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.