Module 3: 3.1 Read Functional Behaviour Assessment by Gavin Cosgrave.

Consider the quote at the start of the article. Is this a widely held belief at your school? If not, who are some of the
people you could enlist to expand this view?

People do not engage in self-injury [or] aggression...solely because they have...developmental disabilities.
There is logic to their behaviour, and functional assessment is an attempt to understand that logic".-
O'Neill, Horner, Albin, Sprague, Storey, and Newton (1997, p. 8)

Having worked with students with ASD for several years now, I have learned to look at undesirable
behaviour as a communication method. I am always asking myself, "What is the behaviour telling me?" Is the
student getting what they want with their behaviour or getting out of something they do not want to do? Or, is their
behaviour seeking stimulus or trying to get away from it? This is what I believe the above quote is trying to stress.
That behaviour is communication. Functional assessment is a way to understand the pattern of that behaviour and
what it means. I think many of my colleagues would agree with this but may not have the tools in their toolbox to
address it.
Amy Kenzer looks and the function of behaviour and what types of reinforcement the person with the
challenging behaviour is gaining from their behaviour. For example, Kenzer notes, "Automatic reinforcement may
be a positive reinforcement in that it produces a feeling or sensation that is positively reinforcing. For example,
flapping one's hands in front of one's eyes may produce enjoyable visual stimulation." Chok and Luiselli note that
Functional Analysis is a crucial "element of behaviour analytic practice when treating learners with ASD." They
note that "FA involves the systematic manipulations of environmental variables to identify those that contribute to
the maintenance of challenging behaviour." Lastly, according to Collet-Kilingenberg, Functional behaviour
assessment (FBA) is a systematic set of strategies used to determine the underlying function or purpose of behaviour
so that an effective intervention plan can be developed. FBA consists of describing the interfering or problem
behaviour, identifying antecedent or consequent events that control the behaviour, developing a hypothesis of the
behaviour, and testing the hypothesis. Data collection is an essential part of the FBA process. They say that it is a
crucial tool for understanding what behaviour is trying to communicate so that the student may be taught a more
positive behaviour or tool to get what they need or want.
In the Lifeskills classroom, and perhaps, it is the same at elementary school, functional analysis may be
easier to accommodate. However, in the high school classroom, the behaviours may not be addressed in the same
way, and perhaps this is something that needs to change.

Reference:
Kenzer A, (2014). A Functional Approach to Challenging Behavior in Evidence-Based Treatment for Children with
Autism, retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/psychology/functional-assessment (2020)

Chok, J and Luiselli, J. (2020).Introduction to functional analysisin Functional Analysis, retrieved from
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/psychology/functional-assessment (2020)
Collet-Klingenberg, L. (2008). Overview of the functional behaviour assessment. Madison, WI: The National
Professional Development Center on Autism Spectrum Disorders, Waisman Center, The University of Wisconsin.