EVENTS Edinburgh attendees listen intently to one of the presentations
(Left to right) PPG steering committee member Claire Staines, PPGBI membership manager Louise Stapleton-Frappell, BARKS from the Guild editor Susan Nilson, PPG president Niki Tudge, and PPG steering committee member Carole Husein
probability settings, functionally equivalent behavior, and patterns based on observable behavior and events,” Tudge said. In addition to the functional assessment, Tudge emphasized the importance of anecdotal evidence, i.e. what the client tells us via the informant interview. “Anecdotal evidence is first- or second-hand information about an individual’s personal experience,” Tudge said. “Both positive and negative anecdotal evidence are unreliable as they do not provide tangible data that can be stratified, analyzed or scientifically interpreted. They do, however, offer an insight into how people think and feel and can often be the source of a hypotheThe Functional Assessment Finally, Niki Tudge closed out the day, discussing the approach and sis. At the close of the informant interview the consultant may be able to develop a contingency statement, i.e. a “what/if” stateflow of behavior case management, and making the case for the ment. Behavioral contingencies state the if-then conditions that use of functional assessments in behavior change programs. set the occasion for the potential occurrence of certain behavior “There’s validity to anecdotal information that a client will and its consequences.” submit on the pre-consult questionnaire but then our job is to Tudge also discussed when – and when not to – implement a determine, via the functional assessment, what is causing the functional analysis. “If you are confident with the contingencies problem behavior,” Tudge said. “We need to determine, via our from your interview and if necessary, a direct observation, then questions to the client, if their answers are accurate – preferably you should avoid the functional analysis,” she said. “Every time with the dog in another room. We must make sure we stay safe the dog performs a behavior and it is reinforced, the behavior at all times. The key question to ask first is, ‘Is the dog afraid?’ If becomes more entrenched. On the other hand, we need to so, then you need to change his emotional state. know what those contingencies are in order “It is competent, ethical and profesto effectively and efficiently change them. sional to conduct a functional assess“If you have completed your informant inment,” Tudge continued. “A functional terview and direct observation and you are assessment is an objective way to look at not confident in your understanding of what a behavior problem, and as a problem the antecedent or consequences are, then solving system it challenges common asyou can consider a functional analysis – prosumptions and perceptions. It is solutionvided that the client is committed and wants driven, will produce results, and help us to see a complete behavior change, rather get past any of our own biases regarding than implement management strategies,” the dog, the situation, and the family. It Tudge said. “The functional analysis experialso helps develop shared meaning with ment should only test areas of the continfamily members and other professionals gency statement that are unclear. If you are as to what is going on, and will help treat unsure about the relationship between the the cause of the problem behavior, as antecedents and the behavior, you would test well as the symptom. In addition, it is a the antecedent package until the evoking, disformal way of documenting the process. criminative stimuli were identified. Likewise, if “By using a functional assessment, we the lack of clarity in the contingency stateintend to discover the antecedent(s) ocment came from understanding which consecasioning the behavior, the consequence Stephanie Rose Chamings with quences were maintaining the behavior, then that is maintaining the behavior, precurPaco, who has become a regular these would be tested.” sors and behavioral chains, high- and low- attendee at PPGBI events you need to be careful not to build in errors if the learner discovers behaviors they find reinforcing along the way. While errors are information, aim for minimal errors (or no errors – which means you will end up with minimal errors), as errorless learning is hard to achieve. Remember, if you continuously reinforce the error, it will become part of the final chain.” In these videos, Jambo demonstrates the art of perfecting the linear behavior chain, see Fetch Me a Beer and Fetch Me a Drink Reinforcers = Praise, Food, Boomer Ball.
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BARKS from the Guild/September 2017