Refining Functional Behavioral Assessment: Analyzing the Separate and Combined Effects of Hypothesized Controlling Variables During Ongoing Classroom Routines

Abstract

This article presents results from an investigation using functional assessment strategies in a general education classroom for an early adolescent diagnosed with ADHD/ODD. In the first phase of the assessment, data were collected from teacher interviews, student interviews, and direct observations to generate hypotheses regarding the association between classroom environmental conditions and the occurrence of disruptive behavior. The hypotheses were then evaluated in the context of regularly occurring classroom activities. Based on the data obtained through the functional assessment procedure, a classroom intervention was designed, implemented, and evaluated. Results indicated the intervention was successful in decreasing the participant's disruptive behavior. Further, the teacher and student reported high acceptability for the assessment and intervention. Project findings are discussed in terms of bridging the gap between research and practice, conducting a functional behavioral assessment (FBA) within applied settings, and the use of FBA for behaviors that are potentially under the control of multiple maintaining functions.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Kathryn E. Hoff

Kathryn Hoff received her doctorate in School Psychology from Lehigh University in 1999 and is an Assistant Professor of School Psychology at Illinois State University. Her primary research interests are school-based interventions for children with social and behavioral concerns, particularly in the areas of self-management and peer-mediated strategies.

Ruth A. Ervin

Ruth A. Ervin received her PhD in School Psychology from Lehigh University in 1996 and is an Associate Professor of School Psychology and Special Education in the Faculty of Education at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, BC, Canada. Her primary research and teaching interests are focused on a preventative and problem-solving approach to promoting systems-level change to address research-to-practice gaps in local schools, primarily in the areas of literacy and behaviour. She is on the editorial boards of School Psychology Review, the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, Journal of Behavioral Education, and Journal of Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports.

Patrick C. Friman

Patrick C. Friman, PhD, ABPP is the Director of Outpatient Behavioral Pediatrics and Family Services at Father Flanagan's Girls' and Boys' Town and Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Nebraska School of Medicine. He is also the editor of the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis. His research and clinical interests include habit disorders, incontinence, child behavior problems at home and school, and a broad range of topics organized under the general category known as behavioral pediatrics. He is the author or coauthor of more than 140 journal articles and book chapters.