title: A preliminary comparison of functional analysis results when conducted in contrived versus natural settings.
abstract: A preliminary evaluation of the correspondence between functional analysis outcomes across settings was conducted with 2 children who had been diagnosed with autism and who engaged in challenging behavior. Differences across settings (a therapy room and a classroom) were demonstrated in ABAB reversal designs. Three potential patterns of results that may occur when comparing functional analyses across environments are described, and one possible explanation for the occurrence of discrepancies between environments (differing learning histories within separate environments) is offered.
authors.affiliation: Department of Special Education, 1 University Station D5300, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712, USA. russlang@mail.utexas.edu
authors.forename: Russell
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lang
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: O'Reilly
authors.forename: Wendy
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Machalicek
authors.forename: Giulio
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lancioni
authors.forename: Mandy
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rispoli
authors.forename: Jeffrey M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Chan
mesh_terms: D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016728:Self-Injurious Behavior / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012931:Social Environment