Assignment Details
As a practicing independent Behavior Analyst, you have received an email from a staff member representing a provider of education and/or human services requesting your services. Specifically, this staff member has asked you to meet with other staff and/or administrators to develop a behavior intervention plan for a third grade student at a local elementary school. This student is demonstrating significant problem behaviors in the form of disruptive behaviors in his classroom and in other settings within the school (lunch, recess, specials, etc.). Disruptive behaviors have been termed “aggressive” and “non-compliant” by school staff.
Please detail responses to the following:
Specify the referral problem. Be creative and describe the type of provider that has requested your services, the client, and provide operational definitions for the problem behaviors indicated in the scenario.
In a script or narrative format, provide information to the members of the “planning” meeting including the following:
- Describe the specific purposes of a Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA) and discuss why conducting the FBA prior to the development of a behavior intervention plan is important.
- Describe, in specific detail, how Antecedent stimuli and conditions could be potentially important for the assessment of the target behaviors in the scenario. Please include discussion of the influence of Discriminative Stimuli and Motivating Operations in triggering the target behaviors.
- Describe, in specific detail, how Consequence stimuli and conditions could be potentially important for the assessment of the target behaviors. Be sure to indicate the influences of Positive Reinforcement, Negative Reinforcement, and Automatic Reinforcement in maintaining the target behaviors.
- Describe three (3) Indirect Functional Assessment procedures that you may be implementing during the process of the Functional Behavioral Assessment. Be sure to specify how they will be used and what the purpose of each tool is.
- Describe three (3) Direct Descriptive Assessment procedures you may be implementing during the process of the Functional Behavioral Assessment. Be sure to specify how they will be used and what the purpose of each tool is.
- Describe, in specific detail, at least two (2) ethical obligations and/or concerns that would be necessary to address within the current case scenario. (You may use either or both APA and BACB guidelines as reference).
Tips for developing your responses:
The staff that you are presenting to think that, as a Behavior Analyst, you will be able to develop a behavior plan on the spot during this meeting that is both easy to administer and effective at modifying the behavior of the client in question. The staff clearly knows nothing about behavioral assessment processes. It is your job to assist them in understanding the process of Functional Behavioral Assessment and its necessity before any interventions can be developed and implemented.
Be sure to discuss antecedent stimuli and consequence stimuli based on the function (purpose) that the target (problem) behavior serves and not the choice of intervention. The goal is to identify variables that are related to the occurrence of the problem behavior, not to develop an intervention.
Be mindful of making solid choices of the procedures you will be highlighting based on the scenario presented as well as a rationale for your choices.
Indirect Assessment Tools / Procedures (Unit 6):
The Functional Behavioral Assessment Screening Form
The Behavioral Stream Interview
The Antecedent Variables Assessment Form
The Individual Variables Assessment Form
The Consequence Variables Assessment Form
Directive Descriptive Tools / Procedures (Unit 7):
Task Difficulty Antecedent Analysis Form
The Conditional Probability Record
The Functional Behavioral Assessment Form
Interval Recording Procedures
Task Analysis Recording Procedure
Project Assignment Guidelines
- Assignment should be a minimum of 3-5 pages not including the title and reference pages.
- Use APA Format.
- Utilize the readings and other course material from Units 4-7.
- If you feel you must find outside resources for assistance, please utilize academically legitimate resources. (DO NOT use websites and Wiki’s that are not peer-reviewed)
- DO NOT focus on the use of diagnoses or labels.
- Be specific and detailed; do not just list items and facts.
- You may take creative license and add to the scenario by fleshing out the student’s history or presenting problems if you choose.
References
Steege, M. W., & Watson, T. S. (2009). Conducting school-based functional behavioral assessments: A practitioner’s guide (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
Chapter 1: “Introduction to Functional Behavioral Assessment”
Chapter 2: “Genesis of Functional Behavioral Assessment”
Chapter 3: “Legal Aspects of Functional Behavioral Assessment”
Chapter 4: “Basic Principles of Functional Behavioral Assessment”
Chapter 5: “Key Elements of Functional Behavioral Assessment”
Chapter 6: “Observing and Recording Behavior”
Chapter 7: “Indirect Functional Behavioral Assessment”
Chapter 8: “Direct Descriptive Functional Behavioral Assessment”
I wanted to discuss some important points about the Unit 7 Assignment!
This assignment consists of a scenario in which you, as an independent Behavior Analyst, have been contacted by an educational and/or human services provider who is requesting your services to develop a behavior intervention plan for an individual who is receiving their services. You will have to create a scenario in which you will specify the referral problem (example: services are being requested to address aggression and disruptive behavior in the classroom setting by a 13-year-old male student who recently moved from another state and is new to the school). You will need to describe the provider that requested your services (e.g. Betty Boop, Licensed Clinical Social Worker with Orange County Public Schools), a description of the client (e.g.13-year-old Caucasian male whose parents were recently divorced), and provide an operational definition of the presenting problem behavior(s). Try to be creative in your development of this scenario.
The main theme of the assignment is that the staff that will be in this meeting thinks that a behavior plan can be easily developed on the spot during this meeting. It is your goal to provide information to the members of this meeting about the purpose of Functional Behavioral Assessment by discussing 3 Indirect Functional Assessment procedures and 3 Direct Descriptive Functional Behavioral Assessment procedures that you may be implementing to understand the function of the presenting problems.
The Indirect Behavioral Assessment tools and procedures are outlined in chapter 7 of your textbook. Direct Descriptive Behavioral Assessment tools are outlined in chapter 8 of your textbook. Be sure to discuss the purpose of each tool discussed and how each tool will be utilized in your scenario. Remember, your goal is to educate the meeting members on the purpose of FBA and how these methods will be carried out. Please be sure to look at the Unit 7 Assignment Grading Rubric to determine if you are meeting the objectives of this assignment. Be sure to review the unit 7 grading rubric. The rubric will provide you with appropriate guidance.
