Functional Behavior Assessment

Intervention plans based on an understanding of "why" a student misbehaves are extremely useful in addressing a wide range of problem behaviors
Functional Behavior Assessment According to Gresham, Watkins, and Skinner’s article in 2001, Functional Behavior Assessments: Principles, Procedures, and Future Directions, “the FBA was designed to help schools determine the appropriateness of services and placement, identify positive interventions to reduce the undesirable behavior, and develop appropriate behaviors to replace the inappropriate ones”. In addition, the article defined the FBA as an organized methods and strategies to collect antecedent data, behavior data, and consequential data to determine the function of the behavior. “The function
The first function is “Attention”, in which a student may demonstrate problem behaviors in order to gain attention from peers or adults. For example, in order for a student to get peers or adults to laugh, play, look, or scold them they may demonstrate inappropriate behaviors. “While it might seem strange that a person would engage in a behavior to deliberately have someone scold them it can occur because for some people it’s better to obtain “bad” attention than no attention at all” (Cooper, Heron & Heward,
In order to obtain a tangible item or gain access to a desired activity, students will display problem behaviors. For example, a student may jump and shout until their teacher allows them to get a shiny toy out of the treasure box. The authors describe the next function of behavior as “Escape or Avoidance”, meaning “not all behaviors occur so the person can “obtain” something; many behaviors occur because the person wants to get away from something or avoid something altogether” (Miltenberger, 2008). For example, in order to get a out of having participate in reading aloud the student may ask to go to bathroom or nurse repeatedly. The student may also engage in aggressive behavior s to avoid having to go to the playground with