Letter

Child Study Center

volume 7 number 2

november / december 2002

education clinical care professional training scientific research school outreach information update

Editors Comment
After the family, the school environment is the most important influence in
a childs life in promoting social, emotional and academic development. As
children start and progress through
school they are continually called upon
to adapt to new expectations, and therefore a certain amount of anxiety is to be
expected. However, when a particular
behavior results in undue stress for the
child and elicits negative reactions from
others, the behavior represents a distress
signal. When this occurs, a thorough
analysis of what the problem behavior
actually means to the individual child
can lead to interventions that can
change the behavior and result in a more
productive adaptation for the child.
Through the process of Functional
Behavioral Assessment (FBA) teachers
and other school personnel come to
understand the meaning of the problem
behavior, the situations that trigger or
sustain it, and can plan interventions to
make changes. In this issue of the NYU
Child Study Center Letter we examine
the possible function the problem may
serve for the individual child, the
concrete steps involved in conducting a
behavioral analysis, and appropriate
interventions. Although the FBA
concepts discussed in this issue focus on
school behaviors, the principles can be
applied to other situations by parents
and others working with children.
AG/HSK

PROBLEM BEHAVIORS IN THE CLASSROOM:

WHAT THEY MEAN AND HOW TO HELP
FUNCTIONAL BEHAVIORAL ASSESSMENT

Introduction
Many children display inappropriate or
problem behaviors in the classroom
which can make it difficult for them to
learn, cause harm to the child or others
and isolate the child from his or her
peers. We often speak of problem behaviors in terms of the effects they have on
others. Therefore, we may label behaviors
as "noncompliant" (e.g., when a child refuses to join a class activity), "disrespectful" (e.g., when a child uses bad language)
"aggressive" (e.g., when a child throws a
book). Functional Behavioral Assessment
has a different focus.

What is Functional
Behavioral Assessment
(FBA)?
Functional Behavioral Assessment, is a
process which looks at behavior in terms
of what the behavior accomplishes for
the individual child, rather then the
effects of the behavior on others. FBA
assumes that behavior is a childs
attempt to adapt to a specific situation.
In conducting an FBA we gather information that helps us to understand how
the behavior serves a useful function for
the child. In basic terms, FBA is a process
for collecting information to help determine why problem behavior occurs and
to serve as a basis for the development of
behavioral intervention plans.

A recent review of relevant studies analyzing the effectiveness of FBA provides

convincing evidence of its utility for identifying behavior function and for developing effective interventions.1
FBA aims to:
1) define behavior in specific,
objective, and measurable terms,
2) determine what aspects of the
environment or situation elicit
the behavior,
3) identify what consequences
maintain the behavior.
Development of a behavioral intervention plan based on FBA therefore involves a frame of reference that sees the
behavior as an adaptation for the child.
The data collected in the FBA process
will help to identify ways to address the
problem behavior. Once we understand
what purpose the behavior serves for
the child, we can work to:
1) change aspects of the situation
that give rise to the behavior,
2) teach and promote more appropriate ways of meeting the same
needs through the development of
alternative behaviors,
3) modify the responses of other
people to the behaviors so that
problem behaviors do not result
in "payoffs" for the child.

education clinical care professional training scientific research school outreach information update
SCHOOL OF
MEDICINE

NEW YORK UNIVERSITY

Kenneth G. Langone
Chairman, Foundation Board of Trustees

Robert M. Glickman, M.D.

Dean
NYU School of Medicine

Editorial Board
Harold S. Koplewicz, M.D., Founding Editor
Arnold and Debbie Simon Professor of Child
and Adolescent Psychiatry
Director of the Child Study Center
New York University School of Medicine
Anita Gurian, Ph.D., Editor
Executive Editor, www.AboutOurKids.org
Clinical Assistant Professor
New York University School of Medicine
Howard Abikoff, Ph.D.
Pevaroff-Cohn Professor of Psychiatry
Director of Research
Child Study Center
New York University School of Medicine
Robert Cancro, M.D.
Professor and Chairman
Department of Psychiatry
New York University School of Medicine
Gabrielle A. Carlson, M.D.
Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics
New York State University at Stony Brook
Stella Chess, M.D.
Professor of Child Psychiatry
New York University School of Medicine
Gail Furman, Ph.D.
Womens Commission on Refugee
Women and Children, United Nations
Glenn S. Hirsch, M.D.
Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatry
Deputy Director, Child Study Center
Medical Director, Division of Child and
Adolescent Psychiatry
New York University School of Medicine
Rachel Klein, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychiatry
New York University School of Medicine
Maria Kovacs, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychiatry
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Wade P. Parks, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor and Chairman
Department of Pediatrics
New York University School of Medicine

Common Functions of
School Problem
Behaviors
When conducting an FBA, it is important
to gain understanding about what a child
does (the behavior) and, more importantly, why a child does it (the function). Behaviors, even problem behaviors, usually
serve a "useful function," or purpose, for
the child. Following are some common
functions:
1) Behaviors can be rewarded by something positive. This positive reward
can be tangible, such as access to a
toy or game, a preferred activity, or a
privilege. The reward can also be a
positive feeling, as when a child
accomplishes or masters a task or
gains a sense of belonging.
2) Behaviors can be rewarded by attention. From adults, positive attention
can be provided in the form of help
with work or resolving a conflict with
a peer. Negative attention can be provided in the form of a reprimand or a
display of anger, which may actually
be desirable for some students. From
other students, positive attention usually takes the form of laughter, recognition as someone who entertains the
class or distracts the class from work.
Negative attention can take the form
of fear of the child by others or recognition as someone who breaks rules.
In behavioral terminology, the above two
functions can be described as "positive
reinforcement." Behavior is rewarded by
producing a positive event and therefore
the frequency of the behavior is more
likely to be maintained or increased. For
example, a child with learning difficulties
raises his hand to ask for help on a
challenging task. The teacher helps the
child by providing one-to-one instruction. The child is more likely to raise his
hand in the future when presented with a
difficult task because this behavior was
positively reinforced.

3) Behaviors can provide relief or escape from something unpleasant. For

example, when behavior results in
expulsion from class during activities
the child finds difficult or unpleasant,
when behavior engages others in
ways that distract from a task the
child finds hard, or when behavior
keeps people away and the child feels
more comfortable being alone.
In behavioral terminology, this is called
"negative reinforcement." Behavior is
rewarded by causing the termination or
reduction of a negative event and therefore the frequency of the behavior is
more likely to be maintained or increased. For example, a child with learning difficulties curses at the teacher
when given a complicated task. The teacher sends the child to the principals
office and the child is not required to
finish the task. The child is more likely
to curse at the teacher in the future to
avoid completing work, because the initial behavior was negatively reinforced
by allowing the child to escape the
situation.
4) Behaviors can help to change a
persons level of stimulation or mood.
Some children have a heightened
need for stimulation; they get bored
easily, waiting is highly unpleasant,
and they are often impulsive. Behaviors for these children may serve the
function of generating excitement by
getting a rise out of others. Some
children become easily over stimulated or easily irritated. Their
behavior may function to avoid highstimulation situations. Sometimes
behaviors themselves produce certain
sensations that a child finds highly
pleasurable. This is called "automatic
reinforcement" and is more common
among children with severe developmental difficulties. Examples include
banging things, certain types of selfinjurious behavior, and repetitive
behaviors that have no clear purpose.

education clinical care professional training scientific research school outreach information update

Influences Beyond the

Immediate Situation
Behavior is highly determined by the
function it serves within the immediate
situation; however there are influences
on behavior, called environmental factors, which are not immediately visible
in the classroom situation. These factors
may include problems at home, problems on the bus, and so on. Other
important influences include specific
individual vulnerabilities of the child.
These vulnerabilities can lead to problematic reactions to situations that other
children handle with greater competence
and composure. While the range of these
influences is practically endless, some
common ones are worth mention. Child
factors that can influence a behavioral
response in a given situation include
temperament, presence of a psychiatric
disorder, developmental factors (most
notably learning disabilities), medical
conditions, and medications. Social
environment factors to consider include
teacher behavior or characteristics, home
environment, peer environment, and the
familys relationship with the school.
Therefore, the expanded model for FBA
takes into account the broad context
(background) factors, antecedents that
occur immediately before the behavior,
the behavior itself, and the consequences the behavior elicits. The purpose of
learning about these factors is to help
determine the function the behavior
serves for a particular child.

The "How Tos" of FBA

The major steps in FBA include:
identifying problem behavior(s) in
specific, objective, measurable terms,
and prioritizing these problems,
gathering information that enables
the formulation of valid hypotheses
about the behaviors function,
understanding the child in the
context of broader environment
influences on behavior that help
determine the behaviors function.

Once a childs problematic behavior is

identified and agreed upon, the following procedures occur:
1) Interview with teacher and/or other
referring professional to obtain
greater specification of the areas of
concern, and then to elaborate on
context and consequences of these
problems. Therefore, the interview
covers setting, variations in time of
day, specification of academic subjects, if there are other children
who are consistently involved in
the problem behavior, staff responses, peer responses, and previous
attempts to promote improvement.
2) Review of students record to look
specifically at the pattern of grades,
behavior reports, year of onset of
difficulties, attendance and disciplinary records, and changes in
schools.
3) Interview with parent to determine
the presence or absence of similar
difficulties at home and how they
are addressed, history of treatment,
the childs strengths, and any
stresses in the home that school
professionals should be aware of.
The conversation should be forward looking, emphasizing the usefulness of understanding the past in
order to understand what changes
are necessary to be more effective
in the future.
4) Interview with student is appropriate for the majority of students
and should be a supportive discussion which focuses on the students
view of how things are going in
school. It is important to clarify
that the purpose of the meeting is
not that the child is "in trouble,"
but rather to put heads together to
think about how things could go
better at school.

5) Direct observation(s) to see how

well the interview data fits the observed behavior. Sometimes the way
the behavior is described is not a
good objective description of the
behavior. This is especially true for
reports of how frequently behaviors
occur; low-frequency, high problem
behaviors that are experienced as
very annoying are perceived as
occurring at higher rates than they
really occur. Another reason for
direct observation is that there may
be triggers and consequences that
were not reported but that become
clear once the behavior is observed.
When conducting direct observations, it is important to identify
what may contribute to the identified behavior. Questions to keep in
mind while doing an observation
include:
What is unique about the environments where the behavior is not a
concern?
What is different in the places
where the problem behavior
occurs? Could the behavior be
related to how the child and teacher
get along? Does the number of
other students or the work a child is
asked to do cause a problem?
Could the time of day or a childs
mood affect the behavior? Was
there a bus problem or a disagreement in the hallway?
Is the behavior likely to occur in a
specific set of circumstances or a
specific setting? What events seem
to support the problem behavior?
It is important to note the function of
behavior in the above example. One of
the common functions of behavior
discussed earlier is that behaviors can
provide relief or escape from something
unpleasant. In the example on the
following page, Johnny engaged in a
problematic behavior (getting out of his
seat) in order to avoid having to do a
math worksheet that he found difficult.

education clinical care professional training scientific research school outreach information update

Summarizing Assessment Findings and Determining the Function of Problem Behavior

After the relevant information has been collected regarding the childs problem behavior, the next step is to generate a hypothesis
about l) how problem behavior relates to immediate triggers, 2) broad context background factors, and 3) consequences. A template
for a summary statement that expresses a functional hypothesis is:

When

and
(setting)

(immediate triggers)

[Childs Name]
(problematic behavior)
in order to
(function of problematic behavior)

When in math class and given a difficult worksheet

(setting)
(immediate triggers)
Johnny will get out of his seat and go to an activity station
(problematic behavior)
in order to avoid having to do the assignment
(function of problematic behavior)

(adapted from ONeill et. al, 1996)2

Planning Interventions
The hypothesis about the function of the
behavior directs us toward interventions
that follow logically from the information obtained during FBA and the conclusions made from that information.
Interventions can be developed to impact behavior by making changes in the
triggers, consequences, skills, and broad
contextual factors. If the FBA process
has thoroughly examined all of these
influences on behavior, interventions can
be selected that are tailored to the students specific needs. When planning
interventions, it is important to keep in
mind that the process of altering problem behavior involves change in the
childs behavior in a variety of settings
and in one or all of the following groups
of people: family, teachers, staff, and
peers.
The goals of interventions are to make
problem behaviors irrelevant, inefficient,
and ineffective compared to a replacement behavior.

Irrelevant: The problem behavior

represents an adaptation to a situation.
By changing the situation the problem
behavior no longer serves a function
and becomes irrelevant. For example,
Johnny leaves his seat during independent work time. However, this is
true only of math, not language arts.
Johnny finds it hard to manipulate

numbers in his head. With his behavior,

he avoids the task. An intervention that
alters the task demands to a level that
Johnny can cope with would make
escape-motivated behavior irrelevant.

Inefficient: Problem behaviors become

comparatively inefficient when a more
acceptable replacement behavior fulfills
the same function faster and with less
effort. For instance, Susie disrupts the
class with silly comments in the middle
of silent reading time. FBA indicates
that this behavior likely serves to get
teacher attention, which ends up
providing clarification for her on what
the assignment is. If this purpose is
achieved more easily by asking Susie
privately to repeat her understanding of
the assignment and reduce her
uncertainty about what to do, then this
new behavior would become more
likely to occur. It is more efficient
because it is easier and she gets the
attention shes seeking more quickly,
without disrupting the class.

Ineffective: Changing the consequences that follow problem behaviors

can make them ineffective at obtaining
the "payoff" that maintained them. So,
if the FBA found that Joes bullying
successfully got the other kids to give in
to what he wanted, then changing the
responses of the entire class from
submissiveness to assertion would make

his behavior no longer effective as a

means to extract things from classmates.
If helping the entire class to speak up
and support each other against Joes
intimidation were coupled with help for
Joe so that he could feel more important,
powerful, and accepted for prosocial
behaviors, then diminished bullying
would be expected.
In general, interventions are directed at
modifying the trigger(s) of a behavior or
the consequences that act to maintain
the behavior. Additionally, interventions
can address problem behaviors via a
whole-class or individual child approach.

Interventions that Address

Triggers
1)Whole-class approaches: At times,
it may be more efficient to work with
a teacher on modifying aspects of the
classroom and aspects of overall
classroom management teacher behavior to affect the class overall level of
behavioral control. A modification in
the way that teachers give directions
and assignments, and how they respond to misbehavior, has a significant impact on classroom behavior
results.
Class rules: Class rules are helpful
when they are developmentally, appropriate, concise and clear ("Behave
appropriately" is too vague, "Follow
adult directions" is better), posted in

education clinical care professional training scientific research school outreach information update
a visible location, phrased as what students should do as opposed to what
they should not do ("No yelling" could
be restated as "Speak calmly and
respectfully"), and limited in number
(more than five rules dilutes the effectiveness of all of them). In order for the
rules to become incorporated into childrens minds and behaviors, teachers
should refer to them often using the
same language as how they are written.
When a child is following a rule, the
teacher can comment, "Elizabeth, I like
the way you asked for my help in a
calm and respectful manner." Or, if a
child is not following a rule, the teacher
can comment, "Daniel, in this class we
follow adult directions."
How directions are given: Good
directions to students with behavioral
issues should be clear and concise and
delivered in a firm, neutral tone of
voice. The likelihood of compliance
increases when directions can be given
in close physical proximity as well.
Some common problems with commands issued by teachers and parents,
which significantly reduce the likelihood of compliance are the following:
Question directions appear to the child
as if there is a choice when none
really exists. These can be pleasant
ways to request a child to do something, but lack the directness that
some children need to get focused on
a task. Example: "Sam, will you bring
your reading book to the circle?"
Improvement: "Sam, bring your reading book to the circle."
Chained directions link several directions together. It seems like extra
work to give fewer directions more
frequently, but in the end it feels more
successful for the child as well as the
adult. Example: "I want all of you to
take out your spelling books, put your
notebook paper on your desk, write
your name at the top and number
your paper from one to ten."
Improvement: "Take out your spelling books and one piece of notebook

paper." [Wait for class to follow

through.] "Write your name at the top
and number your paper from one to
ten."
Vague directions, which are not clear
about the behavior that is to follow
can be confusing, leading students to
not fulfill the request or ignore it entirely. Example: "I need everyone to behave right now!" Improvement: "Everyone needs to sit in their chairs now."
Managing transitions: Transitions are
a high-risk time for behavioral problems. Clear communication about the
next activity and announcing when
there are 10, 5, and 2 minutes left help
to prepare students who become more
disorganized when they face uncertainty or have to shift gears. Clear
reminders about the class rules during
transitions should also occur often.

2) Individual approaches: When

problem behaviors are elicited in performance-oriented academic situations,
the nature of the childs learning
activities may be altered to have a positive impact on behavior. Some specific areas include:
Content and process: Embedding
content in applications meaningful to
the student can be helpful, such as
teaching percentages by using baseball
statistics. Inclusion of hands-on activities can also be helpful as they allow
the student to manipulate tangible material in a concrete manner.
Directions for academic tasks:
Students may have difficulties processing task directions that are presented
during whole-class instruction due to
difficulty with attention span, language comprehension, or sometimes
just lacking the confidence that they
are going to do the right thing. These
students may benefit from visual
prompts, being in close physical proximity to the teacher when directions
are given, and being "pre-taught"
about the assignment prior to it being
taught to the class.

Task complexity: For many students,

complex, multi-step tasks that may
easily become automatic for their
classmates continue to require a lot
of effort to sequence properly. Interventions that may help these students
include having a model available
showing another correctly completed
problem, providing recognition and
encouragement at a more frequent
rate, shortening the length of assignments, and providing organization
hints such as color coding activities.

Interventions that Address

Consequences
1) Whole-class approaches: Classbased incentive systems are designed
to reward positive behaviors while
discouraging unproductive or negative ones. The specific behavioral
goals and the rewards are general to
the class, and may or may not take
into account the specific function of
the problem behavior for any given
child. For example, a teacher may
have implemented a system whereby
children can earn extra computer
time for completing work within an
allotted amount of time. This intervention will be of little use for the
student whose desire to avoid the
work at hand outweighs the value of
computer activities. However, classwide approaches do have the potential to sustain the motivation of
some at-risk children and engage the
interest of the entire class in more
appropriate behaviors. Examples of
whole-class interventions include:
Corrective feedback, or "reprimands": Corrective feedback should
be given as immediately as possible
following the onset of inappropriate
behavior and, when possible, should
be given privately to the child. The
tone of voice should be clear and
firm and not exceed normal speaking volume.

education clinical care professional training scientific research school outreach information update
Public recognition: A weekly awards
ceremony that recognizes who
worked to get along with and
respect others or set a good example can be a strong motivator for
younger children in particular. Ribbons or stickers are tangible signs
of recognition that kids enjoy.
However, intangible rewards, such
as line- leader for the day or teacher assistant are highly powerful
and cost-efficient rewards as well.
Simple token economies: In this
type of program, a grid on the
blackboard or a poster has rows for
students names, and the columns
show a few important behaviors.
Points are earned and lost for
positive and problem behaviors,
respectively. So students can both
earn points and lose points depending on their behavior. A pre-determined amount of points are then
traded in at the end of the day or
week for a reward.

Implementing
Interventions

2) Individual approaches: When

Conclusion

thinking about a consequencebased plan for an individual student, the same considerations apply
as for a class-wide intervention.
The most common individual approach is a daily report card which
is completed at school by the teacher and rewarded at home by the
parents. Daily report cards are most
effective when the goals are limited
in number (3 to 5) and range from
more easily accomplished goals (to
provide a sense of success) to more
challenging ones. The May/June
2002 issue of the Child Study
Center Newsletter, Treating ADHD
in School Settings, reviews the daily
report card system in greater detail.

About the Author

Interventions should be instituted when they

have the greatest likelihood of success. This
means starting when there will be at least
two weeks of uninterrupted, fairly regular
school routine. This also allows time for the
teacher to anticipate and accommodate to
being a bit overwhelmed while becoming
comfortable with the execution of the behavioral plan. Family involvement is a key, if
not a critical component for success. Every
effort should be made to collaborate with the
family throughout all steps of the FBA and
behavior plan. It is essential that teams developing plans think through every aspect of
what needs to be done and designate an
individual to manage each. Each plan requires monitoring and evaluation to determine how accurately the intervention is being
implemented and how effective it is in improving the targeted behavior. It is common for
plans to be tinkered with at this stage to fine
tune the reward system or alter some other
aspect of the plan to ensure greater success.

Functional Behavior Assessment is a process

which leads to an understanding of problem
behavior in terms of its meaning to the
individual child. A core component and clear
advantage of FBA is that it provides information about the specific function or "why"
of behavior, the context of behavior, and the
consequences the behavior evokes. The
strong emphasis on the factors that precede
problem behavior is a major distinguishing
characteristic of FBA. Therefore, when teachers and parents use information obtained
from FBA to help a child learn new skills, aspects of the situation that give rise to or reinforce the problem behavior may be changed.
The FBA process has proved to be an effective strategy for anyone working to improve
the lives of children with behavior problems.

Amy Bobrow, Ph.D., is Associate Research

Scientist at the NYU School of Medicine and
School Coordinator at the School Partnership
Program at the NYU Child Study Center. Dr.
Bobrow has extensive experience consulting
and training in school and home settings for
children with behavioral disorders.

References
Information in the above Child Study Center
Letter was taken directly and adapted from
Functional Behavioral Assessments and Intervention Plans Program Handbook (2000),
authored by Joseph Blader, Ph.D., Susan
Nissen, Ph.D., Karen Fleiss, Ph.D., and Steven
M.S. Kurtz, Ph.D., ABPP, under the auspices of
the NYU Child Study Center.
1 Ervin, RA, Radford, PM, Bertsch, K, Piper,
AL, Ehrhardt, KE & Poling, A (2001) A descriptive analysis and critique of the empirical
literature on school-based functional assessment. School Psychology Review. 30, 193-210.
2. ONeill, Horner, Albin, Sprague & Storey
(1997) Functional Assessment and Program
Development for Problem Behavior: A Practical Handbook.

Related Articles
Aboutourkids.org
About Learning Disorders
http://www.aboutourkids.org/articles/about
_learning.html
About Conduct Disorder (CD)
http://www.aboutourkids.org/articles/about
_conduct.html
About Discipline - Helping Children Develop
Self-Control
http://www.aboutourkids.org/articles
/discipline.html
Parent-Teacher Conferences: Working as a Team
http://www.aboutourkids.org/articles/parentteacher.html
The CSC Letter - Treating ADHD in School
Settings
http://www.aboutourkids.org/letter/mayjun02.pdf

Letter

SCHOOL OF
MEDICINE

Child Study Center

5 5 0 F i r s t A v e n u e N e w Yo r k , N Y 1 0 0 1 6

(212)263-6622

The NYU Child Study Center Letter is published five times annually.

NEW YORK UNIVERSITY