Functional assessment and data analysis
- 1. Terri Rodgers, Ph.D. BCBAChief Behavior AnalystDepartment of Mental HealthDivision of Developmental DisabilitiesApril 13, 2010Functional Assessment & Data Analysis
- 2. FBA and Psychiatric Diagnoses“A person is first of all an organism, a member of a species and a subspecies, possessing a genetic endowment of anatomical, physiological and chemical characteristics, which are the products of the contingencies of survival to which the species and each organism has been exposed in the process of evolution.Each person acquires a repertoire of behavior and becomes an individual as it contacts unique contingencies, grounded by consequences, to which it is exposed in its lifetime. Each individual is able to acquire such a repertoire because of its evolved susceptibility to the processes of conditioning. The behavior an individual exhibits at any moment is under the unique control her/his genetic endowment, learning history and the current setting.”
- 3. Diagnosis or No DiagnosisDifferent categories of behavior result from different biological, neurological chemical makeup, and different experiences (environmental interactions).
- 4. The FBA Process is the SameAll individuals have environmental, biological, neurological and chemical differences, and they are often changing.Our eyesight, hearing, pain thresholds, hormones, chemistry, self induced chemicals, diets, learning history (via parents, siblings, friends, experiences)All of us are affected by environmental events (behavioral processes)Because of all of the above each of us are affected somewhat differently.
- 5. The FBA Process is the SameThere are Sd’s but their effects are slightly differentThere are MO’s but their effects are slightly different There are Reinforcers, but their effects are slightly differentTherefore, our Behaviors are slightly differentWhether or not there is a psychiatric diagnosis, empirical observations and systematic recording of the effects of these processes lead to the most effective environmental interventions (i.e., BSP’s)
- 6. Psychiatric diagnosis and Intellectual disabilitiesDiagnoses primarily based on verbal report of symptoms – ID may need to look for behavior and biologic signs that likely relate to symptomsUtilize reports of support people and observationsPsychiatric diagnosis – medical model while ID area operates on a learning based modelManifestations of ID may overshadow psychiatric symptoms
- 7. Issues to considerThe existence of behavior problems are not sufficient for a psychiatric diagnosisBehavior problems may be related to a number of physical illnessesBehavior problems may have been learned and maintained in pathogenic environmentsEnvironmental variables influence behavior regardless of “cause”
- 8. Goals of FBADefine the problem behavior and desirable behavior (measurable manner)Identify the events, times, situations that describe and predict high and low rates of behaviorIdentify the typical, likely consequences related to the behavior(s)Generate hypotheses about the function(s) of the problem behavior(s)
- 9. About BehaviorSpecific actions – well definedDesirable behaviors that should be occurring are as important as the undesirable behaviorsThink about what dimension(s) of behavior you want and measure those
- 10. Functions of behavior or contributions of environmentConsequences of behaviorGet something – positive reinforcement Tangible items-food, money, cigsSocial consequence – reaction, attention, interactions, move near people, touch Get away from something – negative reinforcementDemands stopped, eliminated or reduced demandsAversive stimulation terminated or mitigated – move from chaotic environment to quiet, away from people
- 11. Antecedents to BehaviorImmediatePain, aversive stimuli or coercionGet away and escape – see consequencesGet even- might include variety of emotional responses and aggressive, destructive behaviors- pain on part of others more reinforcing, or less punishingConditioned situations in which any of above consequences or stimuli occurred Generalization to like situations, people, tones of voice, facial expressions
- 12. Antecedents to Behavior cont.Motivating Operations- more distant, states of beingIllness, fatigue, hunger, thirst, pain,Episode of depression, paranoia, delusions, maniaEffects of medications (more /less sensitive to reinforcement, more/less sensitive to aversive stimuli)
- 13. Examples of behavioral mechanisms of action for psychotropic medicationsRespiradol -(Moore, et al. 2009)Has little effect on behaviors that are sensitive to or maintained by positive reinforcement including social contingenciesHas some suppressive effect on behaviors sensitive to or maintained by negative reinforcementHas some suppressive effect on behavior that are sensitive to non - social contingenciesMay have more effect on suppressing positively reinforced self injury than on positively reinforced aggression
- 14. Metheylphenidate (MHP)MHP acts as an establishing operation increasing the relative effectiveness of environmental stimuli as reinforcers
- 15. Behavioral mechanisms continuedAnti -anxiety meds seem to reduce the reinforcing properties of escape from aversive stimuli (reduce the negative effects of aversive stimuli)Anti depressants increase the sensitivity to reinforcement
- 16. Must consider how medication effects will interact with the functions of behaviorAnti depressant with hitting occurring when told “no” or if want something -attention (positively reinforced) – may make hitting occur more frequentlyRespiradol – may have little effect on hitting reinforced by social contingencies (attention or interaction) however, if hitting is getting the person out of situations, may reduce frequency
- 17. Other effects of medicationsAntipsychotics frequently cause sedation and compromise cognitive functioning and self help skillsExtrapyramidal side effects possibleOther side effects including akathisia (restlessness and irritability)
- 18. Understanding Functions and measurement of effects importantSituations in which behavior likely or unlikelyEffects of meds in these situationsEffects of skill building and reinforcement in these situationsEffects of fading medications when intervention/teaching is working across these situations
- 19. Data Collection TipsThe more specific the behavior the betterSmaller units of behavior counted more analysisAt least look at time of day, activity for the behavior dailyTeach the definition and data collectionFrequently follow up for accuracy
- 20. Graphing ConventionsElectronic Graph data in finer detail for analysis – daily vs monthly summaryLabel the axes and keep the scale the sameLook at the graphic data over time, not 1 month at a timeMaximum of 4 data trails on a graphAccount for significant events on the graphLook for trendsAccount for blips
- 21. DATA Collection for Anxiety Disorder FBA Example
- 23. FBA Data Collection Example for Demand Hypothesis
- 24. Example of FBA with medicationsInterventions –skill building, change High FBA on medicationsTaper medications, cont On Medicationsdayprogram, reinf high prob demandsratesinterventionsHitting others or windows in demand situationsHitting others or windows no demandsBPsychotic symptomsehReplacement skillsaviorsLow rates
Editor's Notes
- #23: Need to target data collection for both the symptoms and the correlated behaviors to evaluate medication effectsYelling and striking out may be generalized responses that occur in other situations also (used for more than to get people to move away or leave alone) therefore to evaluate the effect of the anti-anxiety medication must differentially take data specific to the situations in which the behaviors occur and parcel out the situations related to “anxiety” from other situation/functions of the behavior Interventions that relate to function of behavior- escape from situation develop several skills to replace yelling and striking out including asking people to move away or “leave me alone”; systematically develop tolerance for proximity of others; relaxation skills to be used when anxiety increases; teach self observation and discrimination of “increased anxiety” or teach to relax when prompted by others who notice these cues; make situation more reinforcing/less aversive - interaction skills so that being around others also results in higher availability of “natural” reinforcement; while other interventions are in place arrange for situations in which others must be in proximity to be associated with extra rich schedule of reinforcement