Functional analysis is considered best practice for behavior analysts who work with people who have intellectual and developmental disabilities and engage in problem behavior. Unfortunately, a majority of practitioners do not complete functional analyses. The purpose of the present study was to train 10 practitioners to implement a practical functional assessment (PFA) decision making model and to evaluate the ecological validity of the model. Pre- and Post-training overall test scores increased, on average, by 38.18%. Testing subsections increased by 60.0% for foundations and concepts, 5.0% for graphical interpretations, and 40.0% for decision making. A job needs survey showed the greatest …
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Functional analysis is considered best practice for behavior analysts who work with people who have intellectual and developmental disabilities and engage in problem behavior. Unfortunately, a majority of practitioners do not complete functional analyses. The purpose of the present study was to train 10 practitioners to implement a practical functional assessment (PFA) decision making model and to evaluate the ecological validity of the model. Pre- and Post-training overall test scores increased, on average, by 38.18%. Testing subsections increased by 60.0% for foundations and concepts, 5.0% for graphical interpretations, and 40.0% for decision making. A job needs survey showed the greatest gains in reports of antecedent environmental supports, behavior supports in the environment, and antecedents related to the behavior repertoire. A post-training survey indicated that 8 of 8 trainees would recommend the training to others. Finally, at the conclusion of follow-up progress data collection, 3 of the 5 locations were progressing through the PFA model in their regular job duties whereas the other 2 locations experienced professional staffing issues that interfered with their workloads. These results indicate that the training was effective at increasing testing responses related to foundations and concepts as well as decision making. Additionally, when professional staffing was stable, participants reported using the PFA model effectively, suggesting that the model had ecological fit under these conditions.
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