What is Functiona l 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 child’s 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.

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