The significance and future of functional analysis methodologies.

Mace (1994) wrote a think-piece, not an experiment. The paper looked back at ten years of functional analysis. It asked where the method should go next.

The author praised how FA replaced guesswork with test data. He urged readers to stretch FA into new places, like social skills and rare disorders.

No new numbers were given. The paper declared that FA had already changed the field. It said the next step was to keep pushing boundaries.

C predicted that future studies would test stranger behaviors and use remote tools.

The forecast came true. Ferreri et al. (2011) ran the first FA on toddler gestures. They showed that even odd hand waves work like words when tangible or information payoff is at stake.

Grindle et al. (2012) took FA into Asperger’s social mishaps. They proved that social positive reinforcers keep the bad jokes coming, and once reversed, the same reinforcers build friendly chat.

Starbrink et al. (2024) pushed further, testing seizure-like events in Rett syndrome over Zoom. The single-case design worked, proving FA can travel from clinic to living room.

Wacker (2024) looked back again, this time honoring Brian Iwata. The tribute frames all later work as proof that C’s 1994 vision held: brief clinic visits can still be rigorous experiments.

You no longer need a fancy lab to run an FA. If a child with Rett can be assessed at home, so can your client. Try telehealth parent coaching for one case this month. Start with gestures or social quirks—those papers give you the road map.