In the current investigation, a concurrent operant paradigm was used with 3 young children who displayed severe problem behaviors to identify behavioral function. The children were given a series of choice options varying the availability of parent attention, access to preferred toys, and level of demand. The results showed that all children displayed differential patterns of behavior that appeared to be influenced by the presence or absence of attention and demands, suggesting a behavioral function. The results extended previous applications of reinforcer assessment procedures by using choice to identify antecedent conditions that set the occasion for problem behavior.
Derby, K.M., Wacker, D.P., Sasso, G., Steege, M., Northrup, J., Cigrand, K., & Asmus, J. (1992). Brief functional assessment techniques to evaluate aberrant behavior in an outpatient setting: A summary of 79 cases. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 25, 713—721.
3.
Dunlap, G., & Kern, L. (1993). Assessment and intervention for children within the instructional curriculum. In J. Reichle & D. Wacker (Eds.), Communicative approaches to the management of challenging behavior (pp. 177—203). Baltimore: Brookes.
4.
Finkel, A.S., & Williams, R.L. (in press). A comparison of textual versus echoic prompts on the acquisition of intraverbal behavior in a six-year-old boy with autism. The Analysis of Verbal Behavior.
5.
Fisher, W., Piazza, C.C., Bowman, L.G., Hagopian, L.P., Owens, J.C., & Slevin, I. (1992). A comparison of two approaches for identifying reinforcers for persons with severe and profound disabilities. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 25, 491—498.
6.
Harding, J.W., Wacker, D.P., Berg, W.K., Barretto, A., Winborn, L., & Gardner, A. (2001). Analysis of response class hierarchies with attention-maintained problem behaviors. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 34, 61—64.
7.
Harding, J.W., Wacker, D.P., Berg, W.K., Cooper, L.J., Asmus, J., Mlela, K., & Muller, J. (1999). An analysis of choice making in the assessment of young children with severe behavior problems. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 32, 63—82.
8.
Horner, R.H., & Day, M.D. (1991). The effects of response efficiency on functionally equivalent competing behaviors. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 24, 719—732.
9.
Horner, R.H., Diemer, S.M., & Brazeau, K.C. (1992). Educational support for students with severe problem behaviors in Oregon: A descriptive analysis from the 1987—88 school year. Journal of the Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps , 17, 154—169.
10.
Iwata, B.A., Dorsey, M.F., Slifer, K.J., Bauman, K.E., & Richman, G.S. (1994). Toward a functional analysis of self-injury. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 27, 197—209. (Reprinted from Analysis and Intervention in Developmental Disabilities, 2, 3—20, 1982 )
11.
Kahng, S.W., & Iwata, B.A. (1999). Correspondence between outcomes of brief and extended functional analyses. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis , 32, 149—159.
12.
Kazdin, A.E. (1982). Single-case research designs: Methods for clinical and applied settings. New York: Oxford University Press.
13.
Kennedy, C.H. (2000). When reinforcers for problem behavior are not readily apparent: Extending functional assessments to complex problem behaviors . Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, 2, 195—201.
14.
Northup, J., George, T., Jones, K., Broussard, C., & Vollmer, T.R. (1996). A comparison of reinforcer assessment methods: The utility of verbal and pictorial choice procedures. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 29, 201— 212.
15.
Northup, J., Wacker, D.P., & Sasso, G. (1991). A brief functional analysis of aggressive and alternative behavior in an outclinic setting. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 24, 509—522.
16.
O'Neill, R.E., Horner, R.H., Albin, R.W., Storey, K., & Sprague, J.R. (1990). Functional analysis of problem behavior: A practical assessment guide. Sycamore, IL: Sycamore.
17.
Peck, S.M., Wacker, D.P., Berg, W.K., Cooper, L.J., Brown, K.A., Richman, D., et al. (1996). Choice-making treatment of young children's severe behavior problems. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis , 29, 263—290.
18.
Piazza, C.C., Fisher, W.W., Hanley, G.P., Remick, J.L., Contrucci, S.A., & Aitken, T.L. (1997). The use of positive and negative reinforcement in the treatment of escape-maintained destructive behavior. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 30, 279—298.
19.
Repp, A.C., Felce, D., & Barton, L.K. (1988). Basing the treatment of stereotypic and self-injurious behaviors on hypotheses of their causes. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 21, 281—289.
20.
Vaughn, B.J., & Horner, R.H. (1997). Identifying instructional tasks that occasion problem behaviors and assessing the effects of student versus teacher choice among these tasks. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 30, 299—312.
