Functional Behavior Assessment
Also called: FBA, functional assessment, functional analysis, FA
Definition
A set of procedures for identifying the conditions under which a behavior occurs and the consequences maintaining it, combining interview and record review, direct observation, and in some cases an experimental analysis in which conditions are arranged and compared. Its output is a statement of function that drives treatment.
In plain language
Finding out why a behavior keeps happening and what it gets for the person. It uses interviews, watching, and sometimes a careful test of different conditions.
Examples
Staff record what happened before and after each occurrence across two weeks, and an analyst reviews the pattern.
An analyst arranges brief, controlled conditions to compare how behavior differs when attention, escape, or access is available.
Comparing arranged conditions is what separates an analysis from a description.
Not functional behavior assessment
Deciding a behavior is attention seeking because it looks that way, without data. That is a guess, not an assessment.
Finding out which snacks a learner prefers. That is a preference assessment and answers a different question.
Commonly confused with
See also
Written from
- hanley-iwata-mccord-2003
- iwata-1982-1994
Written from Hanley, Iwata and McCord (2003) and the original functional-analysis literature. No textbook glossary consulted.
This entry has not yet been through clinical review. Treat it as a draft.