Perspectives on Functional (Behavioral) Assessment

Abstract

In the early 1990s, our group at the University of South Florida initiated a series of studies designed to develop, evaluate, and demonstrate a function-based approach to school-based interventions for the problem behaviors of elementary students with severe emotional and behavioral disorders. Our first step into this research topic was an intensive case study with a 12-year-old girl, "Jill," who had multiple disability labels, including severe emotional disturbance, and whose behavioral challenges had proven resistant to the best efforts of leading experts in numerous fields including neurology, behavioral psychology, psychiatry, applied behavior analysis, and school psychology. The strategy we adopted was just beginning to gain acceptance among behavior analysts working in the area of severe developmental disabilities, as well as the emerging approach known as positive behavior support (Horner et al., 1990), but it had not yet earned recognition in the field of emotional and behavioral disorders. The strategy entailed a process of five steps: (a) descriptive data collection including interviews and direct observations intended to reveal environmental variables associated with especially high and low rates of a target behavior; (b) formulation of hypothesis statements to describe the observed relations between these variables and the designated behavior; (c) direct testing of the hypotheses using experimental methods (ABAB designs) to confirm, reject, and, perhaps, refine the hypotheses (a procedure known as functional analysis); (d) developing and implementing an intervention plan based on the hypotheses; and (e) evaluating the effects of the intervention through systematic direct observations. The case study of "Jill" followed this sequence. After weeks of data collection, four hypotheses were developed and then tested over a 4-day period. The intervention involved several revisions to Jill's curriculum, and it resulted in an elimination of her serious behavior problems and increases in on-task behavior that maintained over the school year. This study (Dunlap, Kern-Dunlap, Clarke, & Robbins, 1991) was the inspiration for the subsequent years of research we conducted on functional assessment and assessment-based intervention with children described as having serious emotional and behavioral disorders. With the support of research grants from the U.S.

Effectiveness of Specific Techniques in Behavioral Teacher Training for Childhood ADHD: A Randomized Controlled Microtrial

“…ADHD = attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder; CEQ = Credibility/Expectancy Questionnaire; IRS = Impairment Rating Scale; ODD = oppositional defiant disorder; RSES = Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale; STRS = Student-Teacher Relationship Scale; TSES = Teachers' Sense of Efficacy Scale; TTI = Teacher Telephone Interview. (Chronis et al, 2004;Dunlap & Kern, 2018;Ervin et al, 2000;Harrison et al, 2019;Miller & Lee, 2013;Pfiffner et al, 2006). Further, the short and focused nature of our intervention may have added to large effect sizes.…”

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorders and Classroom-Based Interventions: Evidence-Based Status, Effectiveness, and Moderators of Effects in Single-Case Design Research

“…FBA is the process of collecting data to evaluate the relations between events in the environment and specific behaviors (Dunlap & Kern, 2018) and is conducted as a first step to developing behavior intervention plans based on the function of the targeted behavior (Drasgow, Yell, Bradley, & Shriner, 1999). For more than two decades, SCD studies with researchers conducting the FBA have found strong effects when interventions were selected based on the identified function (Crone, Hawken, & Bergstrom, 2007;Dunlap, Kern-Dunlap, Clarke, & Robbins, 1991).…”

“…Given the variability of behavioral interventions with this population, more research is needed to determine if these results are replicable and generalizable. Furthermore, as recommended by Dunlap and Kern (2018), experts need to evaluate methods for making the FBA process more efficient, feasible, and acceptable for educator implementation.…”

Results of Practice-Based Professional Development for Supporting Special Educators in Learning How to Design Functional Assessment–Based Interventions

“…There is emerging evidence demonstrating that teachers can improve their classroom management practices through structured consultative approaches and applied practices embedded into more traditional in-service PD (Codding, Livanis, Pace, & Vaca, 2008). Yet, few studies have examined methods to systematically train educators how to implement functional approaches to assessment and intervention (Conroy, Alter, & Scott, 2009; Dunlap & Kern, 2018; Umbreit, Ferro, Liaupsin, & Lane, 2007).…”