Peer-Reviewed Journal: Functional Behavioral Assessment/Analysis

Research Analysis
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Research Analysis
Zhang, N., & Xu, S. (2019). The effect of choice-making on behavioral problems of children with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Exceptional People, 1(14), 29.
The study is based on one participant. The participant is described as an 11-yar old named Sen, who has been diagnosed with mild autism and enrolled in an autism institution in Chongqing. The participant was diagnosed with autism when he was 11 years old. The observation record of the participant was clapping the desk with his palm frequently, saying something unrelated to the task at hand, and doing something unrelated to the assigned task. The observed behaviors in the classroom settings were also confirmed at home.
To conduct a functional analysis of the behavior, the researcher utilized the functional behavior assessment interview form. This involved gathering information from various sources, including family members, teachers, and primary caregivers, who were asked to observe the participant during a teaching routine and document their observations in the assessment form. The goal was to gain insights into the function of the behavior by examining its antecedents and consequences.
To conduct the functional analysis, a simple method was employed, involving the implementation of two separate conditions: the test situation and the controlled situation. In the test situation, the researcher created an environment that was more likely to elicit the targeted behavioral problems. This condition aimed to provoke the challenging behaviors and observe their occurrence. On the other hand, the controlled situation was designed to provide a baseline for comparison, offering a context with minimal triggers for the problem behaviors.
During the test situation, an increase in the occurrence of behavioral problems was confirmed, aligning with the hypothesis that certain conditions would provoke these behaviors. This confirmation was achieved through a post-validation exchange, where the researcher compared and analyzed the data collected during the test situation with the observations and reports from the participants and other sources. The post-validation exchange helped validate the findings and establish a clear connection between the specific conditions and the occurrence of the challenging behaviors.
The dependent variable in the study was the number of instances when the student engaged in the act of slapping the surface of the desk. The author defined the target behaviors as “the palm hits the desktop during instructional sessions” (Zhang & Zhu, 2019).
The functional analysis of the target behavior showed that the participants mainly engaged in the behavior as a way of evading the assigned task and as a means of attracting attention. The results showed that the target behavior occurred 19 times in the post-effect avoidance situation, with the post-effect exchange where the subject was taught to express their avoidance correctly leading to only one observation of the target behavior. The return to the original avoidance situation saw an increase in the problem behavior to 15 times. Notably, the results of the functional analysis indicated that the target behaviors were used to avoid a demand with its frequency identified to be 5 in contingent attention situations.
Based on the provided data from the functional analysis, the procedure was effective in identifying the function of the target behavior. During the post-effect avoidance situation, where the participants were trying to avoid the task, the target behavior occurred 19 times. This high occurrence indicates that the behavior was indeed used as a means of evading the assigned task. However, after implementing an intervention where the subject was taught to express their avoidance correctly, the post-effect exchange resulted in only one observation of the target behavior. This suggests that the intervention was effective in reducing the occurrence of the behavior in situations where avoidance was expected. Upon returning to the original avoidance situation, there was an increase in the frequency of the problem behavior to 15 times. This suggests that the initial function of avoiding demands was reinstated. This finding further supports the notion that the target behavior was indeed used as a way to avoid assigned tasks. In the contingent attention situation, where attention was provided as a consequence of the behavior, the frequency of the target behavior was identified as 5. This result indicates that the target behavior also served the function of attracting attention.
To address the behavior, choic...