Functional Behavioral Assessment, Diagnosis, and Treatment: A Complete System for Education and Mental Health Settings »

Ennio Cipani, PhD, a graduate of Florida State University, is a licensed psychologist and a full professor in the Department of Special Education at National University- Fresno. He has published numerous articles, chapters, books, and instructional material (including software) in the areas of child behavior management in homes and schools. Among his latest books are Classroom Management for All Teachers: Evidence-Based Practice, 3rd edition (Prentice Hall, 2007), and Punishment on Trial (Context Press, 2004). He has given many workshops at state and national conventions, as well as continuing education courses for psychologists, social workers, marriage and family therapists, and others, focusing on the effective management of problem child behavior. Dr. Cipani has been doing in-home behavioral consultation for families with problem behaviors since 1982. He has dealt with many families and a variety of behavior problems, conducting assessment and intervention activities in homes and classrooms.

Keven M. Schock, MA, a graduate of California State University, Stanislaus, is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and an independent consultant. He has worked with a wide variety of child and adult populations, including people diagnosed with mental illness, people with developmental disabilities, people with brain injuries, and runaway and foster children. He has served as an administrator, applied program developer, and direct service provider. He has presented applied programs and research findings at numerous conferences as well as designing and implementing pragmatic staff trainings. His specialty is in developing pragmatic solutions for people with extremely challenging behaviors that have been resistive to previous treatment.

"[This book provides] the practicing behavior analyst [with] a well-grounded tool in completing the process from analysis to treatment. I highly recommend the book for all practicing behavior analysts as well as for graduate students entering the field."

-Michael F. Dorsey, Ph.D., BCBA
Professor of Program in Applied Behavior Analysis, Endicott College

"...one of the most detailed, practical, and useful textbooks geared for behavioral graduate students who are also concurrent practitioners....I learned a lot in one semester with the use of this textbook."

-Albee Ongsuco Doctoral Student, Pediatric School Psychology, East Carolina University

Now in its second edition, this popular text provides a comprehensive approach to functional behavioral assessment, a function-based diagnostic classification system of the target problem, and functional behavioral treatment. This new edition also provides a wealth of new case studies, some drawn from the authors' own clinical experiences, in addition to a greater analysis of the role of establishing operations (EO) and abolishing operations (AO).

An ideal textbook for courses in Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA), this book helps students cultivate an in-depth understanding of assessing, diagnosing, and treating problem behaviors in a functional perspective.

Key features:

• Provides a methodology for functional behavioral assessment, including indirect as well as direct measurement techniques such as analogue and in-situ methods
  
• Includes innovative recommendations for conducting descriptive and trigger analyses and discusses how to use them in assessment and treatment evaluation
  
• Presents a function-based, diagnostic classification system for diagnosing problem behaviors, as well as functional diagnostic system for assessing the current strength of potential replacement behaviors
  
• Includes integrated online ancillary materials for students-brief narrated PowerPoint presentations and video lectures-ideal for generating class discussions
  
• Features an online instructor's manual, including test items and PowerPoint slides for use in lectures

Doody Review Services

Reviewer:Gary B Kaniuk, Psy.D.(Cermak Health Services)
Description:This book describes a functional behavioral classification system to help in designing behavioral treatments in both educational and mental health settings. It deals with three critical phases in addressing problem behaviors: assessment, classification, and treatment.
Purpose:According to the authors, the book provides "a comprehensive approach to designing behavioral treatments for children in homes and residential facilities, students in special and general education settings, and adults residing in inpatient units and facilities," addressing "functional behavioral assessment, function-based diagnostic classification of the target problem, and functional behavioral treatment.
Audience:The authors intend this book for personnel who design behavior programs for persons with challenging behaviors in a variety of settings, noting it also should be helpful to people who are training in applied behavior analysis (ABA). It is also written to serve personnel who have some familiarity with behavioral programs but have not discerned how to provide a functional behavior treatment for specific functions of target problem behavior. Dr. Cipiani, a licensed psychologist and professor at National University-Fresno, has numerous publications in the area of behavior management for children. Dr. Schock, a board-certified behavior analyst, has worked with both child and adult populations.
Features:The book begins with basic concepts and then moves on to chapters on functional assessment, classification of problem behavior, behavior options, and treatment protocols. An appendix contains the Diagnostic Classification System for the Replacement Behavior (DCS-RB). In its focus on ABA, the book's emphasis is on understanding how a problem behavior is reinforced and developing appropriate interventions. The authors include numerous tables and instructive clinical vignettes. The step-by-step approach is practical, addressing many different types of problem behaviors. For example, in chapter five, the authors show how to intervene with a child who often falls to the floor in order to look at a book. They give an example of a frequency sheet to see how often the problem behavior occurs, and a behavior plan focusing on replacement behavior. The only shortcoming of the book is that the thin pages tear fairly easily.
Assessment:This is an excellent resource for addressing problem behaviors. It is practical, easy to read, and contains many clinical vignettes from which to learn. The authors have succeeded in designing a classification system that helps to guide treatment.

2. Functional Behavioral Assessment of Problem Behavior

3. A Function-Based, Diagnostic Classification System for Problem Behaviors

4. Replacement Behavior Options

5. The Four Factor Model of Aggressive Behavior

6. Functional Behavioral Treatment Protocol

7. Diagnostic Classification System for the Replacement Behavior