This page is designed to be a resource for those interested in Functional Behavioral Assessment. We hope to offer information sources that will provide an easy-to-use tool for the overview of the Functional Behavioral Assessment process as well as information tools for the development of the the FBA process by the FBA teams.
This from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction's FUNCTIONAL BEHAVIORAL ASSESSMENT: a study guide:
"There are new legal mandates addressing functional behavioral assessment (FBA) and behavior intervention plans (BIP). In order to provide a coordinated statewide approach to these issues, the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) funded a special education discretionary project in CESA (Cooperative Educational Service Agency) 12 beginning in the 1998- 99 school year."
Below you will find excerpts from various online resources. The excerpts here are given to help guide you to the information that best meets your needs. Please follow the links to webpages below to gain a more in-depth understanding. The excerpts are intended merely as a guide to a more complete source of information.
Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction's FUNCTIONAL BEHAVIORAL ASSESSMENT: a study guide:
This is a HTML version of DPI's MS Word Document. Some of the behavioral schematics and footnotes have been lost in this version. It is urged that those interested in this document download the original from the DPI website.
Sections Include:
How to Use the Study Guide
Acknowlegements
Preface
Overview
Data Collection
Developing Postive Behavioral Intervention Plans
Relating FBA's to IEP's
Cautions and Concerns
Center for Effective Collaboration and Practices: Functional Behavioral Assessment
Excerpt:
"Functional behavioral assessment is generally
considered to be a problem-solving process for addressing
student problem behavior. It relies on a variety of
techniques and strategies to identify the purposes of
specific behavior and to help IEP teams select interventions
to directly address the problem behavior. Functional
behavioral assessment should be integrated, as appropriate,
throughout the process of developing, reviewing, and, if
necessary, revising a student’s IEP"
Part I - An IEP Team’s Introduction To Functional
Behavioral Assessment And Behavior Intervention Plans
Part II - Conducting a Functional Behavioral Assessment
Part III - Creating Positive Behavioral Intervention Plans
and Supports
Multimodal Functional Behavioral Assessment
Excerpt:
"Multimodal FBA is "a new assessment process
that addresses the full complexity of children's problems.
Research indicates that as many as 50% of students with
Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) for a learning
disability have some form of internalizing or externalizing
behavior problem that impedes their learning or the learning
of others. It practically goes without saying that those with
emotional disabilities and many with mild mental retardation
exhibit challenging behaviors as well.
It appears that the intent of the law is to entice us as
educators to head off more serious behavior problems by
conducting a Functional Behavioral Assessment and
implementing sound interventions when challenging behaviors
first emerge. We support this assumption and further believe
that only through functional teamwork among the important
people in a child's life will his or her behavior actually
change."
Blank Functional Behavioral Assessment and Behavior
Intervention Plan Forms: http://mfba.net/forms.html
Examples of Completed FBA/BIP Forms: http://mfba.net/forms.html
Functional Behavioral Assessment: The Link Between Problem Behavior and Effective Intervention in Schools--College of Education--Arizona State University
Excerpt:
"An important current issue in education is the
mandate in the 1997 reauthorization of the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act (Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act Amendments of 1997) that schools must conduct a
functional behavioral assessment when a student's behavior
disrupts the educational environment. This article reviews
the literature on functional analysis and how it relates to
the legal mandate for functional behavioral assessment in
schools. Functional behavioral assessment is considered an
important and frequently missing link between topographical
descriptions of behavior and treatment planning. Problems
with existing functional behavioral assessment methodologies
include the complexity of data synthesis and treatment
selection. Also, existing efforts to define functional
behavioral assessment have not included sufficiently diverse
theoretical models for the causes of behavior or for
treatment. In contrast, we provide a definition of functional
behavioral assessment that includes proximal, distal,
physiological, and intrapsychic causes of problem behavior.
Based on this definition, a multimodal, team problem-solving
approach to conducting functional behavioral assessments and
developing behavior intervention plans in schools is
proposed. The proposed approach distributes complex decision
making across team members, includes multiple theoretical
perspectives, can be readily adopted by existing child study
teams, and is in compliance with the 1997 reauthorization of
the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act."
Introduction
Defining Functional Behavioral Assessment
P.L. 105-17 and Functional Behavioral Assessment
Implementation Issues with Functional Behavioral Assessment
Assumptions of a Multimodal Team Problem-Solving Approach
An Approach to Functional Behavioral Assessment Conclusion
Conclusion
Reference
Functional Behavioral Assessments: What, Why, When, Where, and Who? by Stephen Starin, Ph.D
Except:
"The recent amendments to IDEA are final. School
districts are now required to conduct functional behavioral
analyses of problem behaviors, under certain circumstances.
Unfortunately, IDEA does not provide specific guidelines
regarding the conduct of a functional behavioral assessment.
Each school district is left to its own devices when
interpreting the guidelines and may opt for lower quality
standards.
Below are my comments on conducting a functional behavioral
assessment (FBA). These comments are based upon my formal
training as a behavior analyst and over 20 years experience
working with children, adolescents, and adults with serious
problem behaviors. I've tried to avoid technical jargon for
ease of discussion."
Includes:
Types of Problem Behavior: "Problem
behavior typically falls into one or more of three
general categories:
(a) behavior that produces attention and other desired
events (e.g., access to toys, desired activities),
(b) behavior that allows the person to avoid or escape
demands or other undesired events/activities, and
(c) behavior that occurs because of its sensory
consequences (relieves pain, feels good, etc.)."
Systematic Manipulation of Environment:
"In some cases, however, direct observation does not
give a clear picture of the behavior’s functions and
systematically manipulating various environmental events
becomes necessary. The most common way of systematically
manipulating the environment is to put the person in
several different situations and carefully observe how
the behavior changes."
Except:
"A good Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP) can make a big difference in how a student with special needs acts and reacts in a school setting. However, getting the appropriate school personnel to do the necessary behavior analysis and put a plan together can be a frustratingly lengthy process. You may want to try proposing a behavior plan of your own -- particularly if you have a good relationship with your child study team, and your child's teachers are as frustrated by the delays as you are. At the very least, seeing behavior plans that others have put together can help you be an active participant in the planning process. Here are some examples of successful behavior plans -- and blank forms that some school districts use to make them."
