Functional Assessment & Functional Analysis
At a recent support group for parents of children with autism, five mothers and two fathers spent time discussing their children’s problem behaviors. All of the parents questioned what behaviors were “because of the autism” and what behaviors were typical of children their age. These parents shared their stories about when the behavior occurred, what might have set off the problem, and the aftermath. One parent told of the following episode. Mandy said, “We were at my four-year- old nephew’s party and there was so much noise. My sister had about twenty kids running all over her house. David was actually doing pretty well. I thought it was going to be a rough day for him so I brought some of his favorite toys. After being there for about two hours, it was time to sing “Happy Birthday.” Well, David just couldn’t hold on any longer. He ran over to my husband and covered his ears as he screamed at the top of his lungs. People couldn’t really hear him during the song but, ooohh, did they get an earful once the song was over. We had to bring him into another room to calm him down. We talked to him softly and reminded him that his favorite toys were nearby. I know we gave him a lot of attention for screaming but we didn’t have too many other options given the situation. Luckily, my sister and her friends know David and the party continued during our little episode. I wonder how he’s going to do at my friend’s daughter’s party next month.” The great news is that this parent remembered so much information about the situation. She could use this information to figure out how to make it better for the next time. First, behavior analysts find out why the problem behavior is happening by
writing down what happened before and after the behavior. Events that occur well before the behavior include a full night’s sleep, medication, diet, and interactions with others. These are formally known as setting events. It makes sense that setting events change the likelihood of a behavior occurring. Behavior analysts also write down the antecedents and the consequences of the behavior. This is called ABC data because information is collected on the antecedents (A), behaviors (B), and consequences (C). Second, they review many ABC episodes individually and together to look for a pattern. Third, they use that pattern to predict when the behavior is likely and unlikely to happen. Next, they take an educated guess about what is reinforcing or maintaining the behavior. This is called the function of the behavior, the purpose the behavior serves, or how the person communicates his wants and needs through this behavior. Lastly, they use this information to change the setting events, antecedents, and consequences. By doing so, we carefully encourage and reinforce appropriate behavior more often than the problem behavior. While some of this initially takes more work, the end results are often great. Going back to the birthday party example, Mandy noted some things that happened before and after David screamed. With the guidance of a behavior analyst, she wrote this information down so they could look at it together. The above information told Mandy a number of things about David’s behavior and how she might go about decreasing it. First, David was provided with attention from one or both parents following all three screaming episodes. Second, all episodes of the behavior were very intense. When
36
ABA Principles & Methods
Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs