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Conducting Functional Behavioral Assessments and Developing Behavior Intervention Plans
Jeffrey A. Miller, Ph.D.
Michael Tansy, Ph.D.
Overview-Foundations
What does the law say about FBA/BIPs?
How have FBA/BIPs been done before?
Multimodal Problem-Solving view of FBA
Overview-Process
Conducting Functional Behavioral Assessments
Writing Behavior Intervention Plans
Implement Plan
treatment validity
treatment integrity
Outcome evaluation
Data Collection
Reviewing/Modifying Assessments and Plans
Overview-Implement Process
Additional Case Studies
How do you implement this process in your school?
Systems Level
Case Level
Special Consideration in IEP (P.L. 105-17)
In the case of a child whose behavior impedes his or her learning or that of others, consider, when appropriate, strategies, including positive behavioral interventions, strategies, and supports to address that behavior.
Placement in Alternative Educational Settings (P.L. 105-17)
"If the LEA did not conduct a functional behavioral assessment and implement a behavioral intervention plan for the child before the behavior that resulted in the suspension ..., the agency shall convene an IEP meeting to develop an assessment plan and appropriate behavioral interventions to address that behavior; or
Placement in Alternative Educational Settings (P.L. 105-17)
If the child already has a behavioral intervention plan, the IEP team shall review the plan and modify it, as necessary, to address the behavior."
When To Conduct FBA/BIPs
When suspending a child from educational services
Review the plan when the child is again suspended
Whenever behavior impedes students learning or that of others
Existing Efforts to Define FBA/BIPs in the School Context
Applied behavior analysis model
Antecedents, behavior, & consequences
Functional communication
Behavior serves a function: to obtain specific consequence
Assumptions of a Multimodal Problem-Solving Approach
FBA should include multiple theoretical perspectives in determining function
FBA is not a specific procedure, rather it is a perceptual style that guides problem-solving and decision-making
Interventions are associated with goals in a parallel (non-serial) manner
Strategic and valid interventions should be coupled with a commitment to treatment integrity and critical outcome evaluation
Support for Multimodal Approach
Interventions on only one system are ineffective
Interventions will be most successful when multiple, simultaneous causes are considered
Thus, these causes can be linked to multiple, simultaneous interventions designed to treat the "whole" person
Multimodal Hypothesis Generation
Child characteristics
Cognitive, Behavioral, Health, Other
Peer characteristics
Curriculum characteristics
Teacher characteristics
Classroom/school/district characteristics
Family/neighborhood/community characteristics
Support for Problem-Solving Approach
The best practice for teaming and behavioral consultation according to NASP
Already in place in many school districts
Unfortunately, still challenging for many teams to implement effectively
The current approach will press for implementation of the problem-solving methodology
Who are the team members
Members of the IEP team
Individuals from across domains who are involved with student
Parents, teachers, administrators, community members, law enforcement personnel, health care professionals, state agency representatives
FBA/BIP Process Overview
Describe the behavior
Determine the functions of behavior
Develop a plan of intervention
Implement the plan correctly
Evaluate the outcome of the plan
Functional Behavioral Assessment (Description)
Data Sources
Describe behavior
Settings
Frequency
Intensity
Duration
Describe previous interventions
Educational impact
Conducting Structured Observations
Compare referred peer with another student in class
Sample behavior every 30 seconds for each student
Take copious anecdotal notes (Identify functions)
Compute percent of time on-task
Student Processing Form
Student completes the form and identifies functions of challenging behavior
Discuss answers with the student to get a more complete understanding of the functions from the student’s perspective
Functional Behavioral Assessment (Function)
Function: something closely related to another thing and dependent on it for its existence, value, or significance
Stated differently, what is the behavior due to
Multimodal: each behavior has multiple cause contributing differentially to the expression of the behavior
Domains of Functioning
Affective regulation/emotional reactivity
Cognitive distortion
Reinforcement
Modeling
Family issues
Physiological/constitutional
Communicate need
Curriculum/instruction
Behavior Intervention Plan
Identify the case manager who will be responsible for the overall management of the plan
Describe the expected outcomes and goals for the plan
Specify the interventions used to achieve the goals
Specify person who is responsible for specific interventions
Specify a review date
Standards of a Good Intervention
Treatment Validity
An intervention effectively treats the challenging behavior
An intervention is logically related to the functions of the behavior
Treatment Integrity
The degree to which an intervention was conducted correctly and consistently
Monitoring Treatment Integrity
Provide support and or training the first time the teacher attempts to implement a recommendation confirming the task can be done
That is, roll up your sleeves and work side-by-side with the teacher
Collect some data on student performance other that teacher self-report
Outcome Evaluation Overview
Collect outcome data
Determine if behavior improved
Evaluate treatment integrity
Evaluate treatment validity
Evaluate FBA
Maintain or modify the assessment and/or the plan
Assumptions of Data Collection
Review necessary and sufficient information to address the effectiveness of the goals and interventions
Spend effort on interventions rather than gathering elaborate outcome data
Review existing quantitative data
Conduct structured behavioral observations as needed
What Data to Collect
Amount of work turned in
Discipline referrals
Grade report
Frequency of time-outs or direct intervention
Student report
Parent report
Structured Observation
Maintain the Plan
Behavior change does not have to be absolute
Looking for reasonable improvement in behavior
Maintain the plan if it is effective, but needs to be continued
Modify the Plan... Reconsider:
Problem description/functional assessment
Expected outcomes/goals (are they reasonable and achievable?)
Interventions
Identify barriers to plan implementation for each identified plan participant
Consult literature or experts to determine the most valid intervention for the problem behavior
Additional Case Studies
Specific Learning Disability
Emotional Disability
Introducing FBA/BIPs at your school
Administrative and District Wide Support
Staff training on a CST process including FBA/BIP
Strong behavior analyst to start and lead the process of implementation
Commit to regular follow-up to monitor effectiveness of practice
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FBA/BIP