Functional Behavioral Assessment, FBA, is designed to identify, evaluate and devise an intervention plan to the behavior of a given individual. It is mostly used for students who behave in an unusual manner. The approach aims at getting to the root cause of the problem and creating an appropriate team to intervene. Functional behavior assessment steps enumerate the who, what, how, why, where and when is the problem at hand.
FBA was originally designed to assess students showing misbehavior, particularly children with autism or any form of mental retardation. Such individuals tend to display certain behavior in order to capture the attention of those around them. Sometimes, because of existing cognitive abnormalities, they end up behaving inappropriately without knowing.
Firstly, the FBA team is faced with the task of defining the problem. A single observation is not enough to conclude that someone is problematic. The team needs to study the individual in question over a period of time, under a variety of conditions. The assessment team should take into consideration background factors such as culture, race, religion and so on.
The second step in assessing the affected person is information gathering. Two main approaches are employed; direct and indirect. The indirect method seeks to establish the view of people who interact with the subject frequently. This can be done by requesting them to fill forms containing well thought-out questions concerning the case study, or simply conducting oral interviews. Using both tools gives the team a broader perspective because each has an advantage over the other.
Thirdly, the FBA team needs to formulate a hypothesis. The hypothesis seeks to explain the occurrence of certain habits by assessing function, skill deficit and performance. For instance, if evaluating an employee at work, one may want to find out if they are satisfied with the pay they get, their relationship with workmates and whether they are having any issues at home. In addition, one needs to find out whether the employee is passionate at their job and whether they have the necessary skills.
Following hypothesis formulation, the FBA team has to come up with plans to intervene. The goal is to create awareness and to work at entirely changing the behavior if possible. If dealing with a student, for instance, a team involving the teacher, the parent and any other close association is crucial in addressing the problem. The intervention of an expert can also be considered depending on how deep rooted the problem is.
The final step in FBA is to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention. Data collection from close contacts and direct observation are the main tools used in analysis. If the intervention proves fruitless, the team needs to re-evaluate and come up with a different approach.
In summary, functional behavioral assessment is a process and not a single step. It requires skill, resources and an open mind. This is because conditions may change in the course of the study, which may require the assessor to conduct further assessment before moving to the next step.
FBA was originally designed to assess students showing misbehavior, particularly children with autism or any form of mental retardation. Such individuals tend to display certain behavior in order to capture the attention of those around them. Sometimes, because of existing cognitive abnormalities, they end up behaving inappropriately without knowing.
Firstly, the FBA team is faced with the task of defining the problem. A single observation is not enough to conclude that someone is problematic. The team needs to study the individual in question over a period of time, under a variety of conditions. The assessment team should take into consideration background factors such as culture, race, religion and so on.
The second step in assessing the affected person is information gathering. Two main approaches are employed; direct and indirect. The indirect method seeks to establish the view of people who interact with the subject frequently. This can be done by requesting them to fill forms containing well thought-out questions concerning the case study, or simply conducting oral interviews. Using both tools gives the team a broader perspective because each has an advantage over the other.
Thirdly, the FBA team needs to formulate a hypothesis. The hypothesis seeks to explain the occurrence of certain habits by assessing function, skill deficit and performance. For instance, if evaluating an employee at work, one may want to find out if they are satisfied with the pay they get, their relationship with workmates and whether they are having any issues at home. In addition, one needs to find out whether the employee is passionate at their job and whether they have the necessary skills.
Following hypothesis formulation, the FBA team has to come up with plans to intervene. The goal is to create awareness and to work at entirely changing the behavior if possible. If dealing with a student, for instance, a team involving the teacher, the parent and any other close association is crucial in addressing the problem. The intervention of an expert can also be considered depending on how deep rooted the problem is.
The final step in FBA is to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention. Data collection from close contacts and direct observation are the main tools used in analysis. If the intervention proves fruitless, the team needs to re-evaluate and come up with a different approach.
In summary, functional behavioral assessment is a process and not a single step. It requires skill, resources and an open mind. This is because conditions may change in the course of the study, which may require the assessor to conduct further assessment before moving to the next step.
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