What is a Functional Behavior Assessment?
A Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA) is a type of evaluation that provides us with valuable information regarding maladaptive student behavior. The purpose of the FBA is to attempt to identify the purpose of a student’s maladaptive behavior, the consequences of the behavior, and appropriate intervention strategies to extinguish the maladaptive behavior and to increase appropriate behavior. A student may be referred for an FBA when they have had a substantial number of discipline referrals, they are demonstrating a consistent pattern of maladaptive behavior, and/or they are demonstrating maladaptive behaviors that are substantially impacting their educational functioning. The actual evaluation process for an FBA may include any or all of the following: teacher, student, and parent interviews regarding the behaviors of concern, observation of the student, rating scales to be completed by the parent, teacher, and/or student, academic screening, review of discipline reports, and review o
