A website created for families
who want to know more about the assessment process!
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Data Collection
The second step in the FBA process is gather information on the
target behavior. Because a single
source of information usually does not construct accurate information, multiple
techniques of indirect and direct methods for collecting data are used.
Indirect assessment relies upon the use of well-structured
interviews with teachers, students, parents and other adults who have direct
interaction with the student displaying challenging behavior.
These interviews probe for answers to questions about the context in
which the challenging behavior occurs in different settings.
Interviews with the student are also conducted.
Various rating scales, questionnaires, and checklists
are used for indirect assessment. Direct assessment involves observing and recording circumstances
surrounding a student displaying challenging behavior.
By charting frequency, intensity, and duration of a behavior, and how it
connects to various settings, learning tasks, peers, adults, and times of day, a
visual map describing the circumstances under which it increases and decreases
can be formed. This method of
observation is referred to as event recording.
This is done with a simple or complex tally chart.
The observation is broken down into time increments (seconds, minutes,
hours, or days) and the observer records whether the behavior is or is not
happening at some point during each time increment.
Also, the circumstances under which the challenging behavior occurs is
observed and described as the antecedent and consequence events.
The antecedent event refers to what is occurring in the environment
before the behavior and the consequence event is what occurs after the behavior.
This method of observation is referred to as antecedent analysis.
This is done with a simple Antecedent-Behavior-Consequences (ABC) chart.
The observer watches the student in the setting the behavior is likely to
happen and records descriptions of the events in the proper sections.
Observation is the most effective way to gather information to determine the function a challenging behavior serves a student. Data collection is the most time intensive part of the FBA process because of the documentation involved.
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