Best Practices

I think the point that Dr. Ozonoff makes that one person cannot pull off an assessment is very important.  In completing an FBA or any assessment, it is necessary to get input from the entire team.  Parents can often provide valuable insight on a child’s behavior and their skills, and often one member of the team may have information that another does not.  For example, a classroom teacher who generally sees a student in an environment with a multitude of other students may report disruptive attention seeking behavior that a speech and language pathologist working with a child in a 1:1 setting never sees, suggesting that attention from peers could potentially be a maintaining consequence.

I also liked the fact that she discussed the importance of reinforcing desirable behaviors such as sitting in a chair and complying with instructions during the assessment process.  Often I think evaluators forget to do this or think they are not supposed to do this and get faulty information as a result.  I also think this can be useful to do across the board in educational settings, as opposed to just during the process of assessment.

The comment Dr. Ozonoff made about interacting with the child was great.  I agree with her that this almost seems like common sense, but the scary fact is that often professionals will use parent reports and other forms of indirect assessment as a base for their results.  It is crucial, during a FBA and other assessments such as the ABLLs and VB-Mapp to both directly observe the individual and interact with them and their environment.  Often it is necessary for evaluators to facilitate an opportunity to interact with a peer to observe an individual’s response, and in regards to FBA, systematically manipulate the environment to evaluate effects on behavior. 

At my organization we seek to “bridge the gap” between clinical and educational assessments and classroom practice is by having monthly “clinics” with the parent, teacher, and other relevant members of the team.  This is just an informal meeting to discuss current findings, problems, and progress.  I find them to be a great way to keep everyone on the same page, give an open opportunity to address questions and concerns, and serve as a proactive approach to problem solving.