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| Using a Practical Functional Assessment Model to Develop Skill-Based Treatments of Problem Behavior |
| Friday, May 25, 2018 |
| 8:00 AM–3:00 PM |
| Manchester Grand Hyatt, America's Cup A-D |
| Area: AUT/PRA; Domain: Service Delivery |
| CE Instructor: Joshua Jessel, Ph.D. |
| JOSHUA JESSEL (Queens College) |
| Description: The functional analysis is a powerful tool that can provide an effective and humane treatment for problem behavior (Hanley, Iwata, & McCord, 2003). Despite its growing empirical support, a recent survey (Oliver, Pratt, & Normand, 2015) suggests that many practitioners are not conducting functional analyses. Practitioners may be avoiding the functional analysis because of concerns that it places the patient and clinician at risk of injury and requires too much time. I will be teaching the audience how to conduct a practical functional analysis that takes around 25 minutes (Hanley, Jin, Vanselow, & Hanratty, 2014; Jessel, Hanley, & Ghaemmaghami, 2016; Santiago, Santiago, Hanley, Moore, & Jin, 2016). I will then discuss how to use the results of the functional analysis to design effective, function-based treatments that include (a) the teaching of complex and developmentally appropriate functional communication skills, and (b) skill-based delay tolerance procedures that increase other behaviors such as compliance, task engagement, and social interaction (Ghaemmaghami, Jessel, & Hanley, 2016; Jessel, Ingvarsson, Metras, Kirk, & Whipple, in press). The goal of the entire assessment and treatment process is to effect more global changes in the functional repertoires needed to be successful in complex environments with natural reinforcement contingencies. |
| Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the workshop, the participant will be able to: (1) conduct a functional analysis of problem behavior in 25 minutes, (2) teach a child complex functional communication skills, (3) teach a child how to tolerate delays and denials to reinforcement, (4) program for generalization and maintenance of these skills. |
| Activities: Workshop objectives will be met through a balanced presentation of lecture, guided practice, video observation, and group discussion. Core content will be taught through lecture. Supplemental materials such as workbooks and assessments will be provided in order to support participant learning. |
| Audience: BCBAs, BCBA-Ds, BCaBAs, licensed psychologists, and other behavior analytic providers who need to learn a fast and safe approach to assessing and treating problem behavior. This approach has been empirically validated for those with and without intellectual disabilities, with children as young as 1 and adults as old as 30, and can be conducted in multiple contexts such as classrooms, clinics, or homes. |
| Content Area: Practice |
| Instruction Level: Basic |
| Keyword(s): functional assessment, functional communication, problem behavior, tolerance training |