Functional Behavior Assessment in ABA Therapy
Effective ABA therapy is multi-faceted and designed to help each child bloom as they learn new behaviors and skills. Functional behavior assessments are one essential aspect of ABA therapy at InBloom Autism Services.
What Is a Functional Behavior Assessment?
You can think of a functional behavior assessment (FBA) as a means of gathering information about your child’s behavior and the motivations behind it. By understanding and addressing the basis for your child’s behavior, your child’s therapist can help chart a path toward learning new skills and achieving positive outcomes.
Understanding Behavior in ABA Therapy
In ABA therapy at InBloom, we focus on the “why” behind a child’s behavior. This is often referred to as the “function” of a behavior. All behavior is an attempt to communicate a need or desire or to connect with someone in some way.
Why a Functional Behavior Assessment Is Used
Understanding a child’s behavior is critical to creating an effective ABA therapy plan. An FBA enables your child’s therapist to identify behaviors that can be worked on, choose more desirable skills to teach, and understand your child’s needs and motivations.
Who Conducts a Functional Behavior Assessment?
An FBA is conducted primarily by a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA), often in collaboration with you as a parent or caregiver.
Role of a Board-Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA)
Your child’s BCBA is central to the functional behavior assessment process. Their training and experience enable them to note behaviors in your child that are good objectives for ABA therapy. Through interacting with your child, the BCBA can get a sense of the motivation behind your child’s behavior.
Collaboration With Families
At InBloom Autism Services, parents, caregivers, and families are vital to the therapy journey. This holds true for the functional behavior assessment as well. By dialoguing with you, your child’s BCBA benefits from your observations and close knowledge of your child. You may be able to share important information about behavior triggers, patterns, and environmental factors that can help guide the BCBA’s assessment.
The Functional Behavior Assessment Process
Our approach to functional behavior assessments helps provide a thorough, accurate analysis of your child’s strengths, needs, and behavior patterns.
Identifying Challenging Behaviors
Before working on replacing less-desirable behaviors with more effective communication skills, identifying challenging behaviors is essential. The BCBA will likely look at three criteria in identifying a challenging behavior:
- Does it increase social isolation or reduce independence?
- Does it affect a child’s safety?
- Does it interfere with a child’s learning?
Data Collection Methods in an FBA
“Data collection” may sound very clinical. However, it simply refers to the process of observing a kiddo and gathering information. A BCBA uses certain methods to collect data during an FBA. Some methods include:
- Direct Observation. Observing your child’s behavior and interactions in a natural setting enables the therapist to gather helpful information about how your child interacts and what motivates their behavior.
- Screening Tools. A BCBA may use some established tools like questionnaires or interviews to gather information about your child. As their parent or caregiver, you may be asked to participate in this process.
- Antecedents, Behaviors, and Consequences (ABC). Identifying environmental factors or events that precede a behavior (antecedents), the behavior itself, and the outcomes of a behavior (consequences) can help the BCBA analyze behavior patterns and triggers. For instance, after being asked to share a toy (antecedent), a child might scream (behavior). This might be followed by the child being allowed to keep the toy (consequence).
By observing, collecting information, and analyzing the data, a BCBA can better understand the function underlying a child’s behaviors.
Developing a Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP)
Based on the information and conclusions gathered from an FBA, a BCBA can create a personalized behavior intervention plan (BIP) for your child. The BIP includes information about the ABC data gathered from the FBA, target behaviors to work on, alternative skills to teach, and strategies for therapy.
The BIP can be seen as a roadmap to guide your child’s ABA therapy plan and ensure everyone is on the same page, including the therapy team, parents, and other caregivers.
Why Are Functional Behavior Assessments Important?
A functional behavior assessment is an important step in your child’s ABA therapy journey and provides many benefits.
Improving Treatment Outcomes
The findings of an FBA form a launchpad for your child’s therapy plan. It’s all about setting your child up for success! By understanding your child’s needs and strengths and the reasons behind their behavior, a BCBA can create a more effective treatment plan, track your child’s progress, and help them achieve great outcomes.
Addressing Challenging Behaviors Proactively
Having a concrete plan for replacing less-effective behaviors with positive skills is vital. Performing a functional behavior assessment and creating a behavior intervention plan enables your child’s BCBA to proactively help them learn skills that can generalize across many settings, from home to school.
Functional Behavior Assessment at InBloom Autism Services
At InBloom, every therapy method or teaching approach we use is designed to help your child experience the best therapy outcomes possible. This includes functional behavior assessments.
Our Evidence-Based ABA Approach
Our approach to ABA therapy uses naturalistic methods. This simply means we work with kiddos through natural, often play-based approaches, ensuring good outcomes and better generalization of skills.
Personalized Behavior Support Plans
Effective ABA therapy isn’t one-size-fits-all. At InBloom, our BCBAs create a personalized therapy plan for each child. Our BCBAs and Registered Behavior Technicians (RBTs) employ a variety of evidence-based therapy methods tailor-made to help your child learn essential life skills and achieve success.
Start Your Autism Therapy Journey with InBloom Autism Services
ABA therapy at InBloom can unlock doors to growth and success for your child. Contact our helpful team today to learn more about therapy at our innovative therapy centers.
