Data Summary
Data taken from the Functional Analysis Screening Tool completed by mom indicates that SIB is most likely to occur on the weekdays when there are more structured activities, and less likely when Jocelyn is engaging in leisure activities or has free access to items. Identified antecedents include a task demand being placed or being denied access to items/activities. Identified consequences include a 5 minute time out (and removal of the task demand).
The scoring summary identifies socially mediated escape from tasks/activities as the highest potential source of reinforcement. Socially mediated access to preferred items has the second highest score as potential reinforcement.
Implication of the Outcomes
Using the outcomes of the FAST, these results should be used to inform a functional analysis. Through this indirect assessment method (interviewing caregivers and significant others), information can be gathered to design some aspects of the conditions of FA (Iwata, et al, 2013). After gaining that this client’s SIB is maintained by socially mediated escape or access to tangibles, I know to run conditions involving those environmental setups and I don’t have to waste time on running alone conditions. Although this is one of the biggest pros of the use of indirect assessments, there are some cons as well. For instance, the fact that they rely on caregiver recall from events that occurred; and they may provide little information about behaviors or incorrectly identify the function of a behavior (Fisher, et al, 2021).
Requirements of an Informant
The informant in this indirect assessment tool is typically a parent, relative, teacher, or other direct-care person who spends the most time with the client in some aspect (Iwata, et al, 2013). In my experience with completing FASTs, it’s helpful if the informant understands some basic aba terminology, but this is typically not the case. There are some questions on the FAST that may be difficult to truly understand what is being asked. For instance, the question about “sensory stimulating activities” may be an unfamiliar term to a parent who is new to the diagnosis. Dracobly, et al, (2018) demonstrated that experts were more likely than caregivers to agree with each other (high interrater reliability), as well as agree with other objective (validity) measures (Fisher, et al, 2021).
question: ethical consideration