04. Assessments Flashcards
Punisher Assessments
Measuring negative verbalizations, avoidance movements, escape attempts (use this data to develop hypotheses on the effectiveness of each stimulus change as a punisher).
4 Phases of Intervention (A PIE)
Assessment
Planning
Implementation
Evaluation
Assessment
A systematic method for obtaining information about the function challenging behaviors serve for an individual (allows to make empirically based hypotheses for why behaviors occur)
Purpose of Assessments
Guides us to create effective and positive interventions
Ethics Warning: Assessments (4)
- You have to choose the right behaviors for assessment, so you need to know what is socially significant and to be able to prioritize.
- Be skilled at conducting Assessments
- Accept clients only those whose behaviors or requested services are commensurate with your education, training, and experience
- GET WRITTEN CONSENT
5 Phases of Assessment
- Screening and general depositon
- Defining and quantifying problems or desired achievement criteria
- Pinpointing target behaviors to treat
- Monitoring progress
- Follow-up
Indirect Measures
Data obtained from recollections, reconstructions, or subjective ratings of events (interviews, checklists, not as reliable)
Direct Measures
Provide information about a person’s behavior as it occurs (direct observation, tests, preferred choice)
4 Ways to Acquire Information for Assessment (COIT)
Checklists
Observations
Interviews
Tests
Checklists
Asks about antecedents and consequences of the target behavior (Child Behavior Checklist, Adaptive Behavior Scale)
Observation
Should be direct observation in the client’s natural environment (20-30 min repeated) while the observer takes anecdotal data (ABC recording of the behaviors that occur.
Interviews
First step in identifying list of behaviors which can be used later in direct observation (can interview both the individual and significant others)
Tests (Standardized Tests)
Consistent administration is key, most standardized tests do not work well with functional behavior assessments because results are not translates directly into target behaviors.
Reviewing Data
Review all records and available data (Indirect FBA)
Ethics Warning: Assessment Considerations
- Rule out Medical concerns for problem behaviors (Recommend client seek medical consultation)
Ethics Warning: Language
When speaking with others, try to use user-friendly language.
Preliminary Assessments
An indirect assessment to start your identification and hypothesis process (info is gathered via interviews, rating scales, screening forms, etc.)
Ethics Warning: Collaboration
It is your role to initiate and maintain the collaboration so that they will consistently and correctly implement the plan
Ethics Warning: Selecting Intervention (3)
- Get to know the physical, material, and human resources in the family or organization
- Learn about the value and concerns of each key stakeholder.
- Be aware of environmental and resource constraints
Ethics Warning: Environmental Changes
Sometimes simply changing the environment is enough (instead of a complex treatment plan)
Ecological Assessment
Includes information about physiological conditions, physical settings. interactions with others, home, etc. (costly)
Reactivity
The effects of the assessment process on the behavior being assessed
Reducing Reactivity
- Be as unobtrusive as possible
- Repeat observation until reactive effects subside
- Take effects into account when interpreting your data
Ethics Warning: Socially Significant Behaviors
It is not okay to change a behavior for the benefit of others of because you want to (only improve life of the client)
Habilitation
Occurs when a person’s repertoire has been changed such that short and long-term reinforcers are maxed and punishers are minimized
10 Questions about Habilitation
- Is this behavior likely to produce reinforcement in the natural environment?
- Is it a prerequisite for a more complex functional skill?
- Will this behavior increase access to environments?
- Will changing this behavior predispose others to interact with him more supportively?
- Is this behavior a pivotal behavior or a behavior cusp?
- Is this an age-appropriate behavior?
- Is there a replacement behavior available for the reduced behavior?
- Does the behavior represent the actual goal or indirectly related?
- Is this a real behavior of interest?
- Will this behavior help achieve the goal? (losing weight)
Normalization
The believe that people with disabilities should be physically and socially integrated into mainstream society regardless of the degree or type of disability to the max extent
Behavior Cusps
Behaviors that open a person’s world to new contingencies (not the same as pre-requisites)
Pivotal Behaviors
A behavior that, once learned, produces corresponding modifications or covariations in other adaptive untrained behaviors.
Generative Learning
Enhancing comprehension of new material due to previous learning
Prioritizing Target Behaviors
- Threat to health or safety of client or others
- Frequency, Opportunities to use new behaviors versus occurrences of problem behaviors
- Chronic problem should come first before new problem
- Potential for higher rates of reinforcement
- Relative importance to future skill development and independence
- Reduction of negative attention from others
- Reinforcement from significant others
8: Likelihood of success
9 Cost-Benefit Ratio to change behavior
4 Functions of Behavior (SEAT)
Sensory
Escape
Attention
Tangible
Default Technologies
Coercive punishment-based interventions often selected arbitrarily
Functional Analysis
Only FBA method that allows you to confirm hypothesis regarding functional relations between behaviors and environment events (gold standard)