Steven Covey in his seminal work \u2018The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People\u2019 highlights his fifth habit as \u201cSeek first to understand, then to be understood.\u201d It puts me in mind of the Pri\u00e8re pour la paix<\/em> often attributed to St Francis of Assisi. <\/p>\n\n\n\n …grant that I may not so much seek… to be understood as to understand\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Covey points out we are often quick to diagnose an issue, particularly a behaviour issue, based on our own experience and expectations. He uses the allegory of the optometrist who gives a patient his own glasses because they worked for him for 10 years. But the same glasses are not suitable for the patient who can\u2019t see through them (Covey, S.R. 2001, p.236). The optometrist pushes the patient to \u201ctry harder\u201d, \u201cthink positively\u201d . He makes no attempt to consider the patient\u2019s needs from their perspective. He literally does not see through the patient\u2019s eyes, even though he has the tools to do so. When it comes to behaviour issues, the response is often similar. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Attempts to correct behaviour often focus on the individual to change their behaviour. They are expected to try harder and think positively. No attempt is made to understand the underlying function behind their behaviour. Nor is any attempt made to consider environmental conditions that have contributed to the behaviour in the first place.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Often I hear statements like \u201cOh, she\u2019s a show off, she just looking for attention\u201d or \u201cHe\u2019s lazy or irresponsible, he just doesn\u2019t want to learn\u201d. When I hear this, I ask myself \u201cHow do you know this?\u201d and \u201cDo you understand why this is happening?\u201d We all look for attention in a myriad of ways and anyone who knows about procrastination, knows all too well about avoiding a task. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Behaviour of any kind does not occur in isolation, it is prompted by two key environmental factors. The first is – what happens before the behaviour occurs, particularly an event that triggers it. The second is – what comes after the behaviour, particularly the pay off that ensures it will happen again. What happens\u00a0before\u00a0<\/em>the behaviour is known as the Antecedent, and what happens\u00a0after\u00a0<\/em>is known as the Consequence. Antecedent means \u201cwhat comes before\u201d and Consequence means \u201cwhat comes after as a result of something\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n We can attempt to gain a clearer understanding of the underlying causes of behaviour by looking at the three components of Antecedent, Behaviour and Consequence, often referred to as the ABC model. The ABC model is used in a system known as Functional Assessment of Behaviour (Umbreit, J., Ferro, J.B., Liaupsin, C.J., & Lane, K.L., 2007, p.58).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Functional Assessment of Behaviour (FAB) uses objective scientific observation to develop a theory about what the underlying cause of the behaviour. It does not seek to label the individual being assessed, nor to label the behaviour. Functional Assessment of Behaviour is objective because it takes into account all the components of ABC: the Antecedent, the Behaviour itself and the Consequence as units of information. Those units of information are analysed to develop a theory about what is the Function behind the behaviour that causes it to be repeated.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Just like an optometrist\u2019s tools and equipment aims to better understand a patient\u2019s eyesight needs, a Functional Assessment of Behaviour is an educator\u2019s tools to better understand the individual\u2019s needs that contribute to their behaviour. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When we conduct a Functional Assessment of Behaviour, we seek first to understand, and we seek to understand two things: <\/p>\n\n\n\n Functional Assessment of Behaviour helps us identify the things we can change to support people to\u00a0improve their behaviour. Behaviour can be changed for the better and still provide the person with the same needs.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Simply expressed, the function is the being fulfilled by the behaviour. To change behaviour we can make adjustments to the Antecedent, the Behaviour itself and Consequence. But the Function of the behaviour is the one component that is not changed. \u00a0People are supported to\u00a0 develop more socially appropriate ways to behave that still provide them with the same need.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Our behaviour is determined by two key functions: to gain something or to avoid something (O\u2019Neill R.E., Horner, R.H., Albin, R.W., Sprague, J.R., Storey, K. & Newton, S.J., 1997 cited in Cowick, B., & Storey K., 2000, p. 60). O\u2019Neill et al.’s research breaks down that \u201csomething\u201d even further to social interaction, tangible items or activities, or sensory experiences. According to this research the most common motivations for challenging behaviour are gaining social attention (from peers or adults) or avoiding a task (too difficult, too easy), or a combination of both. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The common response to someone wanting to gain attention is to not give it to them. And so, people whose behaviour disrupts the whole group are removed, ignored, or at best advised to \u201ctone it down\u201d. A common response to attention seeking behaviour is \u201cs\/he is just looking for attention, don\u2019t give it to her\/him\u201d. Attempting to change the function is the least effective way to manage behaviour. All behaviour communicates a need and Maslow’s hierarchy of needs places social connectedness and acceptance as a foundational need just above safety and security. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I would like to think we would not deny a hungry person the food they need. If a person\u2019s behaviour indicates they are craving social attention, it means they are not getting it from the usual social avenues of family, friends or peers. Denying that attention will not reduce it, the same as denying a person food will not reduce their hunger. In fact the opposite will happen, the behaviour will progressively intensify and possibly worsen until the need is satisfied. <\/p>\n\n\n\n By seeking first to understand the function of an individual\u2019s behaviour we acknowledge their specific needs. By identifying and then adjusting the Antecedent, the Behaviour and the Consequence to the behaviour we show them more effective behaviours to still get what they need. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Covey, S.R., (2001), The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People <\/em>Melbourne, The Business Library.<\/p>\n\n\n\n O\u2019Neill R.E., Horner, R.H., Albin, R.W., Sprague, J.R., Storey, K. & Newton, S.J., (1997) Functional Assessment and program development for problem behaviour: A practical hand book <\/em>(2nd ed) Pacific Grove,California, Brooks\/Cole, cited in Cowick, B., & Storey K., \u2018An Analysis of Functional Assessment in Relation to Students with Serious Emotional and Behaviour Disorders\u2019 International Journal of Disability, Development and Education<\/em> 2000, 47:1 p.60.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Umbreit, J., Ferro, J.B., Liaupsin, C.J., & Lane, K.L. (2007) Functional behavioural assessment and function based intervention: an effective, practical approach <\/em>Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, Pearson Education, Inc.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Behaviour does not occur in isolation, it is triggered by the environment. We can find those triggers to make changes to the type of behaviours that occur.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1020,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false},"categories":[47,48,197],"tags":[53,55,52,51,54,50,56,49,57],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/effectivebehaviourmanagement.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1019"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/effectivebehaviourmanagement.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/effectivebehaviourmanagement.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/effectivebehaviourmanagement.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/effectivebehaviourmanagement.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1019"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/effectivebehaviourmanagement.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1019\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4880,"href":"https:\/\/effectivebehaviourmanagement.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1019\/revisions\/4880"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/effectivebehaviourmanagement.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1020"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/effectivebehaviourmanagement.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1019"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/effectivebehaviourmanagement.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1019"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/effectivebehaviourmanagement.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1019"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Behaviour does not occur in isolation<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The ABC Model of FAB<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
When we conduct a\u00a0 Functional Assessment of Behaviour, we seek first to understand.\u00a0<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
To gain or avoid<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
References<\/h3>\n\n\n\n