Functional behavior assessment is a variation in the methods originally developed to determine the reason why individuals with certain disabilities behave in a bad way. These procedures are mostly derived from applied behavior analysis . By conducting experiments and gathering data on the environment surrounding the student, concerned staff members can usually decipher the meaning of ill behavior. After the purpose of the ill behavior is determined , a plan can be made to help the learner understand and overcome why they behave the way they do.
Why is this needed?
The functional behavior assessment steps and development rose out of the need to help counter a learner’s challenging behavior. Once a plan is made to aid the child in question, it’s used throughout his or her learning experience in the school system. The process is very useful in understanding how environment relates to individuals and of course aids greatly in driving their energy to more constructive purposes.
Functional Behavior Assessment Process.
The first step is determining the team to aid the boy or girl in question. This team is usually made up of those who know the student and professionals appointed to help him or her. This often means family and teachers who want nothing but the best for the student in question. These people will often know the students learning style quite well. After this step in the method this leads into identification of disruptive behavior. Repeat incidences are targeted and focused on the most in trying to determine why the learner acts the way he or she does.
Once the problem is scrutinized the team moves to the gathering of data. Examining the learners records and interviewing family and teachers are quite helpful with this. Interviewing the child in question can also yield some interesting results along with behavioral studies.
At this point of the process , there is the development of the hypotheses statement. This statement will be determined by the previous identification of the problem behavior and understanding of the previous steps. This leads us to the testing of the hypothesis, in order to test to see if the developed hypothesis is the true cause of disruptive behavior. And now that it’s pinpointed there is the sixth step the developing of intervention.
The final step of course is of careful monitoring to ensure the intervention plan works. If something happens and it appears the plan isn’t working, the behavior assessment steps can be reworked easily.