Functional behavioural assessment

(FBA) and challenging behaviours;

Supporting behaviour change for children with
Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD)

Dr Christos Nikopoulos BCBA-D, MBPsS, CSci, FHEA &

Dr Panagiota Nikopoulou-Smyrni MBCS, FHEA
(Brunel University, UK)

BILD Annual Conference 2013

 Structure of the Workshop

 Basics regarding autism and challenging

behaviours
 Indirect Assessment
 Direct Assessment
 Functional Analysis
 Concluding remarks / Summary
Diagnosis and Related Characteristics
Autism is one of the extensively and broadly discussed
disorders, and therefore a generally accepted definition is hard
to find. Thus, although there are many definitions of autism all
of them identify impaired ability for social interaction and
communication, and idiosyncratic behaviours and deficits.

Etymologically, autism derives from the Greek “auto” which

means “self ” and it is used to describe a pervasive
developmental disorder characterised by severe impairments in
several areas of development including reciprocal social
interaction skills, communication skills and the presence of
restricted, repetitive, and stereotyped patterns of behaviour,
interests and activities.
 Challenging behaviours
A common co-varying group of behaviours with autism are
challenging behaviours. These behaviours are problematic
in that they are physically dangerous and can impede
learning and access to normal activities. Additionally, they
require a considerable amount of resources, and compound
the difficulty in treating core symptoms.

A general definition of challenging behaviour may be:

“Culturally abnormal behaviour(s) of such an intensity,
frequency or duration that the physical safety of the person
or others is likely to be placed in serious jeopardy or
behaviour which is likely to seriously limit or deny access to
and use of ordinary community facilities” (Emerson 2001)
From a more practical „perspective‟, challenging behaviours
are challenging because they are highly resistant to change.
They tend to persist in children with ASD and serious
chronic problem behaviour can endanger a child‟s access to
educational and social opportunities. They are often
harmful to the people who exhibit them or to others, a
factor that substantially increases clinical concern.

In autism, challenging behaviours include: self-injury, physical

aggression, verbal aggression, non-compliance, disruption of
the environment, inappropriate vocalizations, stereotypies.
While challenging behaviours are not considered central to the
core features of autism, their presence can be a major
impediment to activities, socialisation and other learning
opportunities.
Undoubtedly, treatment of challenging behaviours or their
management during therapeutic sessions appears to be more
than essential. Refined methodologies such as functional
assessment help to empirically determine variables
maintaining the problem behaviours and to identify effective
reinforcers for individuals who need treatment. With this
information in hand, treatment procedures can be developed
which are more likely to be effective than they might be able
to do otherwise. Functional (Behavioural) Assessment is
based on the science of behaviour analysis; treatment
procedures derived from this science are nowadays the best
empirically validated ones.
 Functional Behavioural Assessment
Functional behavioural assessment (FBA) is a precise description of a
behaviour, its context, and its consequences, with the intent of better
understanding the behaviour and those factors influencing it.

The purpose of the FBA of behaviour is to determine which

contingencies maintain an individual‟s problem behaviour.

Approaches to assessment
1) Indirect Assessment
2) Direct Descriptive Assessment
3) Functional (Experimental) Analysis

These approaches differ in terms of the type of data collected and the
extent to which environmental events are merely observed or actually
manipulated during the course of assessment.
 1. Indirect assessment
A number of structured interviews and checklists have been
developed to solicit information about situations in which
problem behaviour occurs.
 Quick and easy, but data sources can be subjective.
 Interviews are based upon retrospective recall.
 Triangulating a number of different data sources
minimised these disadvantages.
 Goal is to identify which of the main antecedent and
consequence event in the environment are linked to
behaviour.
 To identify how the environment (not the individual)
should be changed to better ensure student success
(adaptive behaviour).
 1. Indirect assessment (cont)

 Areas of enquiry
 What are the problem behaviours?
 What events or physical conditions occurring well
before the behaviour appears to predict its occurrence?
 What events/situations occurring just before the
behaviour appears to predict its occurrence/non-
occurrence?
 What consequences appear to maintain the behaviour?
 What adaptive/appropriate behaviours might produce
the same consequences as the problem behaviour?
 What is the behaviour intervention history and what
does it tell us about the problem behaviour?
 1. Indirect assessment (cont)

Functional Assessment Interview

 Used to develop hypotheses or summary statements about the
distal and immediate antecedents, and the immediate or
contingent consequences related to the occurrence of a
challenging behaviour. It involves the following tasks:
i. Identify the target (problem) behaviour.
ii. Obtain information on the behaviour history.
iii. Identify the consequences of the target behaviour.
iv. Identify the replacement (more acceptable and adaptive)
behaviour.
v. Identify the consequences of the replacement behaviour.
vi. Identify antecedents for both target and replacement
behaviour.
An example /
Multimedia
 1. Indirect assessment (cont)

The primary advantage of indirect methods is their

simplicity and efficiency: assessment occurs during the
course of an interview and takes only a few minutes.
However, because the data consist solely of verbal report,
which can be inaccurate for a number of reasons, these
methods have been found to be unreliable (Sturmey, 1994).
Therefore, they should be used only as preliminary
information-gathering devices and should not serve as the
basis for developing intervention plans.
 1. Indirect assessment (cont.)

Rating Scales

 Analysis of Sensory Behavior Inventory – Revised [1994 by

Kimble Morton and Shiela Wolford].

 Communicative Behaviors Checklist [O‟Neil et al (1997).

Functional assessment and program development for problem behavior:
A practical handbook. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole].

 Problem Behavior Questionnaire [Lewis et al. (1994). The

problem behavior questionnaire: a teacher-based instrument to develop
functional hypotheses of problem behavior in general education setting.
Diagnostique, 19, 103-115].
Rating Scales (cont.)

 Motivational Assessment Scale [Durand, V. M., & Crimmins, D.

B. (1988). Identifying the variables maintaining self-injurious behavior.
Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 18, 99–117].
• 16-item questionnaire rated on a seven-point Likert-type scale.

 Functional Analysis Screening Tool [Iwata B. A. & DeLeon I. G.

(1995). The Functional Analysis Screening Tool (FAST). University of
Florida, FL].
• 16-item functional assessment tool designed to assess four functional
properties of a problem behaviour: (1) Social (attention ⁄ preferred
items), (2) Social (escape from tasks ⁄ activities), (3) Automatic (sensory
stimulation), (4) Automatic (pain attenuation).
Rating Scales (cont.)

 Questions About Behavioral Function Scale [Matson, J. L., &

Vollmer, T. R. (Eds.). (1995). User‟s guide: Questions About Behavioral
Function (QABF). Baton Rouge, LA: Scientific Publishers].
• 25-item questionnaire
• It includes five subscales (i.e., attention, escape, tangible, non-social,
and physical).
• It is scored on a 4-point Likert scale from 0 (never) to 3 (often).

 Functional Assessment for Multiple CausaliTy [Matson et al.

(2003). The development and factor structure of the Functional
Assessment for multiple causaliTy (FACT). Research in Developmental
Disabilities, 24, 485-495].
• It is scored on a 4-point Likert scale from 0 (never) to 3 (often).
• It uses a forced-choice question procedure .
• The subscales of the FACT (i.e., attention, escape, tangible, non-social,
and physical) are identical to the QABF.
 2. Direct Descriptive Assessment
This approach involves direct observation of behaviour and
the environmental situations in which it occurs (Bijou,
Peterson, & Ault, 1968).
The most common form of descriptive analysis is known as
A-B-C recording (A - antecedent, B - behaviour, C -
consequence), in which an observer enters data whenever
problem behaviour occurs: time and setting, problem
behaviour, and events occurring immediately prior to and
following the target behaviour.
Antecedents are the environmental events immediately preceding
the behaviour while the environmental events immediately
following the behaviour are called the consequences.
An example /
Multimedia
 An example of a Scatter Plot*
Client_________ Starting Date__________

 No present  Low Frequency  High Frequency

9.00am

10.00am

11.00am

12.00pm

1.00pm

2.00pm

3.00pm

4.00pm

5.00pm

6.00pm

7.00pm

8.00pm

9.00pm

Based on Touchette et al (1985). A scatter plot for identifying stimulus control of problem behaviour.
Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 18, 343-351.
 2. Direct Descriptive Assessment (cont)

Because the descriptive analysis is based on direct

observation rather than on informant recall, it is far superior
to the indirect approach and is perhaps the most frequently
used method of assessment.

Limitations
● it does not allow control over the environmental contexts
in which behaviour occurs;
● the occurrence of problem behaviour may be related to
multiple events; and
● the data may not reveal relationships between behaviour
and intermittent sources of reinforcement that result in
low conditional probabilities.
 3. Functional (Experimental) Analysis
When descriptive analysis yields ambiguous results, a
functional analysis may be conducted to allow systematic
introduction and removal of environmental events during
predefined test and control conditions.

A VIDEO
 What are the goals of functional analysis?

a) Define the problem behaviour

b) Identify possible causes of behaviour
c) Predict when the problem behaviour will occur
d) Design effective treatment programmes

a) Define the problem behaviour

One of the first and most important steps when planning to
assess and treat someone‟s problem behaviour is to objectively
and specifically define that behaviour. A well-defined behaviour
is important so the behaviour can be reliably or consistently
observed and treatment can be administered as intended.
b) Identify possible causes of behaviour
General categories of causes include: (i) positive reinforcement
or events, objects or sensory stimuli that, when they immediately
follow a behaviour, result in an increase in rate of the behaviour
(automatic reinforcement is included which refers to the
occasions when the behaviour can be maintained by consequences
delivered via the behaviour itself) and (ii) negative reinforcement or
stimuli or events (e.g., demands, tasks, internal stimulation,
attention) that, when removed immediately after a behaviour,
increase its rate. The function matrix is a useful tool for identifying
the possible causes or the ways that a behaviour was reinforced.
 Using the Function Matrix

There are only two ways that a behaviour is reinforced (i.e.,

through positive reinforcement or negative reinforcement). To
decide whether positive or negative reinforcement maintains the
behaviour, we simply ask whether the behaviour (a) allows access
to something (positive reinforcement) or (b) allows escape from
something (negative reinforcement).
The next thing you need to know is the something.
We can divide all reinforcers into three simple (main) categories:
(a) attention,
(b) tangibles and/or activities, and
(c) sensory (e.g., warmth, touch, pleasant sounds or avoid pain,
discomfort, noise etc).
 Using the Function Matrix (cont.)

The Function
Because there are two functions of behaviour and three types of
reinforcers, there are six unique possibilities you might identify:
1. Positive reinforcement (access) - attention
2. Negative reinforcement (escape/avoid) - attention
3. Positive reinforcement (access) - tangibles/activities
4. Negative reinforcement (escape/avoid) - tangibles/activities
5. Positive reinforcement (access) - sensory stimulation
6. Negative reinforcement (escape/avoid) - sensory stimulation
 Using the Function Matrix (cont.)

The Function Matrix

The „Function Matrix‟ presents the principles necessary to
determine function as part of a grid that has three columns and
four rows.

Positive Reinforcement Negative Reinforcement

(Access Something) (Avoid Something)
Attention

Tangibles/
Activities
Sensory
 Using the Function Matrix (cont.)

The Function Matrix - A more analytical description

This example demonstrates how the grid design of the Function
Matrix results in the six combinations of functions and reinforcers
Positive Reinforcement Negative
(Access Something) Reinforcement (Avoid
Something)
Attention Positive Negative
Reinforcement— Reinforcement—
Attention Attention
Tangibles/ Positive Negative
Activities Reinforcement— Reinforcement—
Tangibles/Activities Tangibles/Activities

Sensory Positive Negative

Reinforcement— Reinforcement—
Sensory Stimulation Sensory Stimulation
 Using the Function Matrix (cont.)
Aside from simply using one of the previous six phrases to describe
function of the target behaviour, you should also create a statement
of function that clearly communicates the function of the target
behaviour.
Writing a Statement of Function - Purpose of the Statement of
Function
The goal of writing a statement of function is twofold: (a) to provide
information relevant to making effective intervention decisions, and
(b) to clearly communicate the function of the behaviour to other
persons in crafting and implementing the intervention.

To meet these needs, the statement of function should include (a) the
antecedent, (b) the person, (c) the target behaviour, (d) the
function(s) of the behaviour, and (e) any brief additional information
that may aid other professionals in understanding the statement.
 EXERCISE
Using the Function Matrix - Multiple Functions

Function Matrix for Charlie

Positive Reinforcement Negative Reinforcement
(Access Something) (Avoid Something)
Attention

Tangibles/
Activities
Sensory
 EXERCISE
Using the Function Matrix - Multiple Functions

Function statements for Charlie

c) Predict when the problem behaviour will occur
Information gathered from functional analysis may allow prediction
of the circumstances under which the problem behaviour is likely to
happen and alter them in some way to decrease the likelihood of the
problem behaviour.

d. Design effective treatment programmes

Consideration of the possible causal variables for the problem
behaviour is important for the selection of effective treatment.
Treatment will vary depending on the functional hypothesis or reason
for the problem behaviour.

If one could specify which aspects of a procedure led to more problem

behaviour, one should then be able to change the procedure so as to
effect a reduction in problem behaviour.
 3. Functional Analysis (cont.)
Advantages:
 It is the only approach to assessment that identifies cause –
effect relations.
 Its flexibility allows one to examine the influence of numerous
and potentially subtle variables on behaviour
Limitations:
 It is the most complex form of assessment, requiring therapists to
maintain a high degree of consistency in implementing
assessment conditions.
 The procedure can be time consuming and sometimes arranging
the different situations can be difficult (e.g., in a classroom with
many students).
 When the problem is multiply determined or low rates of
occurrence of the problem behaviour exist, then interpretation of
the results of a functional analysis may also be difficult.
 Functional analysis in action

Typical conditions in which levels of the problem behavior can

be measured and compared include:

(a) attention condition wherein reprimands (e.g., “No, don‟t

do that”) are delivered after each problem behaviour;
(b) tangible condition wherein a preferred object (e.g., toy,
food) that is out-of-reach is given to the child following
each problem behaviour;
(c) demand condition wherein a task is presented and
following instances of the problem behaviour it is removed
for a brief period;
 Functional analysis in action (cont.)

(d) play condition wherein toys are provided, the

therapist interacts positively with the child and any
instances of the problem behaviour are ignored; and

(e) alone condition wherein the child is placed in a therapy

room alone with no toys available. The alone and play
conditions are typically used as a control or comparison
conditions with the other conditions (i.e., demand,
tangible, attention). These conditions can be conducted
in a laboratory situation (analogue) or in the situation
where the child‟s problem behaviour naturally occurs
(e.g., classroom, home).
An example /
Multimedia
 Summary

 A functional behavioural assessment (FBA) is a precise

description of a behaviour, its context, and its consequences,
with the intent of better understanding the behaviour and
those factors influencing it. Its purpose is to determine which
contingencies maintain an individual‟s problem behaviour.

 Approaches to assessment
1) Indirect Assessment (e.g., behavioural interview, checklists,
rating scales etc.)
2) Direct Descriptive Assessment (A-B-C recording)
3) Functional (Experimental) Analysis
 Summary (cont.)

 The functions of many problem behaviours (e.g., aggression

and self-injurious behaviours), can be grouped into two main
categories; positive reinforcement (including automatic
reinforcement) and negative reinforcement.
 Among the positive reinforcers that may be responsible for
increasing an individual‟s problem behaviour can be negative
attention, preferred tangibles, and sensory stimulation.

 Negative reinforcers may include escape from difficult work,

certain situations (e.g., crowds, noise), or a certain level of
stimulation (e.g., too hot, hungry, or boring).
 Suggested introductory reading

Cooper, J.O., Heron, Martin, G., & Pear, J. Sturmey, P. (2007).

T.E., & Heward, W.L. (2006). Behavior Functional Analysis
(2006). Applied behavior modification. What it is in Clinical
analysis. (2nd ed). New and how to do it. (9th ed). Treatment. New
York: Macmillan. Upper Saddle River, NJ: York: Academic
Prentice-Hall, Inc. Press.
Umbreit, J., Ferro, L.,
Nikopoulos, C.K., & Keenan,
Liaupsin, C.J., & Lane, K.L.
M. (2006). Video modelling
(2007). Functional Behavioral
Assessment and Function- and behaviour analysis: A
Based Intervention: An guide for teaching social skills
Effective, Practical to children with autism.
London: Jessica Kingsley
Approach. New Jersey:
Publishers.
Pearson Prentice Hall.
 Dr Christos Nikopoulos
[email protected]

Dr Panagiota Nikopoulou-Smyrni
[email protected]

BILD Annual Conference 2013