Functional Behavior Assessment

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Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA)

A functional behavior assessment can be used when the intensity, duration, or type of interfering behavior creates safety concerns or impacts a child’s development.

What Will I Learn?

The AFIRM model guides the learner through four lessons to facilitate:

  • Learning basic knowledge about functional behavior assessment (FBA).
  • Applying FBA in activity based scenarios that promote real-world application.

The FBA module will take approximately 1.5 to 2 hours to complete. However, the module is broken into individual lessons to help guide your learning:

Lesson Time to Complete
A Case for FBA 10 minutes
Lesson 1: Basics of FBA 20 minutes
Lesson 2: Planning for FBA 25 minutes
Lesson 3: Using FBA 25 minutes
Lesson 4: Monitoring FBA 25 minutes
Applying FBA 10 minutes
Suggested citation:
Sam, A., & AFIRM Team. (2015). Functional Behavior Assessment. Chapel Hill, NC: National Professional Development Center on Autism Spectrum Disorder, FPG Child Development Center, University of North Carolina. Retrieved from http://afirm.fpg.unc.edu/functional-behavior-assessment

Professional Standards


Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) Standards that apply to all 27 evidence-based practices (PDF document, 2 pages)

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