The overall aim of this study was to replicate and extend Hoff, Ervin, and Friman (2005) and to investigate whether a functional assessment, including the intervention, could be implemented within a mainstream New Zealand classroom, with students diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and with the teachers implementing the interventions. Experiment 1 included 2 participants, Joel diagnosed as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and Brad who met study inclusion criteria. Descriptive assessments (based on interviews and observations) of the functions of the target behaviours were conducted to produce hypotheses. Two interventions for each student, based on these hypotheses, were selected in collaboration with the class teachers. The interventions were implemented, first singularly and then in combination, using a multiple-baseline design with alternating treatments after the baseline period. They all decreased target behaviours to some degree. One intervention, the token economy, was the most effective with both students. Social acceptability questionnaires showed all procedures were acceptable but of the interventions the token economy was the least favoured by teachers and most favoured by students. Both participants in Experiment 2 were diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Experiment 2 replicated Experiment 1 and also compared hypotheses about the function of behaviour resulting from the Motivation Assessment Scale to those from the descriptive assessment as used in Experiment 1. The Motivation Assessment Scale provided a different hypothesis for one student and it is suggested that this scale is not useful with these students. The two interventions were selected for each student based on the hypotheses. These were designed to be easier to implement and to have more student involvement in their implementation than in Experiment 1. A multiple-baseline design with alternating treatments after the baseline was used and each treatment was evaluated alone. Three of the four interventions decreased target behaviour, the exception was self-management. The social acceptability scores for these interventions were high for both the teachers and students. The overall findings replicated Hoff et al.'s (2005) findings and showed that functional assessment of behaviour could be successfully used with students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in a mainstream classroom. They also showed that the teachers could successfully implement the interventions derived from the hypotheses to decrease target behaviours and that decreasing the difficulty of implementation of the interventions increased the acceptability of the interventions by the teachers.

To date only a limited number of studies have focused on teacher-led functional assessments in the mainstream classroom. This purpose of this study was to observe what happens when a general education teacher attempts to individualise parts of her programme to meet the unique teaching needs of certain children. The participating teacher identified eight children with behavioural and/or learning needs in her classroom. For each of the children with learning difficulties the teacher was able to formulate a function-based hypotheses and design an effective intervention after being provided with some written support. The teacher did not form a function based hypothesis for a child with behavioural difficulties. The subsequent intervention was not function based and failed to decrease the problem behaviour. In each of the eight remaining case studies the teacher required support from the researcher in order to implement, supervise, and maintain an individualised intervention.

The seminal article by Iwata, Dorsey, Slifer, Bauman, and Richman (1994/1982; Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 27, 197-209. Reprinted from Analysis and Intervention in Developmental Disabilities, 2, 3-20, 1982) is credited with sparking a resurgence of clinical and research attention to functional assessment and analysis procedures, which have now become an expected professional standard and practice in situations involving problem behaviors. TASH and JASH have played a substantial role over the years in promoting positive behavioral support approaches that include functional assessment as a critical foundational component. To provide a historical context for this special issue, this article briefly describes the prevalence of different types of functional assessment and analysis procedures reported in articles in JASH involving individuals exhibiting problem behaviors. copyright 2000 by The Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps.

Functional behavioral assessment (FBA) is defined as a range of behavior assessment procedures that are used to identify or clarify functional relationships between behavior and environmental events. A variety of methods and instruments are used within a FBA (e.g., record reviews, interviews, rating scales, direct observations, experimental analysis conditions) and the increased awareness of this methodology has created interest in properly investigating the psychometric properties (e.g., reliability, validity) of the measures. Preliminary convergent validity has been demonstrated across some of the measures used to identify functional relationships; however, further evaluation is needed to establish the psychometric properties as well as the utility of functional assessment measures. The primary purpose of the current research was to evaluate psychometric properties of a newly developed informant record (e.g., Functional Assessment Informant Record for Parents-Checklist; FAIR-P-CL). Specifically, the reliability of the measure (i.e., test-retest and inter-scorer reliability), validity of the measures (i.e., convergence with the Functional Assessment Screening Tool-Revised; FAST-R and convergence across phases of FBA), and socially validity (i.e., use of acceptability rating scales) were assessed. Results of the study suggested appropriate test-retest reliability of the FAIR-P-CL. Convergent validity was obtained across all phases of FBA with the majority of participants. The FAIR-P-CL identified the target behavior noncompliance as a multiple function behavior for 4 out of 5 participants suggesting the use of a treatment package in contrast to a specific function-based intervention. Appropriate social validity was obtained across the FAIR-P-CL, assessment and intervention phases of the study. Overall results of the study provided preliminary support for the psychometric properties of the FAIR-P-CL and extended the utility of functional assessment instruments to typically developing children in a clinic-based setting.

This study evaluated the utility of structured descriptive assessment (SDA) to generate a hypothesis regarding the operant function of problem behavior when the analogue functional analysis (FA) failed to evoke problem behavior for an adult with developmental disabilities. The effectiveness of interventions based on that hypothesis was evaluated in the natural environment. The SDA succeeded in producing a relatively controlled baseline of problem behavior where the FA and direct observation could not. However, the extent to which treatment procedures affected problem behavior could not be determined due to confounding variables outside the control of the experimenter. The results provide cautionary evidence highlighting both the potential utility of SDA and challenges that may be encountered when conducting SDA and evaluating treatments in natural environments.

Gambling is a popular pastime in the United States, and it is important that we understand the class of behaviors in a behavior analytic context. The relationship between the function and preference of gambling behavior remains yet to be explored. The purpose of these two studies is to examine this relationship. Participants were asked to play a set of four computerized slot machines. Each slot machine was tied to a separated function-based outcome which they could win. In study 1, 80% of participants had a distinct preference for a single outcome. In study 2, the participants were also administered the GFA. Seven participants completed the MSWO. The relationship between the results of the GFA and the results of the free operant preference assessment did not support the hypothesis. Among other results, was data suggesting that those who score 0's on their GFA's may significantly affect the data and that the MSWO and free operant preference assessment have a strong high correlation.

The current study was designed to evaluate the utility of progressing sequentially from multiple-respondent anecdotal assessments through test-control treatment analysis as an effective and efficient method of identifying the environmental determinants of problem behavior. the goal of the study was to evaluate overall agreement among multiple respondents on the primary function of aberrant behavior using the Motivation Assessment Scale (MAS) and Questions About Behavioral Function (QABF) and, if agreement was obtained, conduct a test-control evaluation to confirm anecdotal assessment findings while simultaneously evaluating the effects of function-based treatment. for 4 individuals, at least 4 of 5 respondents to the anecdotal assessments agreed (both within and across assessments) on the probable maintaining consequence for their problem behaviors. Test-control multielement evaluations were then conducted in which baseline sessions, corresponding to the suspected operant function of each individual’s problem behavior, were alternated with sessions in which the identified contingency was arranged for alternative behavior. Each evaluation showed substantial decreases in problem behavior and maintenance of alternative responses.

Previous studies suggested that the Functional Activities Questionnaire (FAQ-10) has minimal ethnic bias and that a shorter version (FAQ-6) can equally diagnose MCI and dementia. Objective: We analyzed whether FAQ-6 is similar to FAQ-10 in diagnosing MCI and dementia. We examined their applicability across European Americans (EA) and Hispanic Americans, and how scores correlated to beta amyloid. Method: 222 participants (116 EA) completed a neuropsychological battery, FAQ, and PET scans, and were classified as cognitively normal (CN), MCI, or dementia. The diagnostic capacity of FAQ-10 and FAQ-6 were compared for the total sample and across ethnic groups. Scores were correlated to beta amyloid. Results: Both versions showed good item discrimination. Ethnicity did not affect scores when controlling for diagnosis and education. Both versions classified CN and dementia, and positively correlated to beta amyloid. Conclusions: Results suggest FAQ-6 and FAQ-10 similarly predict diagnosis and is adequate in these ethnic groups. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2018. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

The purpose of this study was to examine conditions under which functional ability predicts relocation of older persons. Data for this study came from a sample of 6,225 respondents aged 70 or older, who were interviewed both at Wave 1 (1993) and 2 (1995) of a longitudinal national survey of Asset and Health Dynamics Among the Oldest Old (AHEAD). Hierarchical logistic regression analyses were used to estimate the effects of functional ability, functional ability and assistance from human resources, and functional ability and built-environment features on the probability of relocation when socio-demographic variables were controlled. Important findings are, first, differences in functional ability differentially predict future relocation behavior of older persons and, second, the existence of built-environment features in a residence has a reducing effect on the probability of entrance into an institutional setting in conjunction with functional difficulty. Household ADL decline between 1993 and 1995, as well as advanced ADL (i.e., cognitive ADL) and lower body activity difficulty in 1993, were predictors of the increased probability of residential moves occurred over the same period. Basic, household, and advanced ADL decline between 1993 and 1995, as well as basic, household, advanced ADL, and lower body activity difficulty in 1993, were predictors of the increased probability of entrances into an institutional setting occurred over the same period. Older persons who lived in a residence with built-environment features in 1993 were less likely to enter an institutional setting when they experienced basic ADL or lower body activity declines between 1993 and 1995. The onset of LBA and/or AADL difficulty triggered residential moves. Efforts to enhance the independent living of older persons in the community setting should target the compensation of LBA and/or AADL difficulty. / Graduation date: 2001

Several outcome tools have been developed to measure physical functioning in pediatric orthopedic patients. One such tool, the Activities Scale for Kids (ASK), allows assessment of physical functioning in the community in 5-to 15-year-olds. Previous validation of the ASK showed a significant difference in scores according to global ratings of disability. In this study, the ASK was administered to children without musculoskeletal disability to determine how normal respondents scored. ASK questionnaires were distributed to 137 children and 122 (89%) were returned. Normal children scored quite high, with a mean summary score of 93.12 (SD 6.45). This score differs significantly from the mean summary score for children with mild disabilities as determined in previous studies of disability (P = 0.005). / Study conducted at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, Universityof Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. / Dr. Plint is supported in part by a Junior Clinical Investigator Award from the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute.