Redefining the Boundaries of Efficiency during a Functional Analysis of Problem Behavior - Applied 2022

Abstract This session bridges “today’s ABA” values with practical, low-risk methods for assessing and treating severe problem behavior. The presenter reframes functional assessment choices through compassion, safety, and efficiency: listening first, creating joyful, client-led contexts, and empowering learners to guide pace and teaching. After contrasting indirect/descriptive assessments with functional analysis, the talk motivates why clinicians underuse FAs (time, safety, feasibility) and shows how to close that gap with the Practical Functional Assessment (PFA) workflow: open-ended interview → brief, unstructured observation → an interview-informed synthesized contingency analysis (ISCA). Variations—including an open contingency class, Single-Session ISCA (within-session EO/reinforcer toggles), and Performance-Based ISCA (five EO presentations with calm-based reinforcement)—demonstrate strong control in minutes while minimizing dangerous topographies. Attendees see criteria for rating “level of control,” the idea of the interpretive leap, and real-time data tools (paper template and an analysis app) that render within-session graphs and automated interpretations. The result is an ethically aligned, rapid pathway from function discovery to treatment that prioritizes dignity, assent, and faster access to skill-building over prolonged exposure to evoked problem behavior.