FBA

FBA
By Katie Nagy and Holly Tetreault
SPED 843
 What is FBA?
• FBA stands for Functional Behavioral
Assessment.
• According to Stephen Starin, Ph. D., a
contributor to Wright’s Law, an FBA is “the
process of determining the cause or function of
a behavior before developing an intervention.”
• An FBA is completed by a team including the
classroom teacher, administrator, parent(s),
and special education teacher when
appropriate.
 Federal Policies and
Legislations
• IDEA 2004 states that, “A functional behavioral assessment is (1)
considered a type of social work service that may be provided, (2) to be
transmitted as part of the student’s records, and (3) to be part of the
child’s evaluation when suspected needs of the child include behavior,
even when that child engages in behavior determined not to be a
manifestation of the child’s disability.”
• LD Online lists what the 1997 amendment to IDEA requires of an IEP
team:Explore strategies to implement.Create an FBA within ten days of a
disciplinary action.Implement positive intervention strategies.
• The Center for Effective Collaboration states that schools must utilize all
members of an IEP team to assess the best possible placement for
students who have or will have a behavior plan.
 ABC
• A-Antecedent: This is what causes the
behavior to occur; what triggers it.
• B-Behavior: This is the behavior that is
caused by the antecedent. (Screaming,
running away, biting, etc.)
• C-Consequence: What the student gains
from the behavior. (Peer attention,
time-out, referrals, etc.)
 4 Functions of Behavior
• Attention Seeking
• Escape of Task or Demand
• Tangible Objects
• Sensory Stimulation
 Websites to See
• http://www.shapingbehavior.com/resources.html
– Provides information on applied behavior analysis.
• http://www.pbis.org/school/pbis_and_the_law/reauthorized_fba.
aspx
– National site for Positive Behavior Supports.
• http://wrightslaw.com/info/discipl.fab.starin.htm
– Writes Law provides legal guidelines for special education.
• http://www.ldonline.org/article/Addressing_Student_Problem_Behavior

– Website provides teachers and parents with information

on students with learning disabilities and ADHD.
• http://cecp.air.org/fba/default.asp
– Informational website for parents and teachers on
effective collaboration.
 Additional
Additional Resources
Resources

http://www.wyandotcenter.org
A Kansas City Community based center for
families who need behavioral support.
http://www.aacap.org/cs/root/facts_for_families/facts_for_families
Family Facts from the American Academy of
Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.
http://www.conductdisorders.com
A forum for families with children with
behavioral disabilities.
 FBA Sections in a
KCKPS Sample
• Referral and interview information
• General Antecedents: Under what conditions is
this behavior most/least likely to occur?
• Summary of observations including frequency,
intensity, or duration of behavior: Use at least two
different tools for data collection (i.e. frequency count,
time sample, scatter plot, summary of ABC data, etc…)
• What other factors in the student’s life may be
affecting the occurrences of this behavior at
school? (Medical history, home factors, agency
involvement, attendance, etc.)
• Function of behavior (See previous slide.)
Sample FBA
• This is a sample FBA
provided by the
Center for Positive
Behavioral
Interventions and
Support.
• http://www.cber.uconn
.edu/resources/windham/Samp