About this Series

Welcome to the Fabic Functional Behaviour Assessment (FBA) series. In this series of 9 episodes, the FBA process and its sequential steps are explained in full and brought together and simplified utilising an overview of the Body Life Skills (BLS) program.

Please note that the Body Life Skills series [link] is a recommended prerequisite for these Functional Behaviour Assessment presentations. The Body Life Skills program is immensely practical for all involved, and is easy to implement in everyday life and with people from all walks of life, including ourselves. After all, who does not have behaviours they would prefer not to be using? You will find that, based on the material in the Body Life Skills series, Functional Behaviour Assessment will make much more sense and is more easily accessible and integrated.

When it comes to life skills and changing behaviour, many sectors appear to be experiencing almost insurmountable challenges. Functional Behaviour Assessment has stood the test of time even though it can be a somewhat protracted and costly undertaking.

For this reason, FBA has mainly been used in the disability sector and for people with extreme behaviours. The Body Life Skills program on the other hand, can easily be used with everybody, for oneself and others, whether that be family members, friends, work colleagues or clients.

FBA is an evidence-based scientific tool that assesses the reason why a person is using non-preferred or unwanted behaviour. It is a behavioural analysis with a set sequence of steps that lead from the presenting symptom/s (the non-preferred or unwanted behaviour) to intervention planning, via interviews with those who can shed light on why the behaviour is being used; reports i.e., any written information on someone’s unwanted behaviour, be they medical, psychological or educational, and a data collection in the person’s natural environment.

This data gathering process leads to the formulation of a hypothesis of why the unwanted behaviour is happening and finally culminates in the intervention planning. From there, Functional Behaviour Assessment continues to review, evaluate and, if necessary, modify the intervention for its effectiveness. If warranted, the hypothesis of functions is at this stage amended to accommodate what has further been observed and needs to be included.

The efficacy of FBA cannot be disputed and has been documented in the literature, in research and many journals. It has been widely used in the disability sector and was made a compulsory part of a person’s Individual Education Plan in the US in 1997. In Australia, anybody with an NDIS plan who is also subject to a restrictive practice, needs to have a Functional Behaviour Assessment.

FBA has many benefits but also its limitations, which have traditionally been its complexity, the length of time required, the need for trained and skilled assessors and the cost involved, thus reducing its accessibility in the face of ever-worsening statistics when it comes to non-preferred or unwanted behaviour, whether they be relatively mild or extreme.

Episode 9 in Fabic’s Functional Behaviour Assessment series offers a recap of the Body Life Skills program which makes lasting behaviour change very practical and, most importantly, accessible for all.

FBA in partnership with the Body Life Skills approach makes the assessment process one that is both effective and very simple and relevant when supporting people with lasting behaviour change.

Presented by Tanya Curtis