There are many instructional approaches that had been arranged in special education, especially with learning disabilities. Although the field of learning disabilities has been a safe harbor for dozens of techniques, a number of others had been beached. It is regrettable that data rarely played a role in whether a technique was dispatched or…

Functional assessment is redefining the standards for clinical interventions with problem behavior and reemphasizing the importance of basic behavioral mechanisms. It has shown the importance of complex patterns of behavioral control, functional assessment as an ongoing process, and the importance of attention to antecedent variables. Future…

Seven parents conducted assessments in an outpatient clinic using a prescribed hierarchy of antecedent and consequence treatment components for their children's problem behavior. Brief assessment of potential treatment components identified variables controlling children's appropriate behavior. Experimental control was achieved for six of the…

This commentary summarizes methodological and conceptual issues in functional analysis methodologies and offers some suggestions for their resolution. Considered are increasing complexity, absence of contingencies during assessment, use of subtle manipulations, alternative assessment strategies, analysis of antecedent influences on behavior,…

Functional analysis conducted during a 90-minute evaluation session identified maintaining variables for aggressive behavior and an alternative replacement response in 3 individuals with severe handicaps. During a subsequent contingency reversal phase, aggressive behavior was substantially reduced and alternative behavior increased. Results…

A multiple probe design across activities was implemented with a 32-year-old with severe developmental disabilities to teach him to request assistance to gain release from nonpreferred difficult activities. Generalization occurred to other tasks associated with escape. No generalization occurred in tasks that the learner engaged in challenging…

This article reviews the development of functional analysis in understanding behavior problems like self-injury and aggression and, more recently, school-based problems. Seen as particularly promising is current work on the analysis of setting events and analysis of dependent variables by considering the effects of intervention on response…

This article begins by discussing requirements for functional behavioral assessment under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and then describes a comprehensive model for the application of behavior analysis in the schools. The model includes descriptive assessment, functional analysis, and intervention and involves the participation…

A functional analysis involving antecedent events was conducted with four students identified as having behavior problems. Off-task behavior was measured while task difficulty and level of adult attention was manipulated during analog sessions. Results revealed higher rates of off-task behavior during difficult tasks and improved behavior when…

Functional analyses of problem behaviors were performed with three individuals with severe intellectual disabilities. Results indicated that the problem behaviors were maintained either when the behavior resulted in escape from difficult tasks or when the behavior resulted in access to preferred items. Training in functionally equivalent…

This paper reports on assessment and treatment of food refusal for four inpatient boys (ages 2,3,3, and 9) receiving tube feedings. It used a contingency contacting procedure extended by a component analysis. Data suggest that food refusal appeared to be maintained primarily by negative reinforcement contingencies. Caregiver responses indicated a…