The Process

An effective functional behavioral assessment consists of the following components:

1. Establish an appropriate team
2. Clearly describe the behavior of concern
3. Collect data on the problem area(s)
4. Form a hypothesis based upon the data
5. Test the validity of the hypothesis
6. Use the results of the test to develop school-wide strategies and modifications
7. Measure the results after strategies and modifications are in place – was it successful in accomplishing the goal?

1. Establishing the team

A good functional behavioral assessment is an investigative tool that is developed by a team. No one person can conduct an FBA effectively on their own, since different perspectives across different settings are essential. All members of the team must ‘buy into’ the purpose in order to communicate well with each other. It is important to remember that, although it may seem like a lot of work upfront, it will benefit the members of the team as much as the child in the end. Members of the team should be chosen carefully so that a variety of perspectives are included. It is important to include people who have observed the behavior of the student for an extended period of time in a variety of settings and conditions.

Teachers (special ed and regular ed, if he/she is in typical settings at any time in the day) should be included, and if the child has a variety of teachers (such as a high school student with many subjects), representatives should be chosen from areas in which he/she struggles as well as any areas in which he/she does well.

Any related service personnel that the child is regularly involved with, such as the OT, speech pathologist, or psychologist.

The Paraprofessional, if one is directly involved with the student. The para is often the adult that is with the child for the longest period of time each day across different settings, and sometimes paras can have the more trusting and personal relationship with the child because they are often in the ‘helper’ or ‘advisory’ role.

The parents of the child, since they know the child in different settings and situations that might shed some light on problem areas in the school building, and also since they will likely be affected by any changes made in the students daily routine, expectations, or learning of strategies.

It is advisable to have a building administrator involved at some level, since they would need to approve staff time that will be spent on the process, as well as approving certain types of strategies, or changes to typical routines or rules within the building. Building administrators may already be involved with the student due to the severity of the behaviors that have occurred prior to the development of the FBA.

Let’s not forget the student! While the student should not be directly involved in meetings, discussions, planning, data collection, etc. he/she may be able to provide a lot of useful information if approached in a positive and creative way. After all, only the student can provide their own perspective, and since it is their perspective that creates the need for behaviors to occur, their input may be critical to making effective decisions.