the video.  How you describe the behavior is really important how you think the child is feeling is best if its not included in the assessment becasue its an assumption and it can cloud your judgeemnt as an assessor.

These problems could all be easily rectified by adding an assessment tool to the form that really looks at simply the target behavior or maybe having a few people that spend a lot of time with the student fill out the same assessment tool to see how similar there findings are about the behavior.

I also disagree with the statement the video made about having multiple target behaviors for the assessment.  Behavior is a tricky thing.  If you encounter a problem behavior with a student that is interfering with their ability to learn it is a problem.  If you encounter a few problem behaviors it is a bigger problem, and if you encounter many it is a large problem.  It is extremely important when doing functional assessments that you are analyzing a behavior.  You need to know what precedes it, what it looks like, and what its consequences are.  If you attempt to analyze more one behavior in the same assessment than you run the risk of clouding the aspects of one behavior with the aspects of another.  To better illustrate this I would like to give an example from my own personal experience.  I work with a student that engages in a couple of different maladaptive behaviors.  One behavior is defined as vocal protests the other is defined as tantrums.  They have similar topography (form, they look similar) however tantrums last longer and are often accompanied by crying.  ABC (antecedent, behavior, and consequence) data as well as assessment results suggest that the function of the vocal protests to be escape.  These behaviors have existed for the same length of time and the assessment was conducted on both behaviors at one time.  The vocal protests reduced when the child was taught he could access a break by asking for one.  So one day a tantrum occurred and in the middle of it the child asked for a hug.  He was doing a worksheet, that he insisted on completing, but clearly wanted some unnecessary help with and instead of trying to get out of doing it when i did not help him he asked for a hug.  Hugs, help, extra verbal attention during a difficult task, this screams attention but as it was a task oriented behavior and the student had other similar task oriented escape maintained behavior the treatment plan was to persist with demands (in many cases delivering more attention) and the replacement behaviors had the function of escape.  Had these behaviors been examined separately it is far more unlikely that the judgement of the team doing the assessment (which I was on by the way) wold listed an inaccurate function.  Once the treatment plan was corrected and the replacement behaviors were functional to requesting attention the tantrums nearly stopped (we still see a short occurrence about 1 time a month). 

So to wrap this up I would not choose this assessment to guide me through an FBA mainly because I do not feel like there is a strong enough emphasis on the behavioral dimensions of the behavior and that is what you are supposed to be looking at when doing these assessments. 
The following link is to an assessment tool I use with each and every problem behavior to assess its function in combination with ABC data and descriptive data about the behavior
Functional Assessment Screening Tool
I really like this tool because it asks yes and no questions specifically relating to the target behavior and then uses those to hypothesize functions.  This is not a complete assessment but I find it to be a vital tool whenever I am dealing with a problem behavior, especially because sometimes as objectively as you may be thinking your looking at a behavior you may have thoughts about it that are clouding your judgement.  Including something like this in St. Claire's assessment would be a beneficial modification along with a different form that really looks at describing the behavior.

RESA video

The video describes FBAs as a helpful tool in understanding the problem behavior of students and developing effective intervention plans. It also discusses the 4 steps used to address problem behaviors; functional behavior assessment, behavior intervention plan, data tracking and objective modification based on data. The FBA form developed by St. Clair County (RESA) is clear, straightforward and provides an objective description of the problem behavior as well as the antecedents and consequences. The form appears to be appropriate for usage by educators and therapist in the school setting. The only issue I see with this assessment tool is its lack of sections to provide data on the occurrence of the target behaviors.

The video’s information on FBAs is somewhat consistent with Glasberg’s. Although Glasberg suggests focusing on one behavior at a time, both the author and the narrator stress the importance of providing a clear and objective definition of the target behavior as well as establishing the function of the individual’s behavior.

As a home based behavioral therapist for children on the ASD spectrum, I am constantly observing, recording and assessing behavior using many of the steps described in the video; identifying the functions of behavior, providing interventions that differ based off of the given functions. This video could assist others in creating and implementing FBAs as well as educating parents on its purpose and process. 

FBA

The current video by St. Claire County RESA discussed how to conduct a Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA).  In working with children with autism, I feel that an FBA is a very important assessment in determining the function of a behavior.  A hypothesis is a useful tool to lead professionals to a potential function of the behavior and possible directions to take in decreasing it.  FBAs also can include many other direct and indirect assessments to help in the process.  The FBA is a very important assessment in determining a function of behaviors.  The student input is another very important piece in the FBA process.

The FBA shown in the video was very organized and separated nicely into understandable sections.  This helps those professionals that do not conduct them often learn the process.  It was well stated in the video of the importance when looking at a behavior it needs to be observable and measurable.  The person filling out the form needs to be as specific as possible when describing the antecedents, behaviors and consequences.  The more specific a person is the easier it will be to determine the functions of the problem behavior.  Problem behavior is usually maintained by the child or individual accessing a tangible or avoiding/escaping an event.  Another important point made in the video was that the problem behavior must be replaced with a more appropriate behavior. 

I thought another important segment in the video was that after the function of the behavior has been determined, it needs to be replaced with a more appropriate behavior.  If the problem behavior is not replaced with a more appropriate behavior then there is a possibility that the individual will develop another problem behavior to serve the same function.  I feel that if there FBAs are being conducted; the professional conducting them should have some background experience in assessing behaviors to gain the most and correct information.

Response to Resa Video

       I found St. Claire County's video on functional behavior assessments very informative and valuable.  I think it was consistent with the information given by Glasberg in that it emphasized the importance of thoroughly asking and answering questions regarding the problematic behavior: questions that address when and where it takes place, who else is present in the setting, triggers and antecedents, and the consequences that follow the behavior.
       I also agree with the emphasis placed on the use of descriptive language in order to define behavior as opposed to using generic words such as "non-compliance".  Operational definitions of behavior should not be written in a way that leave the definition open to interpretation.  They should be defined in a way such that anyone who reads it will be able to identify exactly when the problematic behavior is occurring.  
       I think Zima was also on target when he stated the importance of always making sure to develop a new adaptive behavior to replace the problematic one.  I think it's common for teachers and parents to focus more on extinguishing problem behaviors rather than teaching adaptive ones.  If the only effort is to decrease the problem behaviors, then it's likely new problem behaviors will develop-- that is, if no effort is put forth to increase adaptive behaviors.
      I find the hypothesis to be a useful tool in working to address problem behaviors of students with ASD because this is how we develop the appropriate intervention plan in order to correct the problem behavior.  This where the assessor(s) combine the information regarding antecedents, behavior, and consequences in order to determine why and when it occurs. 
      I think the overall method desribed in the video would be useful for my organization.  We provide home-based ABA services to children with ASD, who often have maladaptive behaviors.  The children we work with often have several therapists who work with them throughout the week including ABA therapists, SLPs, and OTs.  I think having every staff member fill out the St County Claire RESA form (or similar form) will help determine the functions of any problem behaviors our clients may have. 
      Overall I think that Zima provided very useful information.  However, in terms of functions of behavior, he seemed to mainly focus on social reinforcement.  I don't think he addressed automatic reinforcement (unless I overlooked something).  He gave the examples of behaviors that serve the purpose of escape/avoidane and attention/access to tangibles.  I think he should have brought up the possibility that there are some behaviors that serve neither of those functions.  There are some problematic behaviors that are reinforcing in and of themselves without the involvement of another person.  These include behaviors that are sensory seeking: such as excessive mouthing of non-food items or throwing or dropping items for the sake of watching them fall.  These behaviors are likely to require a different intervention than either escape or attention seeking behaviors

FBA

Through watching the video and reading Goldstein, I have learned there are many important guidelines to consider when making a functional behavioral assessment. Functional behavioral assessment can be considered a problem- solving process in addressing a students behavior. There are four main steps to help reduce problematic behaviors. They include: Functional behavioral assessment, behavioral intervention plan, data, and objective modification based on data. Some may believe that functional behavioral assessment is the most important component in an effective plan. I on the other hand, agree that all four main steps have an important component in gathering information and helping reduce negative behavior.
When considering a functional behavioral assessment, it is important to bear in mind why we think a student is showing a certain behavior and what the main function of the behavior may be . For example, is the child trying to escape/avoid a situation? Or is the child trying to gain some type of adult attention?

Since I do not have much experience in functional behavioral assessment, I found St. Clair County RESA, very informative in planning how to write a FBA. The layout was easy to understand and pretty straight forward. I also like how RESA functional behavioral assessment is beneficial for students with intensive behavioral needs or students within a RTI model.

St. Clair County RESA, focuses on eight main sections when completing an functional behavioral assessment. From my experience thru the video, it is important to have data and records of the child's problematic behavior. Data can include ABC logs, observations, school counselor, and most importantly teacher and parents feedback. Another essential section in FBA form is describing the actual behavior problem. When gathering information based on the behavior, it is important to describe the behavior in concrete terms and to stay away from abstract terms. I agree with this, because if the writer is too vague, it can be some what challenging to collect measurable data.

I do agree it is essential to gather all the problematic behaviors, but to focus on ONE problematic behavior instead of three. I could be completely wrong on this statement, but from my previous reading, it can be over whelming and frustrating to figure out an intervention that will benefit the child if there are to many behaviors to focus on. It is necessary to focus on the behavior that is most disruptive and unsafe in the classroom environment. I also found it very beneficial to see the FBA form had a section for student input. This is a great way to acknowledge the child's feelings and any other motivations/strengths that can be used in the behavioral plan.

Lastly, I agree with having a summary/ hypothesis statement. This plays a big role in the outcome of the child's behavior and what function it may play. The main goal is trying to teach the student to obtain the behavioral function in a more appropriate way. This will only benefit the child in the end. I found it eye catching to know the teams do not always get the assessment correct. The team can continue to review the data and if they are right, one will see a decrease in the child's behavior. If the problimatic behavior is still occurring the assessment team will plan on revising/making another functional behavioral assessment.
I found the information gathered from St.Clair Country to be helpful in planning a functional behavioral assessment. I would definitely consider using the FBA form in other school systems. I like the clarity of the format and believe it to be helpful for teachers and parents, who may be unfamiliar with functional behavioral assessments.

Functional Behavioral Assessment

As Mentioned in the Glasberg book and the video by  St Clair County Resa, Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA) is the most important tool when dealing with students with ASD.  There are four steps to be consider when doing an assessment. 1) Functional Behavior Assessment 2) Behavior Intervention Plan 3) Data Tracking and  4) Objective Modification Base on Data.  It is extremely important to describe  what the behavior might be and most importantly what the behavior looks like.  Be specific because you want other people to be able to read and follow the plan.  Always form a team when attempting to create a behavior plan.   The team could include, parents, teachers, nurse, OT, speech pathology, bus driver, lunch monitor and anyone else who comes in contact with the child. Most importantly the child himself or herself should be part of the process.  Many times the team forgets to get the child input which could solve the problem quicker.

It is important for the team to know what is the behavior is trying to communicate.  The child might hit others because she gets her classmate attention or that is her way of saying I want to play. Remember the behavior should be specific, observable and measurable.  Once the team determine the reason they will be able to come up with a plan to help the child communicate more appropriately.  Always remember that a student might have many behaviors.  The team should target the 3 most disruptive behaviors at a time.  As behaviorist we know there are a lot of work involve when targeting 1 behavior let alone 3.  The team needs to have enough time to monitor the behavior and not cutting corner because the have too many behaviors to work on at once.  According to Resa "if taking away a problematic behavior, it will needs to be replace by an appropriate behavior".

Once the plan is in place data should be collected in order for the team to determine if the behavior plan is working.  If the plan is effective a decrease in behavior should occur within weeks.  In order to show that, the team needs to have concrete data to back up their statement. We should always keep in mind the plan might not work in the first try, we might need to go back several times to make changes.  In the summary/ hypothesis the team should list the finding of the FBA and what is causing the student to misbehave.

FBA

A functional behavior assessment (FBA) is defined as a systematic method of assessment for obtaining information about the purpose (functions) a problem behavior serves for a person; results are used to guide the design of an intervention for decreasing the problem behavior and increasing appropriate behavior.  (Cooper, Heron, & Heward, 2007)  According to Glasberg, the purpose of an FBA is to identify the function of the behavior using indirect assessment and direct assessment. Behavior Analysts prefer direct assessment; it is a lot more reliable and measureable.  Professionals use FBA’s to find “What message is that behavior communicating”.  (Glasberg, 2006)

The process and instrument developed by the St. Claire County Regional Educational Service Agency (RESA) could be a great tool to use in public schools.  The data sheet they use is informative and to the point.  However there is a significant, potential problem with this data sheet.  It asks the person filling it out to estimate the current rate of behavior.  One of the main purposes of an FBA is to reduce the problem behavior.  If the teacher or parent does not have any data on the current rate of behavior, there is no way to definitively say if the occurrences of the behavior are reduced when the new behavior plan is implemented.  Asking someone to estimate the occurrences of a problem behavior is a mistake.  The estimate may change depending on someone’s mood, or how much the behavior bothers that person.  They could easily under or over estimate the occurrences of the problem behavior.  RESA should add a data sheet to their FBA form, and ask teachers, parents and anyone else who fills it out to take data on the problem behavior for at least a few days.  I would also add automotive reinforcement (sensory) to list of possible functions of behavior.  It is important to realize that some behavior have automatic reinforcement.

I think if I modified the RESA tools I could use them in my classroom.  I would also be able to use it in home services with a few changes.  I find the hypothesis a very useful tool in working to address problem behaviors with ASD individuals.  It is very important to be able to identify why someone is behaving in a certain way.  I also think that the RESA tools and video would be helpful to show parents.  The video is simple and informative and would help me explain to parents what I am doing and why I am doing it, as well as explain why their cooperation and participation is important.  In conclusion I would personally rather use the tools provided by Glasberg than the tools provided by RESA because the Glasberg tools are more informative and in-depth.

FBA

The process of completing a functional behavioral assessment at the St. Claire County Regional Educational Service Agency seems fairly comprehensive and in line with the theory behind FBAs as described by Glasberg.  I like that RESA, like Glasberg, discussed the importance of describing problem behaviors, as opposed to just naming them.  This is vital since “non-compliance” for example, is a response class which might look different to different people and therefore instances may be over or under recorded if the behavioral responses that make up the class are not objectively described.  I also liked that they both stressed having the student take part in the interview process since often this is forgotten and student responses can provide valuable insight as to what is motivating their behavior.

The FBA process used at RESA is along the same lines as that used within my organization.  To begin I select target behavior(s) based on concerns stated by the parent, teacher, service providers and those noted my observations, prioritizing dangerous behaviors and those of the greatest social significance.  I collect indirect data on the target behavior(s) in the form of parent and teacher interviews and if the student has the communicative ability to take part in the interview process, I collect this data also.  Generally, I will also have the parents, teachers and/or service providers fill out motivation assessment scales (MAS) to collect information on potential functions.  Once the indirect portion of the FBA data is complied I collect direct observation scatterplot and ABC data on the behavior(s).  I might use information from the parent and teacher interviews to determine the best times and places to observe in order to see occurrences and non-occurrences of the behavior.   During these observations, I look for setting and antecedent events that reliably set the occasion for problem behavior and consequences that follow instances of the behavior.  In most cases, the indirect assessment data and direct observation data is sufficient for me to be confident in hypothesizing a likely function for the target behavior(s), but in some cases, more information is needed.  In these cases, I complete a functional analysis or structural analysis; systematically manipulating antecedent and consequent variables to set off problem behavior.  Once I am fairly confident in the function of the behavior I, like RESA, formulate my hypothesis or summary statements describing target behaviors and the events surrounding them.  This can be helpful in determining a functionally equivalent behavior.  When the behavioral intervention plan (BIP) is written, I tend to include these summary statements, along with summary statements describing replacement behaviors in the context of the same events to give family and staff members a better understanding of why and how the plan is going to work to change problem behavior.

Perhaps the most important part of the FBA process (and I like that RESA mentions this) is continually and consistently analyzing the data.  Once the FBA has been completed and the report and BIP have been distributed to the TEAM, I observe staff following the plan and graph the data weekly to make sure data is being accurately recorded, determine if the plan is working and being run correctly, and look for changes that may need to be made to the intervention itself.

In terms of the instrument used by RESA, I like that it covers everything in one fairly simple form, but I prefer to use separate forms and later compile them into a report.  I use different forms for parent, teacher and student interviews, tailoring the questions to each reporter.  For example, a teacher would be asked questions about the effects of group instruction on behavior whereas a parent would be asked about the effects of sleeping patterns and medications.  I also keep indirect data and direct data separate within the written report so the information is clear to anyone reading.  I break the results section into individual portions, interviews, MAS, direct observation, functional analysis and graphs, and hypotheses.  It may just be that this is what I am used to so I prefer it, but in my opinion it seems best for clarification purposes.  If someone reading the report wanted to know where a piece of information came from, for example, an interview with the teacher or direct observation of the behavior, the information would be readily available.

FBA

FBAs are a great tool if used properly.  FBAs describe the problem behavior as specific, measureable, and observable.  This is important because all people involved know what the behavior looks like.  For example, student hits other students with open hand using all five fingers, palm down.  Someone who is trained in behavior analysis should be the person who completes the FBA.  Currently, in my school district, they have our adjustment counselors completing FBAs.  The adjustment counselors at my school have little to no interaction or expertise with individuals who have ASD.  So, figuring out the function of their behavior and what specific behaviors to change first is not easy for them.  This makes it very difficult as a teacher, trained in ABA, to follow one of their FBA plans.  

St. Clair County seems to know what they are doing when it comes to FBAs.  I like how St. Clair County has their FBA information under the RTI tools.  RTI is not a special education initiative, which means that it is a general education initiative.  This is helpful in getting teacher buy in because very often teaches think that special educators are the only ones to implement these plans.  St. Clair County does a great job with their FBA paperwork and it is very simple and easy to follow. 

FBAs are based on data.  Using direct and indirect methods data is specific as possible.  I think that St. Clair County’s FBA forms could include data sheets that they require teachers to use.  This would make it an even more uniform process.  However, overall I like their forms.  I also like how they have added the setting and the people who are involved when describing the behaviors.  Something else that I liked about that plan is the student input.  One these forms you talk to the student and have they expressed concerns/difficulties that may relate to the problem behavior. 

I think a hypothesis set up as “if this, then that” is a useful tool in working to address problem behavior with ASD individuals.  A hypothesis is based on the problem behavior and the function of that behavior.  By having a hypothesis or summary statement you begin to focus your attention on how to teach this student to obtain this function in an appropriate way.  Figuring out the function of the behavior is the most important.  Once you know the function it is easy to be specific in teaching functionally equivalent behaviors to replace that problem behavior.  Sometimes asking the student is the easiest way to figure out the function of the behavior they are displaying.

Functional Behavioral Assessments

This week, we began our discussion of Functional Behavioral Assessments (FBA). As you recall, these assessments focus on getting to the bottom of problem behavior by identifying the motivation, antecedent and consequences as well as the target behavior. The FBA uses a team approach to capture a full picture of the ASD individual. Based on the FBA, a plan can be developed to address the behavior. Although the FBA uses  informal assessment techniques, it is by no means a haphazard  or shoot-from-the-hip approach. An FBA is a carefully planned and well documented process that results in a hypothesis about the target behavior. This allows for a promising intervention with the ASD individual.

Please view this video from the St. Clair County Regional Educational Service Agency (RESA) in Marysville, MI, which explains their  approach to FBAs. This approach is very consistent with that described by Beth Glasberg in our text. It goes into detail about how to conduct the assessment and shows a very practical tool that you may find useful in conducting  FBAs.

Please view the video and discuss the  St. Clair County RESA process and instrument as you think it might be implemented in your own organization. Critique the process against the theory behind FBAs as described by Glasberg and in comparison with your organization’s needs.  How does the instrument stack up? How would you modify it to make it better? Do you find the hypothesis a useful tool in working to address problem behaviors with ASD individuals?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0R_9zmOyG68&list=FLhENi61rzs4zEChadFq9n3g&index=4&feature=plpp_video