Skip to Main Content

Functional Behavior Assessments and Behavior Intervention Plans

A Functional Behavioral Analysis (FBA) should take place within three months of the emergence of maladaptive behavior or if data indicates that the use of standard interventions is not producing desired outcomes.

What Should Be Included?

Functional Behavioral Analysis (FBA)

An FBA is used to inform the design of a behavior program for maximum effectiveness and should include:

  • Informed consent by individual or caregiver as appropriate
  • Rationale for need of intervention and potential risks if not assessed/intervened
  • Utilization of assessment methods (direct vs. indirect, etc.) and data collection procedures
  • Operational definition of target behavior(s)
  • Hypothesized function(s) of problem behavior(s) that include antecedents that predict the behaviors and consequences that maintain the behaviors
  • Functionally equivalent replacement behaviors to be targeted for acquisition

Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP)

The BIP is developed to outline a function-based intervention plan that addresses the undesirable behavior and should include:

  • Informed consent by individual or caregiver as appropriate
  • Date of initiation as well as date of revisions/review
  • Individualized plan tailored to member, implementer, and setting (e.g., family, siblings, staff, other service providers)
    • Antecedent and consequence-based interventions
    • Justification for restrictive interventions, if applicable
  • Safety and/or Crisis Plan for behaviors that may cause harm to member, others, or environment
  • Specific plan for generalization
  • Information for how contingencies will fade to more natural contingencies to promote independence across all environments
  • Visual representation of data to include:
    • Graph for each target behavior
    • Narrative summary indicating response to treatment (trends) for each behavior targeted
  • Documentation of setting events that may impact behavior data (e.g., medication changes, divorce, modification to BIP) and how these are being addressed
  • Outline for how often the behavior plan will be updated and how stakeholders will be trained
  • Information regarding treatment fidelity checks

Considerations

  • The FBA should be conducted within the environment where the behavior occurs; therefore, if a maladaptive behavior is occurring within the home setting, evaluation and treatment should also occur within that setting.
    • If services are not able to be provided within settings that are specific to member and family’s needs, rationale should be submitted regarding a plan for how this will be address.
  • The BIP should be developed with caregiver preferences and abilities taken into consideration.
  • The BIP should reflect stakeholders’ ability to implement the interventions.
  • Appropriate alternative behaviors identified should be specifically targeted for increase within skill acquisition section.
  • Throughout the treatment period frequently reassess and update intervention plans to address changes of behavior accordingly.

References: The Council of Autism Service Providers (CASP) Applied Behavior Analysis Treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorder: Practice Guidelines for Healthcare Funders and Managers, Ver 2.0