Functional Analysis of Problem Behavior

Doug, 10, is enrolled at the QSAC Day School. He has a variety of independent skills. Doug used to engage in frequent and repetitive object-tapping (banging two items together). Due to his persistence tapping, it was difficult to return him to classroom activities and ongoing instruction. He seemed to engage in this behavior to escape or delay academic instruction. Some instructors felt the reason was to get attention because he typically laughed or struggled with them when they attempted to take the items away. Also, because tapping occurred so frequently, some felt that he engaged in this behavior because of the sensory stimulation that it provided.

It was decided to conduct a functional analysis (FA). As described in our previous newsletter, a functional analysis involves the systematic exposure of the behavior to different “tests” to see how the behavior is affected.


The results showed that tapping behavior was highest during the attention and alone conditions, demonstrating that tapping served to gain attention from others and was automatically reinforced. Additionally, the results showed that tapping did not function to escape or avoid tasks, or to gain other types of tangibles in the environment. Tapping, because of the multiple functions that it served, was considered a multiply-maintained behavior for Doug. Multiply-maintained behavior can be particularly difficult to address because an intervention would have to be effective in addressing both reasons or be comprised of different components that could address each one separately. Treatment conducted at the QSAC Day School will follow in a future newsletter.

by Ronald Lee, Ph.D., BCBA, Director of QSAC Day School