Morgan, Robert L.

Vasquez, E.

DigitalCommons@USU

3 4   A p r i l  2 0 0 6  •  T h e  U t a h  S p e c i a l  E d u c a t o r“Are we there yet?” asked Bart.“No,” responded Bart’s dad, Homer.“Are we there yet?”“I said no.”“Are we there yet?”“Still no!”“Are we there yet?”“Would you prefer a different language?! Come on,Bart, your behavior is starting to annoy me.”“Hmm,” started Bart. “OK, look, I know we’re notthere yet. I guess I’m just bored and I want something to do with my time.”Bart’s mother (Marge, as you might guess) turnedaround from the passenger seat. “Bart, look in yoursuitcase behind you. I packed your video game. You can play with it until we get there.”“Cool,” responded Bart. “Why didn’t you tell me in the first place?”As Homer drove on, he thought to himself, “Youdidn’t ask.”What is teaching functionally equivalentreplacement behaviors to students with problem behav-iors? It involves teaching a behavior that serves thesame purpose, or function, a problem behavior. Itallows the student to get, maintain, avoid, or escapesomething but in a more socially appropriate way. Thatis, the socially appropriate behavior serves the samepurpose as the problem behavior. It replaces the prob-lem behavior if the student is taught to perform it ratherthan the problem behavior when certain situationsarise. For Bart, a functionally equivalent replacementbehavior might have been to ask “What can I do whileI sit here in the back seat during this long car ride?”There are a variety of ways to attempt changing aproblem behavior. Most behavior interventions takeone of three forms or use a combination of procedures.One approach is to use antecedent-based procedures,i.e., those that arrange the environment to prevent prob-lem behavior before it occurs. Physical changes in theclassroom or a teacher’s review of classroom rules areexamples of antecedent-based procedures. A secondapproach is to reinforce an alternative behavior whilewithholding reinforcement for problem behavior. Thealternative is a socially appropriate behavior and onethat is incompatible with the problem behavior (i.e., thestudent cannot engage in both behaviors at the sametime). The third approach is to teach functionallyequivalent replacement behaviors. Research shows thatteaching functionally equivalent replacement behavioreffectively suppresses problem behaviors and teaches anew way to approach problem situations (Iwata et al.,1994; Iwata et al., 2000). Examples of functionallyequivalent replacement behaviors for some commonproblem behaviors along with suggested interventioncomponents are shown in Table 1.How does one teach functionally equivalentreplacements to students with problem behaviors?First, identify the function of the problem behaviorusing functional behavior assessment procedures(Kern, O’Neill, & Starosta, 2005). That is, observe theantecedents and consequences surrounding occurrenceof the problem behavior and interview others who mayhave important information. Second, look for patternsin what the student attempts to get, maintain, escape, or avoid by engaging in the problem behavior. Third,develop a hypothesis statement (or “best guess”)regarding the function of the problem behavior. For example, “When presented with a high demand academic task (particularly independent seatwork on math problems), Eric buries his head on the desk and refuses to engage in the assignment in order to avoid the task.”  Fourth, if possible, confirm the hypothesis by presenting the student with a situation producing theproblem behavior assuming no harm or disruption toTeaching Functionally EquivalentReplacement Behaviors to Students withProblem Behavior: What? How? Why?What?How?Why?T h e  U t a h  S p e c i a l  E d u c a t o r  •  A p r i l  2 0 0 6 3 5Bob Morgan and Eleazar Vasquez III, Department of Special Education and Rehabilitation, Utah State Universitythe student orothers. Fifth,identify areplacementbehavior the student canperform thatserves the same function. The replacement behavior must accomplishthe same end and be recognized by those carrying out the interven-tion. For example, Eric may raise his hand and ask his teacher a question about a difficult math problem instead of burying his head.Raising a hand and asking a question serves the same function if thesebehaviors allow Eric to finish the math and “reduce the burden” of thetask. Also, performing these behaviors makes Eric eligible for praiseand recognition from the teacher. Sixth, develop intervention proce-dures that relate to the function of the replacement behavior. That is,provide consequences that establish motivation for performing thereplacement behavior instead of reverting to the problem behavior. Given that the student engages in the replacement instead of the problem behavior, the intervention should include preferred consequences. In Eric’s case, the teacher may arrange for him to temporarily complete three fewer problems on the math sheet contin-gent on raising his hand and asking for help. Eventually, the numberof required math problems can be increased but without disruptivebehavior. Those students who find it belittling to request help maysummon the teacher using less obvious signs, such as moving a book on the desk. Teachers will want to collect dataon the problem behavior and thereplacement behavior starting withbaseline (prior to intervention) andcontinuing through intervention. Bydoing so, teachers can assess inter-vention effectiveness, make neces-sary adjustments, and develop waysto maintain the replacement behav-ior.Why teach functionallyequivalent replacement behaviors?First, because when the student isconfronted with a similar situation in the future, it provides her with afunctional alternative. Second, itserves as a model to other studentswho learn that the student is respon-sible for performing an alternativebehavior when confronted with a situation. Rather than struggle withthe assignment, Eric was expected toask for help. Third, instead of simply suppressing misbehavior, theteacher develops a partnership with the student to come up with analternative. The student agrees to perform the replacement behavior.The teacher agrees to carry out the intervention procedures and assistEric if he asks for help. Preservice teachers from the Department of Special Education andRehabilitation at Utah State University learn to teach functionallyequivalent replacement behaviors in interventions with students whoengage in problem behavior. Trainees conduct functional behaviorassessment, identify hypotheses regarding the function of problembehavior, implement interventions, and assess effects. Three of theprojects are summarized below.Interventions: Teaching FunctionallyEquivalent Replacement BehaviorExample 1 shows behaviors of a 3-year-old girl learning Englishas a second language in a home-based intervention. With severe intellectual disability, she struggled to verbalize her requests with her mother and a preservice teacher. During baseline, severe tantrumsoccurred at the rate of 10-16 per 2-hour observation. The hypothesiswas that she engaged in tantrums to get tangibles and activities.During the intervention, she was taught to request a communicationbook showing pictures of toys and activities. Given a verbal requestfor the book and a verbal or pointing response to a picture, she     Continued on page 36Example 1received the item plus praise and edible reinforcers. Tantrumsdecreased from 8 to zero occurrences as requests for the communication book increased.                                 Example 2 shows behaviors of a 7th grade boy with severeaggression. Aggressive episodes involved hitting, biting, kicking,and property damage. Because of the high rate of aggression, thebehavior was measured in percentage of intervals. The hypothesiswas that the student engaged in aggression to escape academic tasks(in this case, math). The replacement behavior was to respond tointerspersed questions from the preservice teacher (i.e., “Would youlike a short break?”) by indicating “yes” or “no.”  The first interven-tion, involving a 3-minute break and access to a toy/game for theabsence of aggression, reduced aggression but did not increaseresponses to questions. The second intervention, involving activity-based reinforcers (e.g., leaving the academic setting to gooutdoors) increased responses to questions.Example 3 shows a 14-year-old male in the 7th grade who talkedto a neighbor during teacher instruction and independent work. Thehypothesis was that “when presented with new material the studentwould engage in off-task behavior to avoid a high demand task andgain teacher and peer attention.” The replacement behaviors wereraising hand and asking for assistance on the assignment. The inter-vention called for the entire class to earn a pizza party if the targetstudent’s on-task behavior matched or exceeded a preset criterion. References available upon request from the Utah PersonnelDevelopment Center.■3 6   A p r i l  2 0 0 6  •  T h e  U t a h  S p e c i a l  E d u c a t o rExample 2Example 3T h e  U t a h  S p e c i a l  E d u c a t o r  •  A p r i l  2 0 0 6 3 7

Teaching Functionally Equivalent Replacement Behaviors to Students with Problem Behavior: What? How? Why?

https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1253&context=sped_facpub

Teaching Functionally Equivalent Replacement Behaviors to Students with Problem Behavior: What? How? Why?

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

DigitalCommons@USU