FBA Report

Participant and Setting

Rachel is a friendly, outgoing 12-year-old 6 th grader who enjoys drawing pictures,
playing soccer, and going shopping with her friends. She is currently performing
approximately two levels below grade level in reading and writing, and has
difficulties paying attention during class and completing assignments. Rachel is
diagnosed as ADHD, but she is not prescribed to any medication because of her
parents decision. Rachel often has problems with focusing during class, limiting
distractions, and working diligently on assignments. She claims that she cares about
her grades, but she is more affiliated with her social life, especially during class
time. Although she is off-task during class, she asks the TA and the teacher for
assistance when she has to complete an assignment. After she receives assistance,
she stops working on the assignment, and interacts with classmates or draws
pictures, even if she has not finished.
This is Rachels first year attending middle school. She has been tested, but has
never qualified for special services. Her parents seem to be actively engaged in her
life, as they return emails regarding Rachels academic and behavior difficulties.
However, Rachels difficulties in school have not improved since her parents were
contacted.
Rachel has had some problems with feeling accepted in her 6 th grade class, so she
has been meeting with the guidance counselor. Rachels parents also requested for
her to be placed in an after school program for learning enhancement. There are
four teachers that monitor the after school program and they help Rachel complete
her homework. Therefore, Rachel completes her homework assignments, but she
has a difficult time completing her work during class. She is frequently off-task and
depends on the assistance for completing assignments during school hours. The
teachers primary goal is for Rachel to increase her on-task time during school hours
in order to complete all of her work in a timely manner. During the after school
program, she usually only has enough time to complete her homework, so there
isnt enough time for her to finish her in-class assignments; therefore, she is falling
behind the rest of the class.
Behavioral Definitions
The target behavior is off-task behavior, defined as engaging in behavior that is
incompatible with work completion during class, such as drawing pictures, talking to
her classmates, or touching her classmates objects on their desks.
The replacement behavior is on-task behavior, defined as continuing to work after
receiving assistance, keeping her hands to herself, working on her writing/reading
assignments, and being quiet in the classroom.

Interviews and A-B-C Data

Interviews were conducted with Rachels two co-teachers, her math teacher, the
guidance counselor and with Rachel. A-B-C data were collected in her reading and
writing class.
Staff Interview
Rachels two co-teachers, her math teacher, and her guidance counselor met to
discuss her education and behavior. The co-teachers agreed that they felt Rachel
was on task approximately 25% of the time. However, the math teacher stated that
the percentage was slightly higher in his class. The math teacher reported that
Rachel is on task when they do calculations, but when they are doing applied word
problems, she is off-task. The math teacher also reported that Rachel does fairly
well with completing her math-minute worksheets; she has even received some of
the highest scores in her class for these assignments. On the other hand, she tends
to skip over the reading for the word problems. The math teacher will read the
problems to Rachel if she is unable to read them. Rachel expresses a concern for
her grades in her classes, but she struggles with focusing during class and
completing her work in a timely manner. All three teachers reported that Rachels
off task behavior often results in gaining attention from her peers, and she is
currently meeting with the guidance counselor to discuss her social life. The
guidance counselor reported that Rachel is distracted by the issues concerning her
social life and she is overwhelmed by her school work, especially in reading and
writing. The three teachers and the guidance counselor reported that Rachels offtask behavior seems to be to avoid work. She seems to enjoy receiving individual
support from her teachers and aides because she often requests for assistance.
Rachels co-teachers have noticed that when Rachel receives one-on-one support
during the completion of an assigned reading packet or a writing prompt, she
progresses. The three teachers concluded that Rachels main difficulty is in the area
of reading and writing. Her reading difficulties have a major impact on her ability to
solve applied word problems in math. Rachels co-teachers reported that Rachel is
rarely on task during class, but if she works with teachers after school when there
are not as many students present, she is able to stay on-task and complete her
work.
Student Interview
After conducting Rachels interview, we have discovered that she is currently
struggling with writing and reading comprehension. Rachel explained that she does
not feel like she ever understands the story line of passages and books read in class
and that she gets confused when she is assigned to write about the stories. Rachel
expressed her confidence on creative writing assignments because she likes being
able to pick what she wants to write about. Rachel reports that she likes when the
teachers and aides give her extra help, but she feels like she is different from the

other students in her class. Rachel said, I wish that I could do my work by myself
like the kids in my class and its frustrating. She dislikes doing schoolwork and
feeling behind the rest of her classmates. Rachel reports that she enjoys playing
soccer and Frisbee at recess with her friends and watching Disney Channel with her
siblings after school.
A-B-C data
A-B-C data were collected during three 10-minute periods of instruction and
assigned activity in reading. During these observations, the target behavior
occurred 22, 20, and 16 times. The antecedent for all occurrences of off-task
behavior was the assistance from the co-teachers and aides when instructed to
independently complete the reading comprehension questions in the remaining 20
minutes of class. In
25% of occurrences of off-task behavior, Rachel was assisted by one of the teachers
to complete her assignment. In 42% of occurrences, Rachel was moved to a
different seat to separate her from her friends, but she didnt complete her work
during this time. In 33% of occurrences, Rachel was able to avoid the assignment
for more than 7 minutes. In the second observation, one of the aides assisted
Rachel in completing her reading assignment for 5 minutes. In this occurrence,
Rachel started to work harder on the assignment, but she stopped working after the
aide walked away. In the other observations, Rachel received support from her aide
again for 12 minutes and she completed a lot more work, as there were only 16
occurrences. In every case that was observed, the consequence of Rachels off-task
behavior was that she avoided doing the assigned reading comprehension
assignment or received help to complete the assignment. The entire time on-task
was 20 minutes in the given 48 minutes of observation.
Function of the Behavior
The interview and A-B-C data specified that Rachels off-task behavior resulted in
her to avoiding her assignments in her reading and writing class and gaining
attention from adults. The function of Rachels off-task behavior was to escape from
these assigned activities (negative reinforcement -activity) and to gain attention
from adults (positive reinforcement- attention).
To identify the appropriate intervention, the following question was asked: Does
the environment provide best practice? The answer is no. The students are
required to work independently for an extended period of time. The students also
mostly receive whole group instruction/lectures, so Rachel doesnt get enough of
the one-on-one assistance. During whole group instruction, Rachel is off-task and
has difficulty concentrating. To identify the appropriate intervention, the following
question was asked: Can Rachel perform the replacement behavior? The
answer is No. Rachel is distracted from her work and she does not comprehend the
stories, so she does not absorb the information to complete a writing prompt based

on the story. Considering Rachel is not proficient in reading comprehension, this

results in complications for her to complete her assigned writing prompts
competently. Based on this information, a combination of Method 1 and 2 was used
to develop the following function-based intervention:

Method 1: The types of practices are adjusted so that the new behavior can be
learned and aversive conditions can be avoided.
Method 2: Remove the antecedent conditions that set the occasion for the target
behavior and form new conditions so that there is a higher likelihood of the
replacement behavior occurring.
Resulting Intervention Elements
Method Elements

Method 1: The types of practices are

adjusted so that the new behavior can
be learned and aversive conditions can
be avoided.
Method 2: Remove the antecedent
conditions that set the occasion for the
target behavior and form new conditions
so that there is a higher likelihood of the
replacement behavior occurring.

(A) Adjust the assignment for Rachel so

that it is at a proper instructional level
according to Rachels level of
performance and teacher evaluation of
pre-test information (assessment given
prior to lesson)
(B) Provide full one-on-one instruction on
new material during independent work
(C) Provide peer helper or small group
work for additional help
(D) Give Rachel a brief outline of the
story at the beginning of class

(E) If Jesse is distracted, she may be

relocated to a different seat to eliminate
distractions

Provide appropriate reinforcement for

the replacement behavior (Methods 1 &
2).

Withhold the original reinforcer when the

target behavior occurs (extinction)
(Methods 1 & 2).

(F) Highlight important parts of the story

(A) Provide positive reinforcement for
on-task behavior by implementing
a behavior chart. First, have
Rachel pick a desired activity or
tangible. Then, create a sticker
chart in which Rachel has to work
for a total of 10 stickers
throughout the entire class period.
When Rachel stays on-task for 5
minutes, a sticker will be placed
on her chart. At the end of the
class period, Rachel can receive
the desired activity or tangible if
she has collected 10 stickers.
Small tangibles or activities may
include candy, homework passes,
or computer time.
(B) The teachers and aids will walk by
Rachels desk every 5-7 minutes
to express verbal praise for her
on-task behavior.
Rachel is required to complete her
assignment, like the rest of the class.
When she is off-task, redirect her and
remind her that she will receive the
desired tangible or activity if she
completes the assignment. If the target
behavior (off-task) continues, there will
be a consequence, which includes
changing her seat or completing the
assignment during recess if she does not
complete it during class.

Unfortunately, Rachel could not perform the new behavior, so the teacher needed to
adjust the types of practices being used in the environment. To encourage on-task
behavior, the co-teachers and aids provided different versions of the stories that
use smaller, easier words that are compatible with Rachels functioning level so that
she would comprehend. They identified the level that Rachel performs in reading
comprehension by reviewing her scores on the AZ Merit and AIMS exams. On the AZ
Merit, Rachel performed two grades below her grade level. On the AIMS, she
performed three grades below her grade level. Additionally, Rachels reading and
writing teachers provided her a brief outline for each story read in class beforehand
and provided instruction to help her gain a better understanding and ask any
questions about the stories.
The teacher decided to provide full one-on-one assistance during independent work
to promote on-task behavior for Rachel. As soon as the teacher walks away, Rachel
is immediately off-task, so she requires extra assistance during the entire
independent work time. There is a quieter area of the classroom with a chair and a
table in which Rachel is allowed to sit if she needs to limit distractions.
The reinforcement adjustment was to implement a behavior chart in five-minute
intervals. Every five minutes, a sticker was placed on Rachels desk if she was ontask for the entire given time. This type of reinforcement adjustment appeared to be
beneficial for Rachel because discontinued to get side tracked and focused on
completing her work. She explained that she felt accomplished every time she
earned a sticker. At the end of class, Rachel was granted her favorite type of candy,
a homework pass, or computer time.
Measurement System
Rachel was directly observed during a 5- minute time sampling procedure in which
data was collected. At the end of every 5 minutes, on-task and off-task behavior
was recorded for a total of 48 intervals per measurement period (48 minutes total).
A second observed and recorded data during one of two hypothesis-testing sessions
and during one of two baseline sessions. IOA was calculated using the formula:
agreements/agreements + disagreements X 100%. The IOA ended up being 96%.