Analysis of the effects of task preferences, task demands, and adult attention on child behavior in outpatient and classroom settings.
A 10-minute parent-run FA in clinic can flag the right variables to tweak in class.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Parents ran a 10-minute functional analysis in a clinic room. They tested three things: task difficulty, toy choice, and adult attention.
The team then watched the same kids in their classrooms. They wanted to know if the clinic results matched real-life behavior.
What they found
The brief clinic test predicted what would help in class. When the same variables were changed, problem behavior dropped in both places.
Parents could do the test quickly. No long clinic visits or pulling kids from class.
How this fits with other research
Lang et al. (2008) found clinic and class can give different answers. Their mixed results warn us to double-check in the natural room before treatment.
Gerow et al. (2021) moved the same brief parent test into homes with telehealth. They kept the short format but added video coaching.
Kodak et al. (2013) showed teachers can run a super-short discrete-trial FA right at circle time. Together these papers say: brief works, but always confirm where the child lives.
Why it matters
Use a 10-minute parent-led FA as a screening tool. Run it in the clinic, then quickly test the winning variable in class before you write a full plan. It saves hours of guesswork and keeps kids learning.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Two studies were conducted with children who displayed behavior problems to evaluate the effects of task preference, task demands, and adult attention on child behavior. In Study 1, we conducted brief functional analyses in an outpatient clinic to identify variables that facilitated appropriate behavior. For 8 of 10 children, distinct patterns of performance occurred; 3 children displayed improved behavior with changes in task demands, 1 child displayed improved behavior with a preferred task, and 4 children displayed improved behavior with changes in adult attention. In most cases, the children's parents carried out the assessments with adequate procedural integrity. In Study 2, we applied similar assessment methods to a classroom setting over an extended period of time. We identified independent variables controlling appropriate, on-task, and academic behavior for 2 children on two tasks, with slightly different treatment procedures across tasks for both children. In addition, the results of brief functional analyses for both children corresponded to the extended classroom assessments.
Journal of applied behavior analysis, 1992 · doi:10.1901/jaba.1992.25-823