Brief functional anlaysis and treatment of elopement in preschoolers with autism

As a result of the impact of functional analysis methodologies in identifying maintaining variables of problem behavior, considerable research has been devoted to tailoring the methodologies to be practical for an outpatient setting. The purpose of this study was (a) to use brief functional analysis (BFA) methodologies to empirically demonstrate the function of elopement exhibited by two preschoolers diagnosed with autism and (b) to develop function-based interventions derived from the results of the BFA. In phase one, a BFA consisting of 5-min sessions with multiple repetitions of each condition was conducted with each participant. In phase two, the efficacy of function-based interventions was assessed using a pairwise design. Both participants' rates of elopement were differentially lower during the implementation of the function-based intervention relative to baseline. Collectively, these results demonstrated that brief functional methodologies could be applied successfully to the assessment and treatment of elopement. Moreover, the application of BFA and the ensuing treatment in an outpatient setting extend the existing research on functional analysis.