Objective The use of psychotropic medication to address challenging behavior in individuals diagnosed with intellectual disabilities is common practice; however, very few studies have examined how multiple medication use (or combination treatment) impacts the behaviors these medications are prescribed to treat. Method The current study followed eight individuals over a two-year period as they experienced changes in their psychotropic medication regimens. During that time, data from functional analyses and indirect assessments of challenging behavior were collected. Results The results suggest that changes in psychotropic medication regimens can produce changes in functional assessment outcomes, suggesting a need for continued behavioral assessment to better inform medication practices and behavioral treatment. Of the eight participants in the study, five participants’ behaviors varied in rate of responding in FAs across all medication changes. Additionally, three participants’ FAs produced changes in outcomes; however, those changes were not consistent across all medication changes, that is, not every medication change yielded different outcomes from previous assessments. Conclusion This study demonstrates how the outcome of an FA can be used to monitor the effects of psychotropic medication changes, specifically when medications are combined, on challenging behavior in individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Psychotropic medications are often prescribed to reduce challenging behavior in individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Functional analyses (FAs) have demonstrated utility in assessing medication impact on behavior; however, the impact of adverse side effects (ASE) on challenging behavior is under-assessed. The purpose of this study was to develop a methodology, similar to FAs, to explore potential medication ASE impact on challenging behavior in seven individuals with IDD. Results revealed response rate differences in designed ASE conditions for most participants. Outcomes support further development and use of this methodology to assess the presence and impact of ASEs.

A diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and stereotypy engagement is associated with reduced physical activity (PA). Beyond health benefits, researchers have also reported decreases in stereotypy and corresponding increases in on‐task behavior in individuals with ASD following PA. However, the duration of reported PA varies among studies examining these effects and the persistence of any effect is not well understood. Furthermore, no previous study examining these effects has reported difficulty evoking adequate durations of PA. The purposes of this study were to (1) develop an intervention to increase PA engagement, (2) analyze changes in stereotypy and on‐task behavior following PA, and (3) assess persistence of changes as a function of PA duration. Four participants with ASD were observed for 10 min before, between 1 and 15 min during, and 30 min following PA. Results demonstrated that some duration of PA decreased stereotypy and increased on‐task behavior for most participants.

Indirect and direct assessments are widely used to measure the function of challenging behaviors of children in clinical settings. The current study involved comparing results from indirect assessments in identifying the functions of challenging behaviors of 24 children, i.e., Questions About Behavior Function (Paclawskyj, Matson, Rush, Smalls, & Vollmer, 2000), the Motivation Assessment Scale (Durand & Crimmins, 1992), the Functional Assessment Interview (O’Neil et al., 1997; Alter, Conroy, Mancil, & Haydon, 2008) and brief functional analyses (BFAs; Northup et al., 1991). The results revealed inconsistencies in agreement between the indirect assessments and the BFA results; however, indirect assessments were equally comparable in identifying automatic function of behavior.