Behavior Analytic Services
Assignment Directions
Assignment Details
Your assignment should be a 1–2-page essay response to each of the required sections for a total of 3–6 pages, not including the title and reference pages, and should include the following elements:
Title page: Provide your name, title of assignment, course and section number, and date.
Body: Answer all the questions in complete sentences and paragraphs.
Your responses should reflect professional writing standards, using proper tone and language. The writing and writing style should be correct and accurate, and reflect knowledge of skills and practice in the Psychology profession.
Reference page: Sources listed in APA format.
Include a minimum of 3 peer-reviewed, behavior analytic resources from the Purdue University Global Library
Use Times New Roman 12-point font, double-spaced and left aligned.
Use standard 1" margins on all sides.
Use APA formatting and citation style.
This assignment assesses the following Course Outcomes:
Determine the scope of behavior analytic services needed to treat socially-significant behavioral excesses and/or deficits.
Differentiate types of assessment procedures that must be conducted to inform behavioral skill acquisition programs.
Assignment Directions & Details
For this assignment, you will write one initial assessment request. Use the information included in one of the two case studies (i.e., mock client scenarios) below as the foundation for your initial assessment requests. Using the case study that you select, provide a 1–2-page essay response to each of the required sections below. In addition to the information provided in the case studies, use the materials provided in previous units and peer-reviewed, behavior analytic resources from the Purdue University Global Library to demonstrate that your recommendations in each section are based on relevant research literature and best practice standards.
Required Sections
Biopsychosocial History:
Write a biopsychosocial history of the client and discuss the implications for behavior analytic services. Include a recommendation for the scope of behavior analytic services likely required for this client. Take care to include all of the information provided in the case study, but you do not need to add any other hypothetical information
Prioritization of Target Behaviors:
Describe how behaviors targeted for change have been prioritized for assessment. This section should include an actual list prioritizing the target behaviors from the behavior(s) that will be assessed first to the behavior(s) that will be assessed last. Discuss the social validity of the prioritized list of target behaviors. (This section may include hypothetical information that is outside the content provided in the case study. That is, you may write in the past tense and pretend that you have used specific procedures to prioritize the target behaviors and confirm the social validity of the list.)
Proposed Assessment Sequence:
Propose an assessment sequence for the client. Review safeguards that will be included to ensure that all assessments are conducted in an ethical manner. (Identify what components of a functional behavior assessment will be conducted, when, and why)
Case Study 1 – Mike Crafone
4-year-old boy
Lives with mother, grandmother, older sister
Identified by his school district as having a developmental delay
Qualified for and enrolled in early intervention program in school district at age 2.5 years
Attendance at the early intervention program has been sporadic due to transportation difficulties the family has been experiencing
Early intervention program has one BCBA on staff, but the program is not behavior analytic in nature and the BCBA has never met or assessed Mike’s behavior
Diagnosed by a developmental pediatrician at age 3.5 years with autism spectrum disorder. According to the developmental pediatrician, he is physically healthy.
Recommended for ABA services by the social worker at the developmental pediatrician’s clinic
Mother is not certain about what ABA is, but she has heard from other parents on the internet that she can get help at home
School district still is trying to determine what special education services, if any, will be needed when he enters kindergarten in approximately one year from now
Mother reports that he:
Flaps his hands and squeals quite often
Hits his head with his fists and bangs is head on surfaces. He has broken a tooth from this.
Runs away from her in public places
Can repeat words that people say to him, but he does not always do it. He does not spontaneously produce words.
Is a picky eater. She often cannot figure out what he wants to eat.
Cannot complete any self-help routines that commonly can be completed by 4-year-olds (e.g., putting on slip-on shoes)
Requests items or activities by leading her by the hand to certain locations
Is not toilet-trained
Rubric:
Case Study: Biopsychosocial History
● Biopsychosocial history includes all of the information presented in the case study.
● Establishes a complete rationale supporting the scope of behavior analytic services needed.
Case Study: Prioritization of Target Behaviors
● Describes how all behaviors targeted for change have been prioritized for assessment.
● Explains the social validity of the prioritized list of target behaviors.
Case Study: Proposed Assessment Sequence:
● Identifies an effective sequence of all relevant assessments needed to determine behavioral and/or skill deficits of the client.
● Discusses ethical considerations regarding the assessment process.
Writing and Mechanics:
Writing includes all of the following:
● Clear and logical organization paragraphs.
● Sentences are well developed.
● Uses correct grammar, spelling, and
punctuation.
Reading resources:
READING AND RESOURCES
Read the following chapters in your text
Read Chapter 13: “Functional Analysis: History and Methods” in Handbook of Applied Behavior Analysis: Functional Analysis. History and Methods (pp. 214–233)
Read part of Chapter 2: “Functional Assessment and Analysis Strategies” (pp. 57–66) in Functional Assessment and Program Development for Problem Behavior-A Practical Handbook
You can also access all your course Library readings within the Library Resources page located from the Library link under Academic Tools.
In addition to these readings in your texts, please read the following articles:
Functional assessment of problem behavior: Dispelling myths, overcoming implementation obstacles, and developing new lore. Hanley (2012)
Toward a functional analysis of self-injury. Iwata, et al. (1994)
Evaluating the boundaries of analytic efficiency and control: A consecutive controlled case series of 26 functional analyses. Jessel, et al. (2020)
On the validity of data produced by isolated and synthesized contingencies during the functional analysis of problem behavior. Tiger & Effertz (2021).
READING AND RESOURCES
Read the following Chapters in your texts:
Read Chapter 12: “Direct Observation” in Handbook of Applied Behavior Analysis. (pp. 202–213)
Read part of Chapter 2: “Functional Assessment and Analysis Strategies” (pp. 40–56) in Functional Assessment and Program Development for Problem Behavior-A Practical Handbook
You can also access all your course Library readings within the Library Resources page located from the Library link under Academic Tools.
In addition to these readings in your texts, please read the following articles:
A method to integrate descriptive and experimental field studies at the level of data and empirical concepts. Bijou, et al. (1968)
Use of direct behavior ratings to collect functional assessment data. Kilgus, et al. (2017)
Descriptive and experimental analyses of variables maintaining self-injurious behavior. Lerman & Iwata (1993)
Agreement between structured descriptive assessments and functional analyses conducted over a telehealth system. Martens, et al. (2019)
Read the following chapters in your texts:
Read Chapter 3“Linking the Function of the Behavior to the Intervention” in Functional Assessment and Program Development for Problem Behavior—A Practical Handbook
You can also access all your course Library readings within the Library Resources page located from the Library link under Academic Tools.
In addition to these readings in your texts, please read the following articles:
Interview-Informed Synthesized Contingency Analysis (IISCA): Novel Interpretations and Future Directions. Coffey (2019)
Clinical application of functional analysis methodology Iwata & Dozier (2012)
Implications of functional analysis methodology for the design of intervention programs. Iwata & Worsdell (2005)
Mike's Initial Assessment
Student's Name
Institutional Affiliation
Course number and Course Name
Instructor's Name
Date
Mike's Initial Assessment
The relevance of behavior analytic services depends on specific clients' identified needs. Behavior analysts work within their scope of practice, offering services like parent training and assessing or analyzing functional behaviors to the best level of competency (Fisher et al., 2021). Concerning a client's case study, the paper focus on discussing biopsychology history, prioritization of target behaviors, and proposed assessment sequence
Biopsychosocial History
A biopsychosocial is a holistic valuation conducted at therapy to assess biological, social, and psychosocial factors contributing to the client's problem. The model examines the person at different levels of education, culture, family, medical issues, or relationship challenges to determine individual needs (Bijou et al., 1968). The assessment approach was proposed by George Engel, asserting that a person's social, biological, and mental factors are intertwined, influencing well-being (Iwata & Worsdell, 2005). The body and mind are entwined and not regarded as separate entities. For instance, if a person experiences a physical condition when lacking social support, he can become anxious or depressed. The following is a biopsychosocial assessment of Mike Crafone from the case study.
Biological/demographic factors:
* Age, four years old
* Sex, male
Family history/members:
* Mother
* older sister
* grandmother
History of the present problem:
* run away from people/his mother when in public places
* often flaps hands and squeals
* repeat people's words though not always
* picky eating habit
* cannot complete self-help routines
* Not toilet-trained
* Request things by pointing
Psychiatric history:
* diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) at the age of 3.5
* identified with developmental delay
Therapeutic history:
* enrolled in an early intervention program for developmental delays at the age of 2.5
* attendance to the program challenged by transport issues in the family
* BCBA has not assessed the client
Recommended for ABA services
A behavior-analytic intervention would effectively apply in Mike's case. Based on the child's needs, analytical services such as applied behavioral analysis (ABA) could help to build and maintain communication, language, cognition functions, or social interactions. ABA could support the child in developing situational awareness, adaptive skills, and relationship management (Hanley, 2012). Behavior analysts' central role includes designing treatment plans specific to clients' interests. Through close monitoring, and continuous assessments from session to session, specialists can develop interventions to improve Mike's behaviors and communication skills.
Scope of Behavior Analytic Services
In the client's case, numerous scopes of behavior analytic services are required. These include parent training, functional assessment of Mike's behaviors, development of behavior intervention plans, and examination of barriers in progress. Studies show that ABA is among the most successful treatment approaches for children with ASD (Jessel et al., 2020). Therefore, effective treatment programs to help Mike with autism and other special needs are vital, along with supporting the parent or family members so that they can participate in the treatment plan. Social skill learning is an essential ABA-based service recommended in Mike's case as he exemplifies difficulties in behaviors, communication, and social interactions. Without better social abilities, the child may face challenges building positive relationships with other children or family members, making understanding of intents, desires, and experiences complex.
An ABA social skill session will break specific complex needs like conversation exchange into smaller fragments, then teach them separately. In Mike's case, the child's mother is not sure what ABA constitutes but only heard from other parents on the internet that it could help. The scope of behavior analytic services like parent training is essential to quality ABA as they have countless benefits for children and families. For instance, the service would help the mother learn better ways to improve Mike's skills, manage challenging behaviors and support his growth. Parents' participation in ABA can help improve children's communication and social abilities, which are the core features of ASD
Prioritization of Target Behaviors
The behaviors targeted for change in the child can be prioritized for the assessment using a worksheet scale. Some questions and considerations determine the urgency of a behavior (Kilgus et al., 2017). For instance, it is necessary to consider whether the behaviors exhibited by the child pose a danger to self or others and the frequency of behavior occurrence (Lerman & Iwata, 1993). Also, noting the duration or how long-standing the problem of skill deficit is and whether changing the child's behavior could incur significant reinforcement is crucial. The relevance of target behaviors in future skills acquisition, the success of changing the client's behaviors, and if changes will produce unwanted attention from others must get noted. The behavior that scores higher would presumably be prioritized first for an intervention. From Mike's case, the following is a list prioritizing target behaviors in the order of the ones to be assessed first to those evaluated last.
1 The child's behavior of hitting his head with fists and banging it on surfaces
2 Running away/hiding in public places
3 Being unable to complete self-help routine
4 Toilet skills
5 Flaps hands and squeals
6 Pointing things or requesting activities with hands
7 Picky eating
8 Repeating words people say
Social Validity
In determining the rank for target behaviors, some considerations guided the prioritization. Any conduct that poses risks or threats to the client or others gets considered first (Iwata et al., 1994). In Mike's case, he has exhibited dangerous behaviors such as hitting his head repeatedly on surfaces. The risky act or conduct led him to break a tooth. Behaviors that occur are often prioritized, such as running away in public. Such may indicate the fear of consequences and anxiety, which need intervention. Mike's inability to complete self-help routines, such as going to the washroom alone, is a priority, given his current age. Specific procedures integrated by the mother to train the child in self-help activities have been used before, such as bre...
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