Enhancing Functional Behavior Assessment: Function Identification and Severity Measurement is the kind of topic that looks straightforward until it collides with the speed, ambiguity, and competing demands of clinic sessions and day-to-day service delivery. In Enhancing Functional Behavior Assessment: Function Identification and Severity Measurement, for this course, the practical stakes show up in stronger conceptual consistency and better translational decision making, not in abstract discussion alone.
Provider: BehaviorLive — via Florida Association of Behavior Analysis
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Join Free →Descriptive analyses are commonly used at the outset of the functional behavior assessment (FBA) process, but their role in enhancing subsequent assessments and treatment planning is often underutilized. This symposium presents three data-based studies that expand the scope of assessment in applied contexts. The first presentation examines the reliability and clinical utility of repeated severity ratings during functional analyses using the Destructive Behavior Severity Scale (Helvey et al., 2024) in an intensive treatment setting. The second compares results of commonly used indirect assessments (QABF, MAS, FAST) to functional analysis outcomes for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The third explores how descriptive analyses can inform functional analysis by identifying topographies of attention that maintain problem behavior. Collectively, these presentations highlight advancements in assessment strategies that enhance the precision of treatment planning, progress monitoring, and decision-making in applied settings. Implications for research and practice will be discussed, along with recommendations for integrating these measures into routine clinical use.
| Certification Body | Credits | Type |
|---|---|---|
| BACB® | 1 | General |
| COA | 1 | — |
| FL MH/PSY | 0 | — |
Dr. Kacie McGarry is a Behavior Analyst in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Florida and the Associate Clinical Director of the Severe Behavior specialty clinic at the Florida Autism Center co-located and affiliated with the UF Center for Autism and Neurodevelopment. Her work focuses on the assessment and treatment of severe behavior and interdisciplinary models of care. She has authored multiple peer-reviewed publications and presents nationally on topics including functional assessment, service delivery, and collaboration between behavior analysts and medical professionals.
Dig into the research behind this topic — plain-English summaries written for BCBAs.
280 research articles with practitioner takeaways
279 research articles with practitioner takeaways
258 research articles with practitioner takeaways
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All behavior-analytic intervention is individualized. The information on this page is for educational purposes and does not constitute clinical advice. Treatment decisions should be informed by the best available published research, individualized assessment, and obtained with the informed consent of the client or their legal guardian. Behavior analysts are responsible for practicing within the boundaries of their competence and adhering to the BACB Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts.