Functional Behavior

Assessments (FBA)
& Behavior Intervention Plans
(BIP)
Their importance in improving problem behaviors

Presented by: Arianna Ramirez, Caitie Egger, Cierra Allison, and Jessica Ronchetti
 What is an FBA? What is a BIP?

Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA): a process to identify and evaluate the

behavior of a student, as well as the setting, antecedents, and consequences that
are reinforcing and maintaining the behavior (Crone et al., 2015).

Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP): developed from the information collected

through the FBA to address behaviors and create effective interventions to reduce
negative behavior and/or increase positive behavior.

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Principles of Behavior
1. Behavior is learned
▫ From consequences
▫ Watching others
▫ Instructions given by others

2. Behavior is lawful
▫ A person’s behavior is affected by their environment

3. Behavior can be changed

▫ When we know the when and why of a behavior, we can put
into place an intervention to change it.

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Negative Behavior in School

Reasons why students misbehave:

▪ They don’t know what the expectations are

▪ They don’t know how to behave in the way that is expected

▪ They don’t realize that they are misbehaving

▫ Behavior may be accepted at home

▪ They are getting the outcome they want when they engage in the
behavior;
in other words, it has a FUNCTION
(Borgmeier,
2009)
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Function of Negative Behavior in School
▪ Function of behavior refers to the reason why a behavior
is occurring, in other words what is reinforcing the behavior
(Scott et al., 2012)

▪ Students behave a certain way in order to gain or escape

something

▪ Four functions of behavior

▫ Sensory
▫ Attention-seeking
▫ Escape
▫ Tangibles

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▪ An acronym to easily remember the four functions is SEAT
 SEAT

★ Sensory
○ Provide access to sensory stimulation
○ It feels good/relieving to the student
○ The behavior itself is reinforcing
○ Example: rocking themselves throughout the day, especially
during times of anxiety

★ Escape
○ To avoid a difficult task
○ To avoid an unpleasant situation
○ To avoid a person
○ Example: student runs out of class every time he/she is asked to
read 6
 SEAT (Continued)

★ Attention-seeking
○ To gain a reaction from others (i.e. peers, teachers, or other adults)
○ To gain a social interaction with another person
○ Example: a student makes animal noises out loud when the teacher is
giving a lesson to make other students to laugh.

★ Tangible
○ To gain access to a highly preferred item or activity (i.e. iPad, ice
cream, toy, etc.)
○ For example: a student who misbehaves in line because they know
they will get to stand in the front of the line next to the teacher.

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Function of Negative Behavior in School

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 Let’s play WTF!?
(What's The Function!?)
1. When it is time for math, Olivia throws her book and starts walking around class.
When she engages in this behavior, her teacher sends her to stand outside of
the classroom until they are done with the assignment/activity. Olivia continues
to do this every day during math.
Answer: Escape

2. Throughout the day, Greg makes farting noises out loud and all of his
classmates begin to laugh.
Answer: Attention-seeking

3. When it is time to transition from one activity to another, Maria starts to pull on
her ear repeatedly. This occurs every time she is asked to transition. 9
Answer: Sensory
 Let’s play WTF!?
(What's The Function)
4. When Mike starts yelling during class, his teacher hands him a stress ball to use
and sends him to the calming corner. His teacher has noticed that he has been
yelling a lot more often now and without noticeable cause.
Answer: Tangible

5. Larry tends to make comments like “I am a loser” or “I am not good at anything”

around his teacher. Every time his teacher hears him say these things, she will
stop what she is doing and have a one-on-one conversation with Larry about his
statements.
Answer: Attention-seeking

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Dysfunctional is
functional! 11
Purpose for Conducting FBA
▪ Human behavior is functional
▫ All behavior serves a purpose
▫ People act certain ways for a reason
▫ Problem behavior can be more efficient in getting desired
outcomes rather than appropriate behavior.
▫ Understanding why or what is causing the child to behave in
certain ways.

▪ Gather data to understand behavior

▫ Teacher, parent, and/or student interviews
▫ Classroom observations
▫ Functional Assessment Observation forms
▫ ABC Chart
▫ Behavior rating scale 12
Purpose for Conducting FBA (Continued)
▪ When conducting an FBA, you are trying to:
▫ Describe problem behaviors in observational
terms
▫ Conduct interviews and observations to build and
test hypothesis statements
▫ Conduct functional analysis if necessary
▪ A goal when conducting an FBA is to “guide the
development of effective positive interventions
based on function of the behavior,” (Loman,
Strickland-Cohen, Borgmeier, & Horner, 2019).
▫ Is the function tangible, escape, attention, 13
Purpose for Conducting FBA (Continued)

▪ Interventions based on FBA findings can result in

significant change in student behavior.

▪ FBA’s are also known as a preventative practice

throughout all three levels of the prevention model

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Developing a BIP Based off of the FBA

▪ Information from the FBA is used in the

implementation and design of the BIP.
▫ The FBA should have clear results of behavior
predictors, maintaining consequences, and the
function of the problem behavior.
▫ After understanding these factors, the team will
create a BIP for addressing the problem behavior.

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Developing a BIP Based off of the FBA
(Continued)
▪ A BIP should produce multiple outcomes:
▫ Procedures for preventing problem behavior by
changing setting events and predictors
▫ Procedures for teaching appropriate behaviors
▫ Procedures for manipulating consequences of the
problem behavior
▫ Consideration of the contextual fit of the BIP
▫ Data collection to evaluate if the BIP is effective
▫ A timeline for implementation, evaluation, and
follow-up
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Developing a BIP Based off of the FBA
(Continued)
▪ It is important to incorporate the FBA when
developing a BIP to ensure it is individualized.
▫ Different behaviors serve different purposes
between children
▫ The same intervention does not work for different
students even if the behavior is the same

▪ Function-based approaches consider the

unique features of the child, situation, or the
behavior that predict the failure or success of
the intervention. 17
Developing a BIP Based off of the FBA
(Continued)
▪ FBA information helps the team to design
individualized BIPs for each student.

▪ Choice of reinforcers should be motivating for

the particular student.
▫ Has to have a big enough pay-off for the student
to stop the problem behavior and use the
replacement behavior.

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Functionally Equivalent Replacement Behavior
(FERB)
▪ All behavior (appropropriate or not appropriate)
serves one of two functions
▫ Get something (e.g. objects, attention, self-
stimulation)
▫ Reject something (e.g. escape, avoid, protest)
▪ A FERB is an acceptable alternative for problem
behavior
▫ Student receives the same consequence for the
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Purpose of a FERB

▪ The purpose of a Functionally Equivalent

Replacement Behavior is to help the student achieve
a desirable outcome in a way that is appropriate.
▪ A FERB that is more socially acceptable needs to be
taught to the student to meet the same outcome as
the problem behavior

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21
FERB Goal Example

http://www.pent.ca.gov/dsk/sec9/bipma
nual_sec9.pdf#search=FERB

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FERB Examples (Continued)

Problem Function of FERB:

Behavior: behavior:
Yells out in class Attention from peers Raises hand to speak

Runs from classroom Escaping hard work Takes a break

Grabs toys out of peers Access to object Asks for toy instead of
hands grabbing it

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Antecedent Interventions

▪ Environmental alterations designed to address

the problem behavior before it occurs.
▫ Tracking antecedents can help determine the
function of a behavior
▫ Implementing antecedent interventions can help
eliminate problem behaviors before they occur

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Antecedent Interventions (Continued)

▪ SWPBIS ▪ Behavior specific praise

▪ Seating arrangement ▪ Planned ignoring
▪ Giving choices ▪ Routine
▪ Token economies ▪ Classroom rules
▪ Group points ▪ Prompts and active
▪ Behavior contracts supervision
▪ Visuals ▪ Advanced preparation of
▪ Teach and practice materials
expectations ▪ Teacher proximity to
student
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Contingencies

There are four types of contingencies or

reinforcements to consider when following a BIP:

▪ Positive reinforcement takes place after the desired

behavior happens in hopes that it will happen again.
Usually a token reward such as a toy or food follows
the desired behavior.

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Contingencies (Continued)

▪ Negative reinforcement is a reaction that happens

after the behavior and has the potential for that
behavior to happen again. An example would be the
student receives help after asking.
▪ Extinction is when there is no reaction to the
behavior which lessens the chance of it happening
again. An example would be to be sent to a room
where disruption of the class can’t happen.

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Contingencies (Continued)

▪ Punishment is the reaction that takes place after the

undesirable behavior happens. Such as being
suspended for fighting.

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Teaching the Expected Behavior

▪ Teaching is an efficient process for clarifying what all

members of a community should know and be able to
do, as well as where, when and to what criteria to
demonstrate the behavior.
▪ Teaching expected behavior is a cornerstone because
it integrates the notion of what students should know
and be able to do (your matrix) with how you will be
sure they can do it

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Teaching the Expected Behaviors (Continued)

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Teaching the Expected Behaviors (Continued)

▪ To help students maintain skills being taught and to encourage use

of the skills in a variety of situations, generalization strategies are
included in both acquisition lesson plans and maintenance “booster”
lessons plans. These generalization strategies include:
1. Pre-Corrects or Reminders: Reminders before entering a setting or
performing a task to promote successful demonstration of expected
behaviors.
2. Supervision: To have a positive impact on student behavior, to
prevent problem behaviors from occurring and to monitor student
performance, teachers must actively supervise students.
3. Feedback on Performance: Feedback can be categorized as positive
(reinforcing the expected behavior), corrective (telling the student
what the expected behavior is for the situation), and negative (giving
the student a message to stop their current behavior with no 31
information about a replacement behavior)
Teaching the Expected Behavior (Continued)

▪ It is important to remember that students are

not born with bad behaviors and they don’t
learn appropriate behaviors when they are
only given aversive consequences.
▪ Students should be taught the expected
behaviors and in order to retain it they should
be given positive feedback and opportunities
to reach their goals.
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The Importance of Fidelity

▪ While it is challenging, it is vital that fidelity is

maintained through balancing the methodological
rigor of the FBA with feasibility and efficiency.

▪ Examples of helping with fidelity include:

▫ Direct observations over indirect
▫ Identification and validation of the hypothesis
regarding the function of the behavior
▫ Use of school-based personnel

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The Importance of Fidelity (Continued)

▪ Assessing fidelity can be done by:

▫ Checking in with team members to ensure
consistency of implementation (everyone doing
their part)
▫ The use of individualized behavior rating scales
(consistent completion over a continuous period
of time)
▫ Direct observation of teacher by another team
member using a fidelity checklist
▫ Examining observational data
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The Importance of Fidelity (Continued)

▪ Fidelity= Consistency, Accuracy, & Integrity

▪ Ensures instruction has been implemented as

intended

▪ Helps in determination of intervention effectiveness

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Fidelity Checklist Sample Form

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(Iris Center,
Five Elements of Fidelity

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https://rti4success.org/sites/default/files/Using%20Fidelity%20to%20Enhance%20Program%20Implementation_PPTSlides.pdf
 References
Borgmeier, C. (2009, April 1). Teaching Function of Behavior to All Staff. Retrieved February 28, 2020,
from https://www.pbis.org/resource/teaching-function-of-behavior-to-all-staff
Behavior Intervention Plans. (n.d.). Retrieved March 2, 2020, from
http://www.pent.ca.gov/beh/bip/bip.htm
Crone, D. A., Hawken, L. S., & Horner, R. H. (2015). Building positive behavior support systems in
schools: functional behavioral assessment (2nd ed.). New York: The Guilford Press.
Loman, S., Strickland-Cohen, M. K., Borgmeier, C., & Horner, R. (2019). Basic fba to bsp trainer’s
manual.
Retrieved February 29, 2020 from:
https://assets-global.website-files.com/5d3725188825e071f1670246/5db71e5e6b872d07100ac4c5_
TrainerManual.pdf
Positive Environments, Network of Trainers. (2020). Retrieved from http://www.pent.ca.gov/
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 References

Scott, T. M., Alter, P. J., & Anderson, C. M. (2012). Managing classroom behavior using positive behavior
supports. Boston: Pearson.
Using Fidelity to Enhance Program Implementation Within an RTI Framework. (2020). Retrieved 3 March
2020, from
https://rti4success.org/resource/using-fidelity-enhance-program-implementation-within-rti-framework
What are the four contingencies of reinforcement? (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://www.coursebb.com/2017/07/28/four-contingencies-reinforcement/
What can Ms. Rollison do to modify Joseph's behavior? (n.d.). Retrieved March 1, 2020, from
https://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/module/fba/cresource/q3/p10/
When to Reteach Behavior Expectations? (2018, October 15). Retrieved from
https://www.pbisrewards.com/blog/reteach-behavior-expectations/
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