Functional Assessment of Challenging Behavior

AbstractPurpose of ReviewThe purpose of this review is to evaluate recent research on functional assessment procedures to identify recent advances and best practices.Recent FindingsIndirect assessments are the most limited form of functional assessment, but their value increases when conducted by behavior analysts rather than caregivers. Direct assessments produce more valid outcomes than indirect assessments, but do not demonstrate a functional relationship between the environmental contingencies and the behavior. Functional analysis procedures are the most rigorous and valid approaches. Recent research has evaluated functional analysis variations, such as the interview-informed synthesized contingency analysis, that are more efficient and flexible for use in a variety of settings.SummaryThe implementation of a functional assessment continues to be best practice for developing effective functional interventions for challenging behavior. Indirect assessments have value for informing direct assessments and functional analyses. Using indirect assessment findings to develop functional analysis procedures can increase their efficiency while maintaining the validity of the functional assessment process.

Source: Current Developmental Disorders Reports - October 25, 2019 Category: Child Development Source Type: research