Education 5306/5406 FBA template, 2014

Dominican Student: Elizabeth Escalante

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EDUC 5306/5406: FUNCTIONAL BEHAVIOR ASSESSMENT PLAN TEMPLATE
Complete an FBA for EACH BEHAVIOR that is interfering
with the students academic and social potential

STUDENT FIRST NAME: K DATE: March 20, 2014

DATE OF BIRTH: AGE: 9 years old

MALE/FEMALE: Male GRADE: 4

STAFF PARTICIPATING IN ASSESSMENT: Ms. S and Ms. D
DATE (S) OF ASSESSMENT: February 13, 18, 20, 2014



I. REASON FOR FBA
Explain the target behavior in specific, observable terms, describing what the behavior looks like and the
reason for this referral. (If there is more than one behavior, complete additional forms.)

K has trouble with following teacher directions and requires multiple prompts to initiate a task in all
settings, which include the general education classroom with Ms. S (for Homeroom) and Ms. B (for Social
Studies) and at the Resource Specialist Program with Ms. D. It has been noted by RSP aide, Ms. MD, that
K will argue with the teacher and not follow teacher directions when prompted to do work 80% of the
time. When K is prompted to start any kind of school work, he will not initiate the task by telling the
teacher that he cannot do it or he doesnt know how to do it and would then give reasons why he
cannot do the work. There are also times he would try to makes jokes before starting to work. For
example, he would ask the teacher if he would break all the pencils in the room and if he would still have
to work after that. K likes to make jokes like this, especially when he is asked to do school work that is not
of his interest. There are no subjects in particular that he is interested in, only when the task involves
working on the computer. However, K still needs multiple prompts from the teacher to begin working
when he is on the computer due to the other distractions that K likes open up while he is on the
computer.

After a teacher gives instruction, K would ask questions that dont relate to the directions being given and
they can become disruptive to the whole-class instructions being given. He would ask if he could head out
to RSP, although he knows that it is not his time to go to RSP (which is 40 minutes after they come back
from lunch at 1:00pm). K would also ask questions that would relate to procedures that he is expected to
already know. He would ask the teacher if he could sit in a different spot than the table group he is in or if
he could go on the computer to complete another assignment or take an Accelerated Reader Quiz when it
is not the time to be doing anything on the computers. K would also say out loud that he does not want
Education 5306/5406 FBA template, 2014
Dominican Student: Elizabeth Escalante

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to any of this or he would say I am not here today and not initiate the tasks he needs to do until he is
prompted by the teacher at least twice.

II. STUDENT PROFILE

Gather background information in order to assess the behavior in each of the following categories:
IEP
Medical
Family consultation (family interviews)
Previous interventions
Defining and prioritizing behavior
Assessing student environment

Ks initial IEP was conducted in 2004 when he was a second grader. It has been noted in both his initial
and current IEP that K responds best to explicit directives paired with a preferred activity of task. These
activities could include playing outdoors and learning that requires investigation. Because K has
challenges with retaining attention and completing tasks, providing him a quiet environment while being
monitored by an adult are some of Ks accommodations for his learning. Frequent teacher check-ins for
understanding of directions has also been helpful. Finishing work in the small RSP setting has also been
beneficial for K. He currently spends 20% of his school day in RSP and 80% in the general education
classroom. These accommodations have been put in place for K to address certain academic concerns for
reading fluency and comprehension and writing. These accommodations also attempt to address what
the IEP team suspects as some fear of failure that K may have and for his oppositional behaviors when
presented with most forms of school work.

K was also diagnosed with Sensory Processing Disorder as an infant. He has recently been qualified to
receive occupational therapy services this year to address concerns with postural tone, handwriting,
bilateral coordination, ocular control, self-regulation, and sensory modulation. For many writing
assignments, K works on them on the computers at RSP.

K is an only child. His parents have expressed concerns with writing, especially now that he is a fourth
grader. Ks mother is also concerned about the oppositional behavior that he has at home, and it is similar
to the kind of behaviors that he displays at school.

III. ASSESSING THE BEHAVIOR
Describe briefly (include data collection forms):
Interviews (student, teacher, paraprofessional, support staff, school psychologist, counselor. . . )
Observation (ABC Chart, scatter-plots, interval/duration/frequency recording, incident log, etc.)
Checklists
Questionnaires

An interview of Ks RSP teacher and the RSP aide was conducted on February 4, 2014. Both teachers
agree that Ks oppositional behavior take away from instruction by changing the topic often and
complaining that the work is too hard or too stupid. He would then argue with the teacher trying to
work with him. The RSP team also suspects that K may have a lot of control over his own environment at
home which then makes him want to have more control over his environment at school. He also seems to
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Dominican Student: Elizabeth Escalante

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thrive off of the attention that he receives from adults when working with them one-on-one. Working
one-on-one or in smaller groups has been better for K and that is where his behaviors are least likely to
occur. K would become more oppositional or trying harder to get attention from adults when he is in a
larger class. He may not understand that there are other students in the room that would need the
teachers help aside from him.

Both RSP teachers also discussed how they address Ks behaviors. They do this with a lot of re-directing to
get him to focus on an assignment and remind him of the rewards he will earn after completing his work.
He is reminded of the time he can get to play on the computer, playing educational games such as Lexia
or Dreambox. If this still does not work, K is offered help during recess time if that is when he will choose
to complete his work. The last resort is to let K know that they will have to call home if his behaviors
persist. The RSP team had to call home once this year.

Ks behaviors sometimes also result from academic difficulty. The RSP team has found that some abstract
ideas could be difficult for him and that he would intensive instruction. His RSP teacher also says that the
behaviors that K exhibits may be a combination of neurological issues and personality. K does not seem to
be catching social cues and he is not aware of how the people around him feel about his behavior. He also
may or may not be aware of the impact his behavior causes. K likes things on his terms.

An interview on February 11, 2014 with Ks general education teacher, Ms. S has also shared the same
concerns about Ks behavior. She also suspects the oppositional behaviors to be a result of some
academic difficulty, especially with writing because of his poor handwriting skills that K is embarrassed
about. Ks general education teacher has also found it to be difficult for K to initiate a task during whole-
group instruction. During class, K would either distract his peers around him or he would just sit at his
chair and look around the room.

Further observations were made during the afternoon on February 13, 18, and 20. During these
afternoons from 1:00 pm to 2:55 pm, K was observed in three different settings which include his general
education homeroom classroom, Social Studies, and at RSP. K and the rest of his class switch over to the
other fourth grade classroom for Social Studies while the other class of fourth graders switches to the
other classroom for Science at this time. A scatter plot (see attached) shows that the oppositional
behavior occur mostly in the general education settings but there is not much discrepancy between
general education and RSP.

A-B-C Records have also been completed for all of these dates in the three different settings mentioned
(see attached). These records outline multiple occurrences of K not following teacher directions and
displaying oppositional behavior when he is either being requested by the teacher to do something that
he does not want to do or when he is being presented work that he needs to complete or needs to
participate in. Please see attached ABC records for details on all occurrences in Homeroom, Social
Studies, and RSP.

IV. ANALYZING THE BEHAVIOR RESULTS

Describe and synthesize the following from the multiple sources of data (Provide data collection or record review):

Education 5306/5406 FBA template, 2014
Dominican Student: Elizabeth Escalante

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Predictors/triggers:
Setting events
Antecedents

Consequences: What happens after the behavior occurs?
Consequences that maintain the behavior
What other consistent consequences were found?

Frequency, Intensity, and duration of behavior:
When does the behavior occur?
How long does the behavior continue?
How often does the behavior occur?

Other:
What setting events or antecedents identified are associated with low rates of target behavior?

Ks non-compliant behaviors and initial refusals to follow teacher directions can occur all day long, in any
setting whether it is in the general education classroom or at RSP. The behaviors occur as soon as he is
prompted to begin working on an assignment or to follow any other instruction from a teacher. These
undesired behaviors occur more in the general education setting during whole-group instruction, but they
also happen often when he is working in a small group setting or one-on-one in RSP.

When K tries to interrupt instruction by asking questions that dont relate to the discussion or making
comments out loud such as Im not doing this or Im not here today, all teachers ignore this and
continue with instruction. Ks teachers ignore his behaviors when he is not being disruptive enough to
stop instruction and this seems to work well as this gives K the idea that he will not get attention for his
negative comments.

Constant verbal redirection has also been effective for K when trying to get him to focus on his work. It
can take a teacher at least three to six prompts to get K on task and working on what he needs to work
on. Teachers do not argue back with him and continue to redirect K to focus on his work. It has also been
helpful when adults laugh at the jokes that K makes and play along with them. This has helped diffuse the
oppositional behaviors when he is redirected after making the joke.

V. HYPOTHESIS OF THE FUNCTION OF BEHAVIOR

Identify function of behavior: obtain, avoid/protest, or self stimulation

Within the context of the hypothesis, describe the following:
Setting events
Antecedents
Consequences

The functions of Ks oppositional behaviors to not follow teacher directions appears to be to avoid work
that may be too challenging or not challenging enough and to gain attention from adults. K has to try
harder to get a teachers attention in the whole-group, general education setting. This is where K displays
Education 5306/5406 FBA template, 2014
Dominican Student: Elizabeth Escalante

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his behaviors more frequently that include making negative comments, attempting to change the topic by
asking unrelated questions, or by not complying with any other instruction given by the teacher in order
to gain attention while avoiding the work. In RSP, where he receives closer attention from staff members,
K still displays the same kind of behaviors in order to have more attention from the teachers working with
him while also avoiding the work. As he is trying to avoid work, he can do this by trying to get more
attention from adults by making negative comments and arguing, which can last up to about 40 minutes
(almost his whole time at RSP) with constant redirection to get him to complete his work.
VI. FBA SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Describe:
What alterations in the environment, instruction or interactions could prevent the behavior from
recurring?
Identify functionally equivalent replacement behaviors.
Describe current methods of reinforcement and recommend any changes of reinforcement.
What goals, services, etc. are you recommending?

K is currently sitting at a table group in the back of the room in his general education classroom. He also sits in
the back of the room for Social Studies. In both classrooms, he is seated in a table group with three other
students. It is recommended that he would be seated closer to the front of the room to help him become
more engaged with the lessons that are being presented.

Ks behaviors mostly occur at any time instruction is given by the teacher in the general education classroom
and at RSP. It is recommended for teachers to continue ignoring the negative behavior when the behaviors are
not disruptive to instruction. When the behaviors do hinder instruction, it is also recommended to continue
redirecting K to focus and not respond to his comments. He should also continue receiving the
accommodations and one-on-one and small-group instruction from RSP. To ensure that K is benefitting more
from instruction, he should receive more activities that require investigative learning and research. K would
also benefit from more kinesthetic activities to meet his sensory needs. He could be given fidgets such as
therapeutic putty that he could fiddle with while working on assignments if they do not become a distraction
for him.

When K is working hard enough at RSP, he receives rewards such as free time on the computer to play Lexia or
Dreambox. It is recommended to introduce a new point system to K so that he has something tangible and
concrete to work for and he would be able to see his own progress. This can be used in both RSP and in the
general education classroom. The general education teacher uses the iPad app Classroom Dojo as a positive
reinforcement behavior reward system for her whole class. It is recommended to have a separate rewards
system in conjunction with Classroom Dojo with rewards that are of specific interest for K. It is also
recommended for the RSP team to become aligned and familiar with the Classroom Dojo system that has
already been implemented in Ks class. The RSP team can make agreements on what K should do to earn
points and how he could lose them. Expectations and rules in both RSP and in the general education classroom
must be both clear and consistent.

Behavior goals should be written for K to gradually decrease his arguing and oppositional behavior and
increase his ability to ask for help appropriately when he needs it. K should also have a behavioral goal that
would gradually help him complete work independently with less prompts and redirections from a teacher.