Home-based Descriptive and Experimental Analysis of Problem Behaviors in Children

Abstract

The authors conducted descriptive and experimental analysis of problem behaviors in the homes of 5 children. The children's parents were actively involved in the descriptive assessment and manipulated potential controlling variables during the experimental analysis. The information obtained from each functional assessment method (e.g., behavioral interview, direct observation assessment, experimental analysis) indicated the same function for each child's problem behavior. Based upon the results of the descriptive analysis, experimental analysis conditions were designed to test specific hypotheses regarding the function of the challenging behavior. Through the brief experimental analysis, we verified the function of the children's problem behaviors in four to six sessions. Interventions involving functional communication training (FCT) were implemented based upon the assessment results for 2 of the children. The effectiveness of FCT for these 2 children validated the functional assessment results. The study employed parents in their natural environment and suggested that functional assessment procedures may be useful and/or practical in natural settings.

The Long‐term Effects of Functional Communication Training in Home Settings

“…In all cases, effective suppression of aberrant behavior was achieved and positive social behavior emerged. These results replicate previous studies on maintenance of FCT (Durand & Carr, 1992;Northup et al, 1994) and previous studies on the application of these procedures in home (Arndorfer et al, 1994) and school Durand & Carr, 1991Northup et al, 1994;Sasso et al, 1992) settings. In this study, parents conducted all procedures effectively with only intermittent consultation.…”

“…al., 1994;Wacker et al, 1990). The results of these studies have led to applications of these treatments in schools (Northup et al, 1994) and homes (Arndorfer, Miltenberger, Woster, Rortvedt, & Gaffaney, 1994). As we begin to apply FCT to less controlled settings, the results of both descriptive (Mace & Lalli, 1991) and experimental (Iwata, Dorsey, Slifer, Bauman, & Richman, 1982 analyses are needed to develop effective treatment.…”

Behavioural supports for parents of children with an intellectual disability and problem behaviours: an overview of the literature

“…However, practical knowledge about the ways to conduct functional assessments effectively within family environments, either by clinicians or families themselves, is limited. Notable exceptions are the works of Albin et al (1996), , and Arndorfer, Miltenberger, Woster, Rortvedt and Gaffaney (1994). Arndorfer et al (1994) demonstrated that parents successfully implemented functional assessments in natural settings; whereas reported that parents typically were able to identify the function of the behaviour quite rapidly.…”

“…Notable exceptions are the works of Albin et al (1996), , and Arndorfer, Miltenberger, Woster, Rortvedt and Gaffaney (1994). Arndorfer et al (1994) demonstrated that parents successfully implemented functional assessments in natural settings; whereas reported that parents typically were able to identify the function of the behaviour quite rapidly. Nevertheless, further research in the development and testing of "friendly" practical packages of assessment information for parents to use within home environments is clearly needed.…”

Temporal Distributions of Problem Behavior Based on Scatter Plot Analysis

“…These data suggest that the scatter plot is used as an assessment tool in clinical practice, in spite of the fact that no replications of the Touchette et al (1985) findings have appeared in the literature. Although reference to the use of the scatter plot can be found in a number of studies (Arndorfer, Miltenberger, Woster, Rortvedt, & Gaffaney, 1994;Cameron, Luiselli, Littleton, & Ferrelli, 1996;Durand & Kishi, 1987;Kennedy & Itkonen, 1993;Kennedy & Souza, 1995;Lalli et al, 1993;Linscheid, Iwata, Ricketts, Williams, & Griffin, 1990;Ricketts et al, 1993Ricketts et al, , 1994, none of those reports presented the actual data. Thus, the extent to which behavior problems show temporal characteristics such as those observed for 2 of the participants in the Touchette et al study remains largely unknown.…”