A preliminary comparison of functional analysis results when conducted in contrived versus natural settings.
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.
Lang
Russell
R
Department of Special Education, 1 University Station D5300, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712, USA. russlang@mail.utexas.edu
O'Reilly
Mark
M
Machalicek
Wendy
W
Lancioni
Giulio
G
Rispoli
Mandy
M
Chan
Jeffrey M
JM
D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016728:Self-Injurious Behavior / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012931:Social Environment