Before ABA Center International (ACI) starts ABA treatment, a Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA) or intake will be completed. In the FBA, problem behaviors will be analyzed and described, as well as skill deficits and treatment goals.
A Behavior Analyst does the FBA. Often this takes between 6-15 hours. Various tests and interviews will be completed, such as: ABLLS, AFLS, VB-MAPP, Vineland, FAST, MAT, and Essentials For Living (EFL). These tests and interviews will help identify what your child need to develop him/herself. ACI also does home and/or work/school observations and conducts interviews with parents and teachers. In addition, other reports will be evaluated such as educational reports, psychological reports and medical reports. Based on all this information, the treatment goals for your child will be described in the FBA.
Below is an overview of all the FBA steps:
| ACTIVITY | EXPLANATION |
| First contact | Behavior Analyst contacts the family to set up the FBA appointments |
| Reports | IEP, IPP, Psychological Evaluation Reports, Speech Therapy Reports, Occupational Therapy Reports, Physical Therapy Reports, previous intake reports |
| Client/Parent Interview | Parents and the Behavior Analyst will discuss and sign the consent forms (client contract) to approve to complete the assessment and start the ABA treatment. Questions will be asked and the reasons for the referral will be discussed. Assessments such as the FAST will be used to identify the function of the problem behavior(s). |
| Client Observation, Data collection | Behavior will be analyzed through data collection regarding problem behavior: Antecedent (what happens before the behavior; Behavior; and Consequence (what happens after the behavior) (ABC). The parents will be asked to collect data for the problem behavior(s) as well. |
| Preference assessment(s) | Preference assessment: Your child’s preferences will be assessed, so it becomes clear what preferred activity to use during the ABA services. |
| Skills Assessment(s) | Standardized assessment(s) will be conducted such as the: EFL, ABLLS, AFLS, VB-MAPP or Vineland. These assessments help to identify what skills will be included in the treatment goals. |
| Program Development & Writing of the Report | The Behavior Analyst will now write all the goals, including the Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP). This plan will target the problem behavior and will help teach a replacement behavior. The goal will be written specifically for your child. |
In the FBA, the following will also be described:
- Medical history
- Family history regarding medical and behavior challenges
- Current medical challenges
- Presence or absence of allergies
- Previous ABA or related services
- Possible referrals to other services or additional services.
Once the FBA is completed, it will be send to the family and the referral source. The whole process, from the first moment of contact until the FBA completion, will take 4-7 weeks. During this period, it is possible in many instances, to start services with the Behavior Technician or Behavior Analyst and work on rapport building, pairing, mand training and parent training. At ACI, we do anything we can to get your child start ABA services as soon as possible.
