Date of Graduation
2017
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Type
MS
College
Eberly College of Arts and Sciences
Department
Psychology
Committee Chair
Claire St Peter
Committee Co-Chair
Jennifer Austin
Committee Member
Steven Kinsey
Abstract
Functional behavior assessments (FBA) identify the consequences that maintain challenging behavior. Much of the current literature suggests that functional analyses are the most effective component of an FBA. However, functional analyses are most commonly used with children with developmental and intellectual disabilities. For children with complex verbal repertoires, other types of assessment may identify consequences maintaining behavior that can be subsequently manipulated as part of a classroom-based intervention. In the current study, we compared a student-completed interview and preference assessment to the outcomes of a functional analysis, and used the outcomes of all three assessments to evaluate classroom-based interventions to reduce challenging behavior. Conclusive assessment outcomes aligned for three of four target responses and interventions based on outcomes suppressed target responding for two of three students, indicating that students can identify functions of their own behavior during student-informed indirect assessments.
Recommended Citation
Mesches, Gabrielle, "Student Interview and Preference Assessment as Functional Behavior Assessment Tools in Schools" (2017). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports. 6223.
https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/6223