An evaluation of a brief functional analysis format within a vocational setting

Area of Science:

• Behavioral Science
• Developmental Disabilities Research
• Applied Behavior Analysis

Background:

• Disruptive behaviors can impede vocational training progress for individuals with developmental disabilities.
• Functional analysis is crucial for understanding the environmental factors maintaining challenging behaviors.
• The efficiency of different functional analysis durations is not well-established.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the effectiveness of brief versus extended functional analyses in identifying the function of disruptive behaviors.
• To evaluate assessment efficiency in a vocational training context for individuals with developmental disabilities.

Main Methods:

• Conducted brief and extended functional analyses of disruptive behaviors.
• Included 3 participants with developmental disabilities in a vocational training program.
• Compared the outcomes of the brief and extended assessment methods.

Main Results:

• The brief functional analysis successfully identified the function of disruptive behavior for 2 out of 3 participants.
• The extended functional analysis also identified the function for these 2 participants.
• The brief assessment demonstrated comparable efficacy to the extended assessment in this sample.

Conclusions:

• Brief functional analyses may be a time-efficient method for identifying the function of disruptive behaviors in individuals with developmental disabilities.
• These findings support the utility of brief assessments in applied settings.
• Further research should explore the generalizability of brief functional analysis effectiveness.