Functional Behavioral Assessments (FBA) In The School Setting

Functional behavioral assessments (FBAs) are systematic processes used to analyze and understand the underlying causes and functions of challenging behaviors. By digging into environmental factors that influence behaviors and the consequences that maintain them, FBAs provide insights into why a student may engage in unwanted behaviors and guide the development of effective interventions and support strategies to promote positive change. 

Students who do not receive the support an FBA provides can easily fall into a “school-to-prison pipeline.” They become targeted as “problem” kids and teachers and administrators can easily ignore the need for measures such as an FBA.

Clinical Best Practices for Addressing Challenging Behavior Assessments

When challenging behaviors arise in the school setting, the most common reaction is to dive right into discipline and set guidelines and rules for students to follow. While no one would claim that rules are unnecessary, they often don’t get to the root cause of disruptive behavior, particularly in students who have disabilities. 

Rules Based Procedures

Taking part in a rules-based procedure, such as an MDR (Manifestation Determination Review), is only about following special education rules and laws.  It is not about actually helping the child improve their functioning. However, by clinically addressing difficult behavior, school administrators and teachers are better able to serve students and improve disruptive behavior at the same time by looking deeper at the root causes of said behavior. 

Clinically Addressing Behavioral Issues

By clinically addressing behavioral issues, the school system, parents and parties interested in a student’s success are performing their due diligence to make sure that the student who needs extra support is receiving it. Performing a Functional Behavioral Analysis (FBA) is one way to ensure that a student who presents disruptive or challenging behaviors is not simply overlooked as a “problem student”, rather that he or she may have deeper issues to work through that present themselves as behavioral dysregulation. 

FBAs are clinical occurrences, but often in school, they get weighed down to ambiguous paperwork that needs to be completed. Rather than serve their purpose of collecting data to help a student be more successful, they often lead to a situation in which the administration is simply checking off of a list and filing paperwork rather than helping a student with positive intentions.

What are FBAs? 

Functional behavioral assessments (FBAs) are a combination of systematic evaluations and data collection used to analyze and understand the underlying causes and functions of challenging behaviors. The goal of an FBA is to figure out what is going on within and around a student to determine what is causing negative behavior.  If we know the function of the challenging behavior, or what the student is getting from it, we can teach them a more appropriate way to meet that need.

When Should an FBA Be Conducted?

The best approach to an FBA is preventatively. Once a disruptive behavior has been recognized, it is important to proactively conduct an FBA and develop a Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP) to address it.

Often in the school setting, the response to behavioral issues is reactive. If a student is suspended for 10 days during a school year, the school is required to conduct a Manifestation Determination Review (MDR) before continuing to remove the student or changing their placement.  If the behavior leading to the suspension is determined to be a manifestation of the disability, the school is required to conduct an FBA. Schools often wait to conduct an FBA because they have to do so instead of proactively conducting one to help the student. 

Who Should Perform an FBA?

FBAs should be conducted by a highly trained professional who is qualified to collect and analyze the relevant data and use the data to develop an appropriate Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP). The most highly qualified professional to conduct this assessment is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA). If a BCBA  is not available, in most cases the school psychologist has the next highest level of relevant training to conduct an FBA. In some schools, individuals with titles such as behavior specialist or behavior coach may conduct the FBA. The training level of these individuals can be highly variable so you may want to ask questions about their level of training or expertise. In most cases, teachers do not have adequate training to conduct FBAs.

Why Should an FBA Be Conducted?

The information an FBA provides can help determine the function of a disruptive behavior and pinpoint its source. Understanding the function of a disruptive behavior can help to determine the best strategies to address said behavior.

The four main functions of behavior include: 

• Attention

• Escape

• Tangible

• Sensory or Automatic 

Behavior Done for Attention

When behavior is performed for attention, it is generally reinforced by adult or peer attention. In the school setting, this could be as simple as a student routinely behaving poorly because he or she knows that the teacher will address said behavior.  

Behavior as an Escape

This type of behavior is reinforced by the removal of a demand. If a teacher requires students to clean their desks everyday and a student throws a fit when asked, the teacher may think it’s not worth engaging with the student who refuses to clean his or her desk. The cycle continues everyday as the student realizes that a tantrum results in not having to do what is asked.

Behavior for Tangible Gain

Behavior reinforced by access to a specific item or environment is known as tangible function. If a student knows that he or she only has to behave in a certain way to receive a wanted item or place, he or she will continually behave in the way that offers the desired object or place, such as a toy that another classmate has or a particular chair by the teacher's desk.  

Sensory or Automatic Behavior

Sensory behavior allows students to engage in behavior simply because it physically feels good or removes something that feels bad. A child who covers his or her ears around other students is removing a loud noise that feels bad. Likewise, a student who flaps his or her arms is providing automatic sensory stimulation for him or herself. 

Conducting an FBA in the School Setting 

Obtaining Parental Consent for an FBA

At the initiation of an FBA, it is important that the school district obtains your consent, as a parent or guardian of the student, before beginning. The school administration needs to have your signature on paper or electronically before beginning the process and consent is needed each time the FBA is updated.

Review the Student’s File

When reviewing a student’s file it is important to collect and review any available background information that is relevant, including psychological reports, office or discipline referrals, social developmental history, and questionnaires or rating skills from both parents and teachers. The student’s current IEP will also be reviewed to see what they are working on and what kind of progress they're making.

Interviews and Rating Scales

Information should be collected from multiple sources and in various formats.  It is important to collect information from both parents and teachers to know how the behavior varies across settings.  This information could be collected through rating scales or interviews.

Collecting Frequency, Duration, and Intensity Data

Data will be collected on the behaviors of concern. Before collecting the data, it is important to get a solid operational definition of what the behavior is including what counts and what doesn’t count for data collection purposes. For example, is hitting any contact with another person, forceful contact with a closed fist, or something in between?  Once the behaviors are clearly defined, data should be collected about the current levels at which the behavior is occurring.  Depending on the behavior being monitored, it frequency (how often), duration (how long), or intensity (how severe) data is collected to have as a baseline before intervention.

Collecting ABC Data

With a clear picture of the behaviors to be tracked and monitored, data will be collected on the frequency, duration, and/or intensity of the behavior.  In addition to those metrics, ABC data should also be collected.  ABC stands for Antecedent → Behavior → Consequence.  Knowing the trigger that happens immediately before the behavior and the consequence that happens immediately after helps us to determine the behavior’s function. Collecting data and observing the student over time is important to see how conditions change behavior.

School and Classroom Observations

It is important to have an independent observer available to collect and report on this data.  The teacher is a part of the ABC behavior chain.  Because they are directly involved, they can’t observe the full sequence of antecedent behavior. Also, it is nearly impossible for the teacher to collect completely accurate data because they are busy instructing the class.

Pros and Cons of FBA

An FBA benefits your child greatly by providing insight as to exactly what is going on and paving the way to make a plan that can help them. The FBA will help you as a parent, as well as the school system, to understand your child's behavior. It can provide specific strategies that are going to help your child and meet their needs.

In some negative circumstances, the school may use that data collection as an opportunity to create a paper trail or make a case against the student in an attempt to remove him or her based on behavior so the staff doesn’t have to deal with unwanted behavior anymore…

Common mistakes in school FBAs: 

In many circumstances, schools treat FBAs like a paperwork requirement instead of the clinical analysis of behavior that they are. Some common mistakes in school FBAs include:

• Parents not being given an opportunity to contribute information

• The teacher being expected to collect all the data without an independent observer Unqualified person conducting the FBA or analyzing the data

• Wrong or non-specific operational definitions of the problem behavior

Turning the FBA into a BIP

FBAs and BIPs (Behavior Intervention Plans) work together to address challenging behaviors beyond discipline.  Once the FBA is completed, the data obtained can be used to make a BIP targeted to the student’s specific needs.  Staff who work with the student should be trained on the specific procedures in the student’s BIP.  

Closing Thoughts on an FBA

Your child’s education is of the utmost importance to his or her ability to take advantage of what the school system has to offer. If your child continually faces behavioral issues that create difficulty, cause suspension time away from school, and ultimately lead to more severe discipline carried out by the school district, it’s time for you as a parent to understand your child’s rights and help enforce them. 

Requesting an FBA is one of the first steps in the process to help identify the source of your child’s challenging behavior and create a plan for moving forward. Without having completed an FBA properly, your child loses out on the benefit of having the support needed to help him or her complete the school year successfully.  

A brighter future for your child starts today