What to do when the LEA doesn’t understand what an FBA is?

[Nacho]

TL:DR — My son’s behavior is impeding his education and the LEA denied an FBA. What now?

 

The school denied my request for an FBA this spring and they plan on denying the one I asked for in writing last week/in person last night.

This is an example of the circles we went in:

“Heather, it's (LEA). My understanding, like (child’s SPED case manager) said, is after talking with (SPED district director), because I asked for clarification around what an FBA entails too, is that it really is determining the function of the behavior, and if test avoidance is the function and the concern, then an FBA really wouldn't be helpful. So I think, and even according to the team, I think our what we're thinking is denying the FBA and then encouraging the new BCBA to do some observations that actually might be more useful.”

I explained that refusal is a symptom of a problem, just like a fever is a symptom of a problem — and that neither of those is the root cause of the problem. My son is refusing to do assessments, and is refusing to go to school if there will be assessments. For context, my son has missed 4 days/36% of the school year so far due to his school refusal. I haven’t counted the days he missed due to school refusal in the spring (when I last requested an FBA for the same school refusal), but it was a lot.

I’m open to the possibility that I’m completely misunderstanding what an FBA is for. After all, how can everyone from the district SPED director, my son’s SPED case manager, and the Principal acting as LEA be wrong in their interpretation of what an FBA is for? 

Any advice appreciate on how to get my kid an FBA, get the district to understand what an FBA is for, etc.

- Do I just jump straight to due process and let the state explain FBAs to the school?

- Do I ask for a manifestation determination first? (My child’s eligibility categories are autistic and dyslexic)

- Do I file an administrative complaint first?

 

 

[JSD24]

I'm a big fan of Ross Greene's protocol called Collaborative & Proactive Solutions.  It's a way to get people to open up and talk about the root cause of the "problems" they are having.  With an FBA, you look at what is going on and try to come up with a reason for it.  Let's take test avoidance as an example.  Lots of reasons for this.  One could be anxiety over tests where the thought makes you want to just throw up.  Another reason could be that you just don't feel prepared.  It could be that you can't read so you don't understand the instructions or the questions and staring at the paper for the time allotted for the test is boring where you know you're either going to misbehave and get sent to the principal's office or start to cry and get bullied for that (in addition to the F on the paper) and you just don't want to go there.  (It could also be that the test is supposed to be read to you as an accommodation and that's not happening - or it is happening & you're embarrassed by it or how it's being done.)  I'm sort of in agreement with the school on this one - an FBA will see the avoidance but will not read his mind to understand the root cause.

If you were to follow the CPS protocol - well it takes a good 5 months to master so I'll try to give you a mini lesson.  Don't mention the behavior.  When your child is calm & in a decent mood simply say:  What's going on with tests at school?  Your child's answer will probably be 'I don't know.'  You come back and say something like:  You're smart & I think you know what's going on.  I'd like to help you...when you're ready.  Then drop the subject.  A few days later, you might say:  I believe you have a test in math tomorrow.  Do you want to talk about it?  Then follow his lead.  It might take a while for him to open up & share the root issue.

You can also go to Ross Greene's website & see if there is a trained practitioner in your area.  More info on that here:  

My feeling is that when the BCBA does observe, it will be a lot like an FBA.  You can request that you be provided with a written report showing when your child was observed as well as what the BCBA felt was going on.  BTW, write down what your son's responses are when you talk to him about tests.  This is also data the BCBA can use to plan how to address the behavior.  (The example with throwing up is how I felt about tests.  I finally was prescribed something in college so I could get through finals.  I like to keep a supply of this on hand for other stressful situations like IEP meetings.)

Lisa has a blog post with a lot more info about FBAs on her website.  Notice the Ross Greene quotes scattered through the article:  https://adayinourshoes.com/school-fba-behavior-plan/

[JSD24]

The arrow that points right & up opens the post with more info on Ross Greene.  Wanted to make sure you knew how this worked.

[Carolyn Rowlett]

If the BCBA observations do not prove helpful in coming up with the root causes, I would request an IEE before filing a state complaint or for due process.  In a due process proceeding, the state probably won't "explain to school district" what an FBA is.  Many administrative hearing officers that handle due process cases don't even know what one is.

[Darcy]

Hi, I'm a BCBA so I'll try to explain an FBA the best I can. FBA stands for Functional Behavior Assessment. It's based on observations, questionnaires from people who know the individual, and anecdotal information. An FA is a Functional Analysis where you create analog conditions to test and control behavior to determine function. An FBA is usually sufficient to determine the function of the behavior. Both an FA and FBA are going to give the function of the behavior as attention, escape, access, automatic. It sounds like you don't think the function is escape (he just really doesn't like them so he refuses to go to school when he knows they're going to assess). Sounds like you think perhaps it's some other reason? Take anxiety as an example. As a BCBA, I can't work on things like anxiety because it isn't a function of behavior and I also cannot measure it (I can't count it, I can't record how long it happens, etc. It's a feeling, not a behavior.) That's not to say people don't experience anxiety, but that isn't a function of behavior. So if I had a client in this situation who I assessed as school refusal is escape maintained behavior, and after talking with the parent and learning "Billy" has a lot of anxiety about assessments, I could do a bunch of different approaches to address it like giving him a list of activities we would do during the assessment so he knows before hand, pairing myself with reinforcement with him so he's not nervous about a new person, etc. Does this help?