When a child bites, throws objects, refuses instructions, or engages in other behaviors that interfere with daily activities, the first question is often how to stop the behavior.
However, a Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA) begins with a different question: Why is this behavior happening? Rather than assigning labels such as “defiant” or “attention-seeking,” an FBA examines what happens before the behavior, what the child does, and what happens afterward. From this information, clinicians determine why the behavior continues to occur.
At On Target ABA, Functional Behavior Assessments provide the foundation for treatment planning. The information gathered during an FBA allows our clinical team to develop strategies that teach replacement skills while reducing behaviors that interfere with learning and communication, as well as daily routines.
Key Takeaways on Functional Behavior Assessment
- A Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA) identifies the purpose a behavior serves by examining what happens around the behavior and why it continues.
- Behavior analysts use the behavioral assessment findings to develop a Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP) that teaches replacement skills matched to the function of the behavior.
- Parents contribute to the FBA by sharing information about their child’s behavior across home and community settings.
- Schools and ABA providers use Functional Behavior Assessments to guide behavior support and monitor progress. They are also used to update intervention plans as the child’s needs change.
What Is a Functional Behavior Assessment?
A Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA) identifies the conditions surrounding a behavior and the purpose it serves for the child. Instead of focusing only on the behavior itself, a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) uses an FBA to examine the events leading up to the behavior, alongside the behavior itself, and the response immediately afterward. Clinicians refer to these as the antecedent, behavior, and consequence.
Information gathered during an FBA serves as the basis for a behavior support plan. The ABA functional assessment identifies patterns across settings, people, activities, and times of day, allowing clinicians and educators to teach replacement skills and reduce behaviors that interfere with learning, communication, or daily routines.
Schools, ABA providers, psychologists, and other professionals use FBAs to understand many different behaviors, including aggression, biting, hitting, self-injury, elopement, tantrums, property destruction, and task refusal.
When Is a Functional Behavior Assessment Required?
FBA’s are generally recommended when a child displays behaviors that disrupt their ability to function optimally. Schools use Functional Behavior Assessments in several situations. Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), schools must consider an FBA when a disciplinary removal results in a change of placement for a student with a disability, including certain suspensions lasting more than ten school days.
A school may also recommend an FBA when a child’s behavior disrupts learning, makes classroom participation difficult, or results in repeated disciplinary action. Parents do not have to wait for the school to suggest an assessment. You may request an FBA through the Individualized Education Program (IEP) process if you believe behavior is affecting your child’s education.
Outside the school setting, BCBAs often conduct an FBA before developing an ABA treatment plan. They may also complete another assessment if new behaviors emerge or existing behaviors become more frequent so that a child’s current behavior plan always aligns with their needs.
The Four Functions of Behavior
Every behavior serves a purpose. The benefits of a Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA) are that it identifies the outcome a child receives from a behavior. In behavioral science, those outcomes fall into four categories, known as the four functions of behavior. Identifying the function allows clinicians to teach a replacement skill that serves the same purpose in a more appropriate way. The four functions include:
Escape or Avoidance
A child engages in a behavior to end, delay, or avoid a task, activity, person, or environment.
Example: A child throws materials on the floor after receiving a worksheet. The teacher stops the lesson to clean up the materials, delaying the task.
Attention
A child engages in a behavior because it consistently produces a response from another person. The response may include conversation, eye contact, physical comfort, redirection, or a reprimand.
Example: A child screams while a parent is talking on the phone. The parent immediately ends the call and begins talking to the child.
Access to Tangibles
A child engages in a behavior to obtain an object, activity, or preferred item.
Example: A child cries after seeing a tablet placed on a shelf. An adult hands the child the tablet to stop the crying.
Automatic (Sensory) Reinforcement
A child engages in a behavior because the behavior itself produces sensory input or another internal consequence. The child does not rely on another person’s response.
Example: A child rocks back and forth while playing alone because the movement itself provides sensory stimulation.
Functional Behavior Assessment Steps
A Functional Behavior Assessment follows a series of steps:
- Clinicians define the behavior in observable terms
- They gather information about when and where it occurs
- What happens immediately before and after the behavior is recorded
- The behavior’s function is then identified
- Those findings are used to develop a Behavior Intervention Plan
What are the Types of Functional Behavior Assessment?
Behavior analysts use three primary methods when conducting a Functional Behavior Assessment. The approach depends on the child’s behavior, the settings where it occurs, and the information needed to complete the assessment. Clinicians often combine more than one method. These could include:
Indirect Assessment
An indirect assessment gathers information from people who know the child, including parents, teachers, caregivers, and other professionals. Interviews and questionnaires, such as rating scales, provide information about when the behavior occurs. This identifies what usually happens beforehand and how others tend to respond.
Common tools include standardized questionnaires, such as the Motivation Assessment Scale (MAS) and the Functional Analysis Screening Tool (FAST). These questionnaires identify patterns but do not determine the function of a behavior on their own.
Direct Assessment
During a direct descriptive assessment in ABA, an observer watches the child in everyday settings, such as in the classroom or at home. The observer records what happens immediately before the behavior and describes the behavior itself. They then observe the outcome and record what happens immediately afterward.
Behavior analysts often collect this information using ABC (Antecedent-Behavior-Consequence) data sheets and scatterplots, which show whether behaviors occur more often during particular activities or at certain times of the day.
Functional Analysis
A functional analysis examines how different consequences affect a behavior. The behavior analyst creates a series of carefully planned situations and changes one factor at a time, such as providing attention, removing a task, or giving access to a preferred item. The child’s responses indicate which consequence maintains the behavior.
Because a functional analysis deliberately arranges situations in which challenging behaviors may occur, a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) or another professional with equivalent training typically conducts this assessment under controlled conditions.
How Parents Can Participate in the FBA Process
Parents play an important role throughout the Functional Behavior Assessment process. They see their child in situations that school staff and clinicians do not, providing the assessment with a broader picture of how behaviors vary across environments.
During the assessment, clinicians ask parents general questions about their child’s development and daily life. They may also look deeper into previous experiences with behavior support. Additionally, they ask what typically happens before and after a behavior, looking for patterns that appear across various settings.
It is recommended that parents keep a behavior log at home. Recording several examples over time gives clinicians more information than a single observation during an appointment and makes it easier to compare patterns across different settings.
After completing the assessment, the school or clinical team reviews the findings with the family. In the school setting, parents have the right to receive and review the FBA report and participate in decisions about behavior intervention planning through the Individualized Education Program (IEP) process.
What is the Purpose of a Functional Behavior Assessment?
The purpose of a Functional Behavior Assessment is to provide the information used to develop a Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP). The assessment identifies the situations surrounding a behavior and the purpose the behavior serves. The behavior plan then outlines practical strategies based on those findings.
An effective Behavior Intervention Plan does not focus only on reducing a behavior. It teaches a replacement behavior that meets the same need. For example, if a child leaves the classroom to avoid a difficult task, the plan may teach the child to request a break or ask for help. If a child throws objects to gain attention, the plan may teach the child to request attention in an appropriate way.
After the plan begins, teachers, therapists, and caregivers continue collecting data. They record whether the behavior is becoming less frequent and whether the child is using the replacement skill. The team reviews this information regularly and updates the plan when needed.
For children who receive special education services, the Behavior Intervention Plan becomes part of the Individualized Education Program (IEP). The IEP team reviews the plan during regular IEP meetings and revises it as the child’s needs change.
Functional Behavior Assessments at On Target ABA
At On Target ABA, Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs) conduct Functional Behavior Assessments to identify the factors influencing a child’s behavior and develop treatment plans based on the assessment findings. The assessment includes interviews with caregivers and various forms of data collection to develop a behavior support plan tailored to the child’s needs.
To learn more about Functional Behavior Assessments or schedule an assessment, contact On Target ABA. Our team can explain the assessment process, answer questions, and discuss the next steps for your child.
FAQs on Functional Behavior Assessments
How long does a Functional Behavior Assessment take?
How long an FBA takes depends on the child’s behavior, the settings in which it occurs, and the amount of information the clinician needs to collect. Some assessments take several days, while others require observations across multiple weeks to identify consistent patterns.
Who can conduct a Functional Behavior Assessment?
In ABA settings, a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) typically conducts the assessment. They also review the data and develop recommendations based on the findings. Schools often assign a school psychologist, behavior specialist, or other qualified professional to complete an FBA.
Does an FBA involve testing my child?
An FBA does not resemble an academic or medical test. The assessment focuses on observing behavior, interviewing parents and teachers, reviewing records, and collecting data across everyday activities. During a functional analysis, the clinician arranges specific situations to determine what is causing the behavior to continue.
What behaviors require a Functional Behavior Assessment?
Professionals use FBAs to evaluate behaviors that interfere with learning, communication, daily routines, or safety. Examples include aggression, self-injury, property destruction, task refusal, and behaviors that result in repeated disciplinary action at school.
Can a functional behavior assessment (FBA) help with toileting challenges in autism?
Yes, FBAs can be used to address toileting challenges at home. A functional behavior assessment for toileting problems in autism can identify whether a child is avoiding the bathroom due to sensory discomfort, seeking to prolong a preferred activity, or responding to another trigger, so the intervention targets the right cause rather than the behavior alone.
Can parents request a Functional Behavior Assessment?
Yes. Parents may request an FBA through the Individualized Education Program (IEP) process if they believe behavior interferes with their child’s education. Parents may also request an assessment from an ABA provider or another qualified clinician outside the school setting.
What happens after the FBA?
After the functional behavior assessment, the clinician reviews the assessment findings and develops recommendations. In many cases, those recommendations form the basis of a Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP), which outlines replacement skills and explains how adults should respond to the behavior.
Will my child need another FBA in the future?
A child may receive another FBA if behavior changes or new concerns arise. An additional FBA may also be recommended if the current behavior plan no longer matches the child’s needs. Clinicians can conduct a new assessment when they need additional information to revise an existing intervention plan.
