Unit 6 Flashcards
Steps in the General Process for Decreasing Problem Behavior
- Identify & define target bxs to decrease & increase from interview & observation
- Conduct functional assessment & develop hypotheses about the antecedents & consequences
- Initiate data collection (Baseline) - Develop & implement treatment based on hypothesis
- Evaluate effectiveness & implementation fidelity
Evaluating Treatment Effectiveness and Implementation
- Treatment is effective: Promote maintenance & generalization
- Treatment is not effective &:
- Is NOT being carried out correctly: Retrain change agents, provide more support, adjust components, promote buy-in
- IS being carried out correctly: Return functional assessment
A BCBA is working with a child who engages in hand biting. After a functional assessment, she hypothesized that the behavior is maintained by access to food. What is the next step in the process?
-Develop a plan based on the hypothesis
What is the next step after determining that the treatment plan is effective?
-Promote generalization and maintenance
Functional Assessment Purpose
- Identify functional relations btw problem bx & environmental events
- Focus on:
- Antecedents that evoke prob bx
- Consequences that reinforce the prob bx
Functional Assessment Purpose (Con…t)
- Guide treatment development
- Eliminate the functional relation btw problem bx & the maintaining consequence
- Arrange alternative means for providing access to the relevant reinforcers
- Eliminate treatment options unlikely to be effective
Functional Analysis Characteristics
- Assumes that the supporting functional relation was developed in the individual’s history
- Direct manipulation of environmental variables
- Conditions designed to simulate hypothetical circumstances that support problem bx
Functional Analysis Characteristics (Con…t)
- Uses a test-control methodology to compare levels of prob bx under test & control conditions
- Test conditions that condition relevant antecedents & consequences
- Control condition (standard or uniquely arranged) devoid of those variables
- Uses single-case experimental designs
Reasons for conducting a Functional assessment?
- To identify antecedents likely to Evoke Problem Bx
- To identity consequences likely reinforcing problem Bx
- To guide the development of treatment
The goal of a functional analysis is to recreate contingencies that are suspected of maintaining problem behavior in the natural environment
a. True
b. False
a. True
Deciding to Conduct a Functional Analysis
-Some ques to consider:
- What is the benefit of conducting an FA? What if the utility?
- Are there advantages to conducting an FA over another method?
- Why are ppl reluctant to conduct a functional analysis?
Impact of Functional Assessment
- Kahng ti al. (2002): Examined 396 cases of self-injury in developmental disabilities in published literature:
- Compared effectiveness (% reduction from BL levels) for several interventions including reinforcement, extinction & Rx plus extinction
- Compared mean reductions when interventions were not preceded by a functional assessment
Impact of Functional Assessment: Extinction (con…t)
- Functional assessment NOT conducted prior to treatment (2 cases): Avg 47% reduction in self-injurious Bc
- Functional assessment conducted prior to treatment (24 cases): Avg 85.6% reduction in self-injurious Bx
Impact of Functional Assessment: Reinforcement (Con…t)
- Functional assessment NOT conducted prior to treatment (92 cases): Avg 61.6% reduction in self-injurious bx
- Functional assessment conducted prior to trt (103 cases): Avg 83.5% reduction in self-injurious Bx
Impact of Functional Assessment: Reinforcement Plus Ext. (con…t)
- Functional assessment NOT conducted prior to trt (5 cases): Avg 47.5% reduction in self-injurious bx
- Functional assessment conducted prior to trt (31 cases): Avg 82.3% reduction in self-injurious Bx
Impact of Functional Assessment
- General changes in the approach to the trt of problem Bx have occurred since the development & extensive use of functional assessment
- Formal & legal adoption (e.g. IDEA 1997, 2004)
Explain why treatment might be more effective if we conduct a functional assessment prior to implementation:
“When we determine maintaining variables through a functional assessment, we are more likely to use function-based interventions, which are more successful at reducing problem behavior.”
Notes on Terminology: Functional Assessment
- Procedures designing to measure level of “functioning” (e.g., VB-MAPP)
- In treatment of Prob Bx:
- Any method used to identify controlling variables
- Includes indirect & descriptive assessment & functional analysis
Notes on Terminology
Functional Analysis
*Technically any direct direct manipulation designed to understand a causal relation btw an environmental independent variable & a behavioral dependent variable
Notes on Terminology: Functional Analysis (Con…t)
- In the context of treating problem Bx:
- Hypothesized maintaining variables are actively manipulated during test & control conditions
- “Analog” and “experimental”
- A process, NOT a procedure
A functional assessment that identifies the antecedents that evoke self-injury and the consequences that maintain self-injury is assessing:
a. Skill acquisition
b. Problem bx
c. Verbal behavior
d. All of these
-Problem Behavior
A functional assessment that identifies an individual’s current behavioral repertoire as well as deficits is assessing:
a. Skill acquisition
b. Problem bx
c. Verbal behavior
d. All of these
a. Skill acquisition
A functional ______ is any method used to identify maintaining variables, while a functional _______ is a process of manipulating environmental variables to identify the relation between behavior and the environment.
- Assessment
- Analysis
A functional analysis can be used to identify the functional relation between the environment and any behavior, even if the behavior is not considered problematic.
-True