1. Terri Rodgers, Ph.D. BCBA
Chief Behavior Analyst
Department of Mental Health
Division of Developmental Disabilities
April 13, 2010
Functional Assessment & Data Analysis

2. FBA and Psychiatric Diagnoses
A person is first of all an organism, a member of a species and a subspecies, possessing a genetic endowment of anatomical, physiological and chemical characteristics, which are the products of the contingencies of survival to which the species and each organism has been exposed in the process of evolution.
Each person acquires a repertoire of behavior and becomes an individual as it contacts unique contingencies, grounded by consequences, to which it is exposed in its lifetime. Each individual is able to acquire such a repertoire because of its evolved susceptibility to the processes of conditioning. The behavior an individual exhibits at any moment is under the unique control her/his genetic endowment, learning history and the current setting.

3. Diagnosis or No Diagnosis
Different categories of behavior result from different biological, neurological chemical makeup, and different experiences (environmental interactions).

4. The FBA Process is the Same
All individuals have environmental, biological, neurological and chemical differences, and they are often changing.
Our eyesight, hearing, pain thresholds, hormones, chemistry, self induced chemicals, diets, learning history (via parents, siblings, friends, experiences)
All of us are affected by environmental events (behavioral processes)
Because of all of the above each of us are affected somewhat differently.

5. The FBA Process is the Same
There are Sds but their effects are slightly different
There are MOs but their effects are slightly different
There are Reinforcers, but their effects are slightly different
Therefore, our Behaviors are slightly different
Whether or not there is a psychiatric diagnosis, empirical observations and systematic recording of the effects of these processes lead to the most effective environmental interventions (i.e., BSPs)

6. Psychiatric diagnosis and Intellectual disabilities
Diagnoses primarily based on verbal report of symptoms ID may need to look for behavior and biologic signs that likely relate to symptoms
Utilize reports of support people and observations
Psychiatric diagnosis medical model while
ID area operates on a learning based model
Manifestations of ID may overshadow psychiatric symptoms

7. Issues to consider
The existence of behavior problems are not sufficient for a psychiatric diagnosis
Behavior problems may be related to a number of physical illnesses
Behavior problems may have been learned and maintained in pathogenic environments
Environmental variables influence behavior regardless of cause

8. Goals of FBA
Define the problem behavior and desirable behavior (measurable manner)
Identify the events, times, situations that describe and predict high and low rates of behavior
Identify the typical, likely consequences related to the behavior(s)
Generate hypotheses about the function(s) of the problem behavior(s)

9. About Behavior
Specific actions well defined
Desirable behaviors that should be occurring are as important as the undesirable behaviors
Think about what dimension(s) of behavior you want and measure those

10. Functions of behavior or contributions of environment
Consequences of behavior
Get something positive reinforcement
Tangible items-food, money, cigs
Social consequence reaction, attention, interactions, move near people, touch

Get away from something negative reinforcement
Demands stopped, eliminated or reduced demands
Aversive stimulation terminated or mitigated move from chaotic environment to quiet, away from people

11. Antecedents to Behavior
Immediate
Pain, aversive stimuli or coercion
Get away and escape see consequences
Get even- might include variety of emotional responses and aggressive, destructive behaviors- pain on part of others more reinforcing, or less punishing
Conditioned situations in which any of above consequences or stimuli occurred
Generalization to like situations, people, tones of voice, facial expressions

12. Antecedents to Behavior cont.
Motivating Operations- more distant, states of being
Illness, fatigue, hunger, thirst, pain,
Episode of depression, paranoia, delusions, mania
Effects of medications (more /less sensitive to reinforcement, more/less sensitive to aversive stimuli)

13. Examples of behavioral mechanisms of action for psychotropic medications
Respiradol -(Moore, et al. 2009)
Has little effect on behaviors that are sensitive to or maintained by positive reinforcement including social contingencies
Has some suppressive effect on behaviors sensitive to or maintained by negative reinforcement
Has some suppressive effect on behavior that are sensitive to non - social contingencies
May have more effect on suppressing positively reinforced self injury than on positively reinforced aggression

14. Metheylphenidate (MHP)
MHP acts as an establishing operation increasing the relative effectiveness of environmental stimuli as reinforcers

15. Behavioral mechanisms continued
Anti -anxiety meds seem to reduce the reinforcing properties of escape from aversive stimuli (reduce the negative effects of aversive stimuli)
Anti depressants increase the sensitivity to reinforcement

16. Must consider how medication effects will interact with the functions of behavior
Anti depressant with hitting occurring when told no or if want something -attention (positively reinforced) may make hitting occur more frequently
Respiradol may have little effect on hitting reinforced by social contingencies (attention or interaction) however, if hitting is getting the person out of situations, may reduce frequency

17. Other effects of medications
Antipsychotics frequently cause sedation and compromise cognitive functioning and self help skills
Extrapyramidal side effects possible
Other side effects including akathisia (restlessness and irritability)

18. Understanding Functions and measurement of effects important
Situations in which behavior likely or unlikely
Effects of meds in these situations
Effects of skill building and reinforcement in these situations
Effects of fading medications when intervention/teaching is working across these situations

19. Data Collection Tips
The more specific the behavior the better
Smaller units of behavior counted more analysis
At least look at time of day, activity for the behavior daily
Teach the definition and data collection
Frequently follow up for accuracy

20. Graphing Conventions
Electronic
Graph data in finer detail for analysis daily vs monthly summary
Label the axes and keep the scale the same
Look at the graphic data over time, not 1 month at a time
Maximum of 4 data trails on a graph
Account for significant events on the graph
Look for trends
Account for blips

21. DATA Collection for Anxiety Disorder FBA Example

22. Anxiety Disorder Example

23. FBA Data Collection Example for Demand Hypothesis

24. Example of FBA with medications
Interventions

skill building, change
High
FBA on medications
Taper medications, cont
On Medications
dayprogram, reinf high prob demands
rates
interventions
Hitting others or windows
in demand situations
Hitting others or windows
no demands
B
Psychotic symptoms
e
h
Replacement skills
a
v
i
o
r
s
Low rates