The behavioral function of feeding problems as assessed by the questions about behavioral function (QABF).
The QABF checklist quickly tells you the separate function of each feeding problem in clients with severe ID.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team gave the Questions About Behavioral Function (QABF) to 125 adults with severe or profound intellectual disability.
All participants had feeding problems such as vomiting, packing food, or refusing solids.
Caregivers answered 25 questions about what usually happens before and after each feeding problem.
What they found
The QABF sorted each feeding problem into one of four functions: escape, nonsocial, physical, or tangible.
Different topographies often had different functions. For example, vomiting might be escape while packing might be sensory.
How this fits with other research
Matson et al. (1999) showed the same checklist works for self-injury, aggression, and stereotypy. The 2005 paper extends that work to feeding problems.
Fox et al. (2001) found QABF results line up well with long analogue functional analyses. This gives confidence that the checklist is not just fast but also valid.
Bell et al. (2018) looked at multiple topographies in one functional analysis. The 2005 study took the opposite route: it used the QABF to give each feeding topography its own separate function. Both methods help when clients show more than one problem.
Why it matters
You now have a five-minute caregiver survey that tells you why each feeding problem happens. No extra analogue sessions, no extra staff.
Match the QABF result to the right treatment: escape-based vomiting gets a break procedure, sensory-based packing gets non-contingent food.
Start the checklist Monday and you can write a function-based feeding plan by Wednesday.
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Join Free →Hand the QABF to the direct care staff, collect one form per feeding topography, and plot the highest score as the likely function.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
Differences in subscale scores on the questions about behavioral function (QABF) were assessed for participants identified with pica, rumination, food stealing, food refusal, and mealtime behavior problems (e.g., aggression, self-injurious behavior). The QABF was administered to informants for 125 individuals identified with problematic feeding behaviors and mental retardation primarily in the severe to profound range. Results of the nonparametric analyses yielded significant differences across the escape, nonsocial, physical, and tangible subscales of the QABF. Behavior functions most commonly associated with problematic feeding behaviors were identified. The results extend upon previous literature describing behavioral function of feeding problems for those with mental retardation.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2005 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2004.11.008