| Does your child with autism, ADHD, or another | | | | Appropriate steps for conducting a FBA: |
| disability, have problems with negative school | | | | 1. Identify the problem behaviors that most need |
| behavior? Have you driven yourself crazy trying | | | | to change. Isolate them and describe them in |
| to figure out why your child is behaving badly? | | | | concrete terms. |
| You can relax, this article will discuss a process | | | | 2. Determine where the behavior occurs and |
| which is known as a functional behavioral | | | | where it does not. |
| assessment (FBA) that can help you figure out | | | | 3. Identify what may contribute to the behavior. |
| what your child is gaining from their school | | | | Is the child ill, are the child's academics too hard, |
| behavior. You can use this information to develop | | | | avoidance of something, attention getting etc. |
| a positive behavioral plan, and increase your child's | | | | 4. What is unique, about the environments where |
| good behavior. | | | | behaviors are not a concern. |
| Before special education personnel can conduct | | | | 5. What is different, in the places where the |
| the FBA on your child, they must pinpoint what | | | | problem behaviors do occur. |
| the behavior is and describe it in concrete terms. | | | | 6. Is the work that a child is asked to do cause |
| For Example: Mary hits other children when she | | | | the problem. |
| cannot be first in line. | | | | 7. Could the time of day affect your child's |
| Next you must determine what the ABC's of a | | | | behavior. |
| specific behavior are. A stands for Antecedent; | | | | 8. Is the problem linked to a skill deficit? |
| what is occurring in the environment at the time | | | | 9. Come up with a list of new positive behaviors |
| of the behavior. B stands for the specific | | | | that can be taught to the child, that have the |
| behavior. C stands for the consequence of the | | | | same function as the negative behaviors. |
| behavior;what happens in the environment or to | | | | 10.Develop a theory about why the behavior is |
| the child because of the behavior. Have special | | | | occurring! Some people call this a hypothesis, |
| education personnel track the ABC's of the | | | | about why the behavior is happening. |
| behavior for one week. This information can be | | | | 11.Test your theory. Develop a positive behavioral |
| used to develop the FBA. | | | | plan and track to see if your child's behavior is |
| Now special education personnel are ready to | | | | improving. |
| conduct the functional behavioral assessment, on | | | | 12.Occasionally meet with school personnel and |
| your child. The definition of an FBA is: A process | | | | evaluate whether the positive behavior plan |
| for collection of information. The data the team | | | | continues to be effective, or if the plan needs to |
| collects is used to help determine why problem | | | | be updated. |
| behaviors occur. | | | | By following these steps in conducting the |
| Once you determine why the problem behavior | | | | functional behavioral assessment, you will finally |
| occurs, the information from the functional | | | | understand what your child is gaining, from the |
| behavioral assessment will be used to develop a | | | | negative school behavior. After you and special |
| positive behavioral plan. A positive behavioral plan | | | | education personnel develop a positive behavioral |
| is not punishment for negative behavior, but a | | | | plan, your child will be well on their way to |
| plan to increase positive behavior, which will in turn | | | | improving their school behavior. |
| decrease negative behavior. | | | | |