Discrepancy in functional analysis results across two settings: implications for intervention design

Russell Lang; Mark O'Reilly; Giulio Lancioni; Mandy Rispoli; Wendy Machalicek; Jeffrey M Chan; Paul Langthorne; Jesse Franco

doi:10.1901/jaba.2009.42-393

Discrepancy in functional analysis results across two settings: implications for intervention design

J Appl Behav Anal. 2009 Summer;42(2):393-7. doi: 10.1901/jaba.2009.42-393.

Authors

Russell Lang¹, Mark O'Reilly, Giulio Lancioni, Mandy Rispoli, Wendy Machalicek, Jeffrey M Chan, Paul Langthorne, Jesse Franco

Affiliation

¹ University of Texas at Austin, Department of Special Education, College of Education, Austin, Texas 78712, USA. russlang@mail.utexas.edu

Abstract

Functional analyses that were conducted in two settings (playground and classroom) indicated that problem behavior was sensitive to adult attention on the playground and tangible items in the classroom. Attention- and tangible-based interventions were designed based on the results from each of the assessment environments and were compared. The attention-based intervention was more effective on the playground, and the tangible-based intervention was more effective in the classroom. Findings are discussed in regards to the generality of functional analysis results across environments.

Keywords: assessment; autism; criterion settings; functional analysis; intervention design.

MeSH terms

Attention*
Child Behavior Disorders / psychology*
Child Development Disorders, Pervasive / psychology*
Child, Preschool
Extinction, Psychological
Humans
Male
Reinforcement Schedule*
Social Environment*