Functional Behavior Assesment - Post 8

This article told the story of Jorge, a 4-year old Spanish-speaking preschooler. Jorge was very aggressive, and was therefore recommended for behavioral assessment. At Jorge’s Head Start school, he had a lead teacher who only spoke English and a paraprofessional who spoke Spanish. Jorge was observed being aggressive during all activities in a 1.5-hour session, ranging from whole-group instruction to circle time. Consequences for aggression included removal from group work and individual adult attention in the form of modeling proper classroom behaviors. Jorge was given a range of behavioral assessments, including the ADOS, the Autism Diagnostic Assessment. The authors of the article gave a series of suggestions to both the lead teacher and the paraprofessional to aid in Jorge’s behavioral development. One year after the recommendations were made, the authors observed Jorge having significant behavioral improvement. This was due to the lead teacher making use of the recommended accommodations for Jorge.

The article was written very clearly. They spelled out what the issue was for Jorge, how they assessed him, the recommendations they made, and the results of those recommendations. I have always found case studies to be easy to follow, and this article was no different. The evidence is laid out in a clear way so that a direct causal relationship can be found between the authors’ recommendations and the improved behaviors.

Durán, L. K., Bloom, S. E., & Samaha, A. L. (2013). Adaptations to a Functional Behavior Assessment with a Spanish-Speaking Preschooler: A Data-Based Case Study. Education & Treatment Of Children, 36(1), 73-95.