Decreasing Aberrant Behavior Part 1: Conceptual Underpinnings | BCBA CEU | Learning | 0.5 Hour

In this lecture, the speaker describes how the Autism Partnership method conceptualizes and addresses “aberrant behavior.” The talk is grounded in the paper The Big Four Functional Assessment: Research Informs Preventative Behavior Analysis, written in the 1980s, and in years of clinical experience. Rather than focusing on preventative care, the speaker discusses working with clients who are already engaging in behavior that interferes with learning and quality of life.

Video examples are shown to illustrate common behaviors such as stereotypy, aggression, self-injury, seizures, and disruptive responding. The speaker emphasizes the stress these behaviors place on children and families and states that the role of the behavior analyst is to alleviate pain and suffering and improve quality of life through a compassionate, systematic, and progressive approach.

The lecture reviews functional behavior assessment and functional analysis, including interviewing, observation, and environmental manipulation. The traditional “big four” functions—attention, escape, access to tangibles, and sensory—are described. However, the Autism Partnership method extends beyond these four, proposing additional functions such as emotional responding (e.g., fear), control, and frustration. The speaker asserts that behavior is often multifunctional and that functions can change rapidly. For these reasons, the method typically does not rely on traditional functional analysis, favoring observation in the natural environment to guide proactive and reactive strategies.