Scenario 1: Structural Analysis

Betty is a 10-year old student at Pine Valley Elementary school.Betty was previously diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder at the age of two.Betty has, historically, engaged in severe self-injurious behaviors (SIB) including head banging which has resulted in significant facial injury.A pervious functional behavioral assessment was conducted by the BCBA from the school district and it was determined that the function of SIB appeared to be escape form non-preferred tasks or demands.The teacher wasn’t sure that this was accurate, as she felt that Betty was usually compliant with most request.The BCBA decided to conduct a structural analysis to test the hypothesis that difficult tasks (antecedent) serve as triggers to SIB.Answer the following questions pertaining to the BCBA’s use of structural analysis:

• According to the examples in the text, how would you conduct a structural analysis in the scenario?Be sure to discuss specific antecedent conditions that could be presented and how you would collect data.
• Discuss the results of your functional analysis.Was the original hypothesis for the functions of behavior supported? Why or why not?
• What are some ethical considerations that should be considered in performing a functional analysis in the current scenario?

Scenario 2: Consequence Analysis

Jake is a sixth grade student at Andrew Jackson middle school.Jake has been displaying significant disruptive behavior in his reading class.These behaviors have consisted of talking during instruction, getting out of seat, and tapping drum beats on his desk.The school behavior specialist conducted interviews and direct observations and completed a brief functional behavior assessment, which indicated that the function of disruptive behavior appeared to be escape from task demands.The teacher seems to think that Jake is engaging in disruptive behavior to access to social attention from herself and his classmates.The district BCBA was called in to perform a consequence analysis to determine to test the hypothesis that disruptive behavior is maintained by access to positive reinforcement in the form of social attention.Answer the following questions pertaining to the BCBA’s use of consequence Analysis:

• According to the examples in the text, how would you conduct a consequence analysis in the scenario?Be sure to discuss specific consequence conditions that could be presented and how you would collect data.
• Discuss the results of your functional analysis.Was the original hypothesis for the functions of behavior supported? Why or why not?
• What are some ethical considerations that should be considered in performing a functional analysis in the current scenario?

Reference

Steege,M.,W.,&Watson,T.S.(2009).Conducting School Based Functional Behavioral

Assessments.,2ndEdition.NewYork:TheGuilfordPress