- An FBA finds why a behavior happens.
- Methods: indirect, descriptive and experimental (functional analysis).
- Common functions: attention, escape, access to items and automatic.
- The plan should teach a better way to meet the same need.
Why do an FBA?
Behavior that looks the same can happen for very different reasons. Hitting might get attention for one child and end a hard task for another. Treating the function, not just the form, leads to plans that work and last.2
What methods can I use?
| Method | Examples | Strengths and limits |
|---|---|---|
| Indirect | Caregiver interviews, questionnaires | Quick; depends on recall |
| Descriptive | ABC data, scatterplots, direct observation | Real context; shows correlation, not cause |
| Experimental | Functional analysis, including synthesized approaches | Shows cause; needs training and safeguards |
The first functional analysis methodology was published by Iwata and colleagues.1 Later work showed that interview-informed, synthesized analyses can lead to meaningful improvements in everyday clinical settings.3
What are the common functions?
- Social positive: gaining attention or access to items and activities
- Social negative: escaping or avoiding demands, people or situations
- Automatic: the behavior itself produces the reinforcement, like sensory input
How do FBA results become a plan?
- Write a hypothesis: "When X happens, the client does Y to get or avoid Z."
- Teach a replacement, often through functional communication training.
- Change antecedents to prevent the behavior: visual schedules, choices, breaks.
- Adjust consequences so the new skill works better than the old behavior.
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