Functional Behavior Assessment:

Justin is a 13-year-old boy diagnosed with autism. He has an effective, but below average, use of spoken language but is able to communicate his emotions using picture cards that have a sad face, a neutral face and a smiley face. He is able to communicate effectively enough to make his requests understood, although he can be reluctant to do so. Justin lives with his mother and stepfather in a small 2-bedroom house which is also shared with a three year old female sibling who does not have any known disabilities or challenges beyond what would be considered normal for a child of her age. There is also an uncle and his girlfriend who live in the house and sleep in the living area of the home. Justin's mother, father, and his uncle all primarily speak Spanish and consider it to be their first language. Justin attends school daily and is accommodated in a "special education" classroom along with 27 other children who have a variety of disabilities both physical and intellectual. The classroom is managed by a dedicated teacher and, most days, teaching assistants. Justin can become very agitated and can exhibit aggressive behaviors when he is in environments that he cannot control and are noisy and/or crowded. Aggression takes the form of hitting others with a closed fist which is sometimes accompanied by kicking. When Justin becomes agitated, he tends to rock back and forth on the balls of his feet which is typically followed by the hitting and kicking behavior. He will also run away if he is in an open area or is otherwise able to leave the situation. Recently, Justin's mother took him to a nearby shopping mall for a "treat" because it was approaching the holiday season and she wanted him to see Santa Claus. When they arrived, the mall was playing festive Christmas music and it was busier than normal due to the approaching holidays. Justin and his mother arrived at the mall, parked the car, and entered the mall. Within a minute or so, Justin began rocking back and forth. His mother then attempted to grab his arm and Justin proceeded to hit her. He broke away and ran further into the mall, knocking an elderly lady down along the way. A mall security person witnessed the event and called the police and reported that a young man had assaulted an elderly lady and was running around hitting and kicking people while screaming.

Step 5

Develop and implement the behavior change procedure/intervention

(Review Baer, Wolf, & Risley (JABA,1968): Technological, Conceptual Systems)

• Allocate a minimum of 2 weeks to implement the behavior change program after submitting this plan.
• The behavior change program should contain at least two strategies from the following categories: stimulus control, instructional control, additive procedures, reinforcement/shaping/chaining, extinction, and/or punishment.

The intervention plan should contain the following information:

• All components of the behavior change/intervention plan should be specified in detail and linked back to basic principles of behavior for EACH strategy that was chosen.
• The plan must be able to be replicated. Someone else should be able to replicate the procedures after simply reading the description. Any important information related to implementation (where, when, necessary materials, etc.) should be included.

Step 6

Evaluate and summarize the outcomes including data sheets and graphs

(Review Baer, Wolf, & Risley: Analytic, Effective, Generality).

Data Collection:

• Data should be collected for 5 to 10 observations while implementing the behavior change Intervention.
• Data should be plotted using the previously collected baseline data on the same graph.
• Include a separate graph for each behavior. The written report should contain the following information:

Summary and Analysis (remember to include the seven dimensions of behavior in the summary).

• Procedures:
  • Describe and explain any deviations from the planned procedures that were submitted previously.
  • Describe any problems that were encountered when attempting to implement the behavior change project.
• Results:
  • Insert data sheets and graph(s).
• Analysis:
  • Compare the data path(s) to the baseline.
  • Describe any changes in terms of (a) level, (b) stability, and (c) trend.
  • Describe how one might demonstrate experimental control over the behavior (even if no changes are evident).
• Behavioral Objectives:
  • Evaluate the outcome(s) based on the short-term (and possibly long-term) goals.
• Overall Evaluation:
  • Is the behavior change plan effective?
  • Justify or explain the decision.
  • If it hasn't been effective, what changes could be made to increase the likelihood of success?
  • Identify possible factors responsible for the lack of success.
  • If the behavior change plan has been effective, include a plan for maintenance and generalization.