Question:
Our 8-year old autistic son has, within the last few months, begun to exhibit
what the school district calls "aggressive" behavior (tight grabbing and
pinching). Several individuals at the school have suggested a "functional
behavior assessment" and a "behavior intervention plan". We don't have much
confidence in the school district and would like to know exactly what
functional behavior assessments and behavior intervention plans are. Who
conducts these activities? What is involved? How long does it take? What
good can come of this? What bad can come of this?
Can someone direct us to some good literature, articles, books, or whatever
that can provide reliable straightforward answers to our questions?
Answer:
A functional behavior assessment, in a nutshell, is where they try to figure
out WHY your son is doing what he is doing. Treatment is based on the
function of his behavior, or what purpose(s) the behaviors are serving in
his life. Do they get him out of some unpleasant situation? Do they serve
as attention-getters, or help him obtain desired items/activities? Does he
do it when his allergies are acting up or he hasn't slept well? And so
forth. Your school district is right on the money to want to do a FBA--it's
much more effective to design a behavior treatment plan based on the "why"
of a behavior than to treat all maladaptive behaviors in the same way.
As for a behavior intervention plan, ideally (I hope) they will try to come
up with a strong proactive component, including skill acquisition,
modification of the environment, modification of tasks, giving your son
choice and control when possible, considering personal preferences, etc.
Then, there will be a description of what will be done when your son
exhibits a given behavior. Other content will vary by school. This might
be written up by a behavioral specialist, a school psychologist, or in some
cases an instructor or other staff member
