Outcome summaries of latency-based functional analyses conducted in hospital inpatient units

Abstract

Latency-based functional analysis (FA) may be a viable alternative to the standard, rate-based, FA when frequently evoking problem behavior is not advisable. We conducted 18 latency-based FAs of the problem behavior of children diagnosed with autism in inpatient hospital settings and identified functional relations during 44.4% (8 of 18) of latency-based FAs. Implications for conducting FAs of severe problem behavior are discussed.

Keywords: autism; functional analysis; hospital; latency.