Functional Behavior Assessment Summary

Pennsylvania Training and Technical Support Network

Student: Student
Date of Birth: somewhere in time
School: Primary Autism Support Class
Date of Functional Behavior Assessment: November ____ !""___
Completed by: #i$e #i$los #S BCBA and %illiam &albraith PhD' BCBA
Description of Behavior
(he behavior of concern is characteri)ed by Student hittin* his head with the lower palms
of his hands and the related behavior of brin*in* his head in forceful contact with
surfaces +ban*in* his head,' (he head ban*in* can include either hittin* his upper
forehead or the bac$ of head on floors mats walls etc'
(o date the head hits-ban*s have not resulted in any $nown tissue dama*e or insult' Staff
at the school have intervened to insure that such dama*e does not occur +use of
emer*ency physical restraint procedures and placin* Student in a .efton chair', Concern
for Student/s physical safety is the primary concern of his mother and the teachin* staff
at %estern %ayne'
Functional Analysis Procedures
(his functional analysis was completed throu*h descriptive analysis' (he descriptive
analysis included parent and teacher observation review of on*oin* data collected on the
behavior direct classroom observation and behavior ratin* scale +Functional Analysis
Screenin* (ool: FAS(,'
.esults:
FAST +(eacher: %endy 0enshaw,: behavior maintained by socially mediated positive
reinforcement in the form of contin*ent adult attention'
FAST +Parent: 0eidi Feuhrer,: behavior maintained by either socially mediated positive
reinforcement in the form of contin*ent adult attention or automatic positive
reinforcement +self stimulation', Note: #s' Fuehrer reports that the behavior does not
occur at home at the current time'
Classroom data: Completed throu*h use of 1wata Functional Behavior Card procedure'
2 observations:
Positive reinforcement attention 3 4
Positive reinforcement tan*ibles 3 5
Ne*ative reinforcement escape3 !
Ne*ative reinforcement sensory 3 6 +note 7 of 6 points due to antecedent of alone:
can be confounded each of the 6 had attention conse8uences,
(he data from the 2 observations reflect episodes of behavior: duration of
episodes not recorded nor was fre8uency of individual hits-ban*s of head' (he followin*
bar *raph summari)es observed fre8uency of episodes by function:
0
2
4
6
8
10
Head
Bangs
Positive
attention
Positive
tangible
Negative
escape
Sensory
Functional Analysis: Behavior Card
Observation
Classroom Observation: Student was observed in his classroom under natural
conditions for one hour on the afternoon of 55-!5-"9 and a*ain for one hour on the
mornin* of 55-!!-"9' (he tar*et behavior was only observed once on the mornin* of
55-!!-"9' (he behavior immediately followed removal of a potential reinforcer +a bo: of
crac$ers', (he tar*et behavior was preceded by Student fussin* and stompin* his feet
fallin* to the floor and in this case coverin* himself with a mat' (he staff did not
intervene' Durin* the episode Student hit his forehead a*ainst the mat two times in 8uic$
succession' %ith no staff intervention the behavior 8uic$ly subsided as did the stompin*
and fussin*' 0owever when approached by ;olleen +Personal Care Assistant, in an
attempt to help him remove his <ac$et +she felt Student mi*ht be *ettin* hot, he a*ain
increased his stompin* and fussin*' =ther students were present in the room at the onset
of the episode but were removed while Student was on the floor +this is part of the
current procedure used to handle the behavior,' (he children did return before Student
was completely calm' 1t did not appear that the presence of peers had an effect on
Student/s behavior' (he episode be*an at >:94 when the crac$ers were removed and
ended 4:5>' (he fussin* and layin* on the floor was not continuous durin* the period'
Interview information: =ver the past several wee$s when the behavior occurs staff
respond by attempin* to hold Student to prevent him from hittin* his head or staff
provide physical prompts to have him sit in the .efton Chair' Staff report that physical
contact with Student results in an escalation of the behavior' (he staff feel as thou*h
they need to physically intervene to prevent Student from hurtin* himself'
Setting Event: Althou*h no settin* event is hi*hly correlated with the problem
behavior the behavior may occur sli*htly more often when Student transitions from
preferred to non?preferred activities'
Antecedent: =nset of precursor behaviors +fussin* @ee?eeeA vocali)ations stompin*
feet etc', may occur after a reinforcer is removed or self?stimulatory behavior is
interrupted'
Consequences: All assessment techni8ues are conver*ent in indicatin* that the
behavior results in staff attendin* to and interactin* with Student'
Function: Behavior often occurs followin* an interruption of access to some reinforcer
or when Student is en*a*ed in alone condition activity +self?stimulation,' (he behavior
consistently results in application of adult attention' (herefore the assumed function of
the behavior is socially mediated positive reinforcement in the form of adult attention'
Staff may attempt to redirect Student/s behavior to some other preferred activity in an
attempt to calm him'
Hypotesis Statement: %hen Student is denied access to a reinforcer or has an
on*oin* reinforcer interrupted he en*a*es in self in<urious behavior which may be
preceded by various behaviors includin* vocali)ations stompin* and fallin* to the floor'
(he self in<urious behavior results in intensive adult attention and access to other
reinforcers +redirection,'