what to do when descriptive assessment is not enough: choice assessment
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What to do when Descriptive Assessment is not Enough: Choice Assessment. December, 2009 School Social Worker & School Psychology Discipline Days. Objective. Increasing Rigor And Increasing Accuracy. Choice Assessment. Current problems with Indirect and Descriptive methods. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
What to do when Descriptive Assessment is not Enough:
Choice AssessmentDecember, 2009
School Social Worker & School Psychology Discipline
Days
ObjectiveKnow Understand DoThe range and reliability of various behavior assessment practices
When a Choice assessment can be helpful
How to set up a choice assessment for function of behavior
The differences between a functional analysis and Choice Assessment
Understand the disadvantages of functional analysis
Link Choice Assessment data to a FBA and BIP
Advantages of Choice Assessment vs. Descriptive Assessment
Increasing Rigor And Increasing Accuracy
Choice Assessment
Current problems with Indirect and Descriptive methods
Indirect = 30% accurate functions identified
Descriptive assessments increase accuracy (60 – 80%) Steege and Northup, Journal of Proven Practice 1998
• Positive bias to attention in a school setting (Iwata)
• May appear to be Escape to Attention when the student might really be Escape
Functional AnalysisIn General:• Set up situations that allow you to
compare conditions– Attention– Demand– Alone– Play
• Take data on the problem behavior• Reliability and Validity are high
– Considered the “Gold Standard”
Functional Analysis Video
If the behavior is escape maintained the data might look
like this graph.Graph from Berg et al., 2007
If the behavior is attention maintained the data might look
like this graph.Graph from Berg et al., 2007
If it is the Gold Standard, why aren’t we doing more Functional Analysis?
• Potential risk to individual– elicit the behavior
• Complex• Requires control over environment• Hard to do it with elopement, low
frequency behaviors• Requires extensive Supervised
Experience– If you believe a Functional Analysis is
needed contact the CBAT
Paired Choice Assessment for Function
Also called Contingent Operant Assessment• Identifies relative preferences
• Can be done in a Classroom Setting
• Increase Teacher buy-in of function
• 3/4 determined the same function as Functional Analysis (Berg, Wacker, 2007)
• Not intended to elicit problem behavior
What is the difference?Functional Analysis• Identifies conditions
that will increase problem behaviors
• Most reliable method
• Controls for attention
• Very controlled environment
Paired Choice• Identifies student
preferences• 3/4 indicated same
function as FA• Controls for
attention• Can be done in a
classroom
What do I get from it?• Information about antecedents that are more likely
to produce positive behavior• Likely to gain confirmation of function• Manage the influence of attention• Can get information on preferred materials, items,
settings, tasks• May take less time than a comprehensive
descriptive analysis – Paired choice –min. of 25 to 30 min– Descriptive assessment – min of 3 20 min
observations
How do I set up the space?• 2 age appropriate spaces (tables)• 3 to 5 feet apart• Different choices placed on each
table• Each session is 5 min.• Break between sessions
What are the rules?Adult• Adult explains
options before• The choice is
repeated every 90 seconds for 5 minutes
• Adult responds to child as indicated in the condition
Child• Starts between the
tables• Is Free to move
between both tables• Can’t take toys back
and forth
• If the behavior is mild– Prompt the child to make a
choice• If the behavior is severe
– End the session– Consider other assessment
techniques
What happens if the child demonstrates the problem
behavior?
5 min. Choice Session 1Choice Table 1 Table 2Attention and Toys VS Alone with Nothing
Teacher and preferred leisure items (positive reinforcement)
Empty Table (negative reinforcement)
Hypothesized Function:
Gain Attention/Tangible
Escape
BIP Strategies Gained: • Possible reinforcers• Type of attention
preferred
*Preferred leisure items and possible
reinforcers
5 min. Choice Session 2Choice Table 1 Table 2Attention VS Toys Teacher (positive
reinforcement)Preferred leisure items (positive reinforcement)
Hypothesized Function:
Gain Attention Gain Tangible
BIP Strategies Gained: • Type of attention preferred
*Preferred leisure items and possible
reinforcers
5 min. Choice Session 3Choice Table 1 Table 2Attention with task demands VS alone with nothing
Teacher and work task (positive reinforcement)
Empty Table (negative reinforcement)
Hypothesized Function:
Gain Attention Escape
BIP Strategies Gained: • Type of work not preferred and
preferred• Type of attention
preferred
*Preferred leisure items and possible
reinforcers
5 min. Choice Session 4Choice Table 1 Table 2Attention with task demands VS alone with toys
Teacher and work task (positive reinforcement)
Preferred leisure items (negative and positive reinforcement)
Hypothesized Function:
Gain Attention Escape/Gain Tangible
BIP Strategies Gained: • Type of work not preferred and
preferred• Type of attention
preferred
*Preferred leisure items and possible
reinforcers
What data should I collect?10 sec. Partial Interval
Recording– Records which side of the
midpoint the student is standing during each interval
– If student was in both sides, record the one that the student spent the most time
– Standing on the midline is not recorded
Duration Recording– Record total time on each
side
Escape Profile (Berg et al., 2007)
Child wants to be alone with or without toys
Escape Profile (Berg et al., 2007)
Child wants to be alone.But will tolerate Attention paired with Toys.
Attention Profile (Berg et al., 2007)Higher Problem Behaviors
Prefers Attention,Less PB when not paired with a Demand
Not Fail Proof
(Berg et al., 2007)
Lyle• Problem Behavior
was maintained/reinforced by escape from demands
• Choice was maintained/reinforced by positive reinforcement such as teacher attention
Choice Assessment based instructional strategies reduced the problem behavior and Functional Analysis based strategies eliminated the problem behavior.
What if I want to know more than
just what the child prefers?
Collect more data• Problem behaviors
during choice activity
• Engagement or compliance while in preferred setting
Paired Choice—
Simplified
Paired Choice: Hypothesized Functions
1. Find a partner2. Go to the following SurveyMonkey
link:http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/2B8BD2R3. Consider the possible function in
each scenario to answer each itemWe will go over each item at the end of the activity.
How can Paired Choice reduce time spent on FBA summaries?• 30-60 minutes compared to multiple
observations in multiple settings• May choose to do a paired choice
assessment early in problem analysis when escape and gain are both present as consequences for problem behavior.
How can Choice Assessment be used to complete an FBA
summary?(Graph from Berg et al., 2007)
Warren: Choice Assessment Results
• Aggression and property destruction• Warren chose teacher attention consistently• Problem behaviors:
– 36% of the intervals with attention and task demand
– 0-5% with attention or attention with toys• Chose attention with demands over alone with toys• He engaged in the leisure, attention and tasks a
median of 81% of intervals• Direct observations during independent work tasks
and leisure time alone show he has appropriate behavior for about 1 minute prior aggressing
Warren: FBA Summary Components
• Function of Problem Behavior: Gain Attention
• Summary Statement: – When Warren is left alone in leisure or
independent work he is more likely to aggress or have property destruction to gain attention from adults.
Warren: FBA Summary Components
• Summary Statement: – When Warren is given demands and
leisure time paired with adults he is more likely to engage in the activities appropriately and has less aggression.
Warren: BIP Recommendations• Prevention:
– Reduce independent work times/leisure times to less than 1 minute until tolerance for delay is gained. Include adults in leisure and work activities.
• Teach Alternatives/Replacement:– Warren should be taught to request a teacher
to help him during work tasks and engage with him during leisure time. He should also be taught increasing amounts of tolerance for delay.
Warren: BIP Recommendations• Response Strategies:
– Provide frequent social attention during all tasks
– Planned ignoring for minor off-task, disruptive, aggressive behaviors
– Time-out from attention for aggressive behavior
Your Turn: Jack’s Choice Assessment
(Graph from Berg et al., 2007)
Jack: Choice Assessment Results
• Self injury, aggression and noncompliance• Chose the alone side of the room with or
without leisure items• Chose leisure with teacher over alone• Problem behaviors:
– 3 problem behaviors occurred in the attention with demand and attention with toys conditions
• He engaged in the the side of the room he chose a 80% of intervals
Jack: FBA & BIP ComponentsAt your table:• What is the hypothesized function of
Jack’s problem behavior?• Write a summary statement for
problem behaviors for Jack• Determine Prevention, Replacement &
Teaching, & Response strategies for Jack’s BIPI’ll be floating by and will share out your
work at the end of the activity.
When is consent for evaluation for choice assessment
necessary?• Get Consent for evaluation
– Initial FBA Summary during an evaluation– Collecting information intended to inform a
placement change– During a reevaluation
• Consent for Evaluation is typically not necessary when part of ongoing evaluation that is intended to inform instruction
• In General—You can never go wrong with telling the parent
Next Steps• Consider a choice interview with an older
student• Start with a choice assessment for the
purpose of determining preferred leisure activities
• Consider a choice assessment for a student you think might have problem behavior maintained by multiple functions
• Use a choice assessment to make recommendations for an EER
For Teachers & Parents:
For more information . . . Berg et al., (2007). Comparing
functional analysis and paired-choice assessment results in classroom settings. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 40, 545-552.