Practical Functional Assessment (PFA) and Skill-Based Treatment (SBT) offer a compassionate and individualised approach to understanding and reducing behaviours like self-injury, aggression, or significant disruptions, while teaching essential life skills that improve your child’s quality of life.These behaviours often emerge as a way to communicate distress, seek predictability, or navigate overwhelming situations.
By focusing on building trust, teaching essential skills, and empowering the child with effective communication and coping strategies, PFA and SBT help create meaningful, lasting change while ensuring the child feels safe, understood, and supported.
Let’s walk through the process step by step to show how it works and why it’s so effective at managing challenging behaviours.
The Practical Functional Assessment (PFA) Process
Step 1: Parent Interview
The first step is getting to know your child through a detailed interview with you. As the parent or caregiver, you know your child best, so this step is all about gathering information to individualise the approach. During this interview, which usually takes 45 minutes to 2 hours, we’ll explore:
What does your child love?
Does your child adore trains, sand play, swings, or their iPad? Do they enjoy quiet, calm interactions or enthusiastic, high-energy play? These details help us design sessions that feel safe and fun for your child.
What causes challenges?
Are there specific situations where your child struggles? For example, transitions away from favourite activities, mealtimes, or bedtime routines?
What behaviours do they show when frustrated?
We’ll ask about both big behaviours (e.g., tantrums or aggression) and subtle signs (e.g., foot-stomping or pouting) that indicate your child might be feeling upset or frustrated.
What are your goals for your child?
What would success look like for your family in six months or a year? This could be smoother transitions, better communication, or participating in group activities.
Step 2: Happy, Relaxed, Engaged
This is a term you will hear a lot! This refers to your child feeling comfortable, calm, and interested in the activities around them. We want to build trust and ensure that;
Your child is Happy – smiling, enjoying what they’re doing, and seems content in the environment.
Your child is Relaxed – they are calm and at ease, not showing signs of stress, worry, or discomfort. They feel safe and secure in the space.
Your child is Engaged – actively involved in the activities, showing interest, curiosity, and participation. They’re focused on what’s happening around them, whether it’s playing with a toy, exploring the space, or interacting with a therapist.
The first step of the process is to ensure the therapy space is tailored to their favourite activities and preferences based on the information you provided. We spend this time creating a positive connection with your child, no tests, no pressure. If they prefer to play independently at first, that’s okay! Building a strong foundation of trust sets the stage for effective therapy.
Step 3: The Functional Assessment
Once your child is comfortable, we use the information gathered in the interview to test specific situations that might be challenging for them. For example:
- If transitions are difficult, we might ask your child to move from playing with a preferred toy to a less-preferred activity.
- If they dislike waiting, we might create a short wait period.
During these moments, we closely observe their reactions. If your child shows even minor signs of frustration (like a small pout or foot tap), we immediately remove the trigger and allow them to return to their happy, relaxed state.
Why do we run the assessment?
- We run this process to fully understand not just what triggers the behaviour, but also what turns it off. This gives us a foundation of safety in our approach and more responsive support system
- We can clearly see the early warning signs of frustration, which is critical for maintaining safety. When we respond to these early warning signs it fosters trust, as it communicates to the child that they never need to escalate, we will respond to them, we see you, we hear!
- Your child feels heard, respected, and safe throughout the process.
This part of the assessment typically lasts 30 minutes to an hour and gives us clear insights into how to support your child.
The Skill-Based Treatment (SBT) Process
Once the assessment is complete, we move into the treatment phase. Here’s how it works:
Step 1: Establishing a Positive Learning Environment
We continue prioritising your child’s comfort by ensuring they feel happy, relaxed, and engaged (HRE). This trust-building phase lays the groundwork for learning. When your child feels safe and empowered, they’re more open to learning and growing.
Step 2: Teaching Communication
The first skill we teach is effective communication – By showing them that communication works better than frustration, your child quickly learns that expressing their needs leads to positive outcomes.
Step 3: Building Tolerance Skills
Next, we work on toleration, helping your child handle situations where they can’t immediately get what they want, helping your child develop the ability to manage disappointment in a calm, positive way.
Step 4: Relinquishing And Transitioning
As your child builds trust, we help them learn to calmly let go of favourite items and transition between activities. This might include moving from playtime to a school task, or shifting into their getting-dressed routine, all while remaining calm and connected.
Step 5: Expanding Cooperation And Social Skills
Finally, we help your child become more flexible and cooperative in everyday situations.
Why PFA and SBT Are So Effective:
- Child-Led Learning: Your child’s preferences, needs, and comfort guide every step of the process.
- Building Trust: By focusing on HRE, your child learns to see therapy as a safe and enjoyable experience.
- Proactive Approach: Instead of waiting for severe behaviours to occur, we address minor signs of frustration early, ensuring your child feels supported.
- Life-Long Skills: The skills we teach – communication, tolerance, cooperation, and flexibility, are essential for navigating real-life situations at home, school, and beyond.
Real-Life Example of PFA and SBT:
Let’s imagine your child struggles with transitions.
At home, moving from screen time to dinner often leads to tantrums.
Here’s how PFA and SBT would address this:
- Assessment: During the interview, you share that screen time transitions are difficult. We observe minor signs of frustration (e.g., a pout or whining) when asking your child to pause their tablet.
- Teaching Communication: In therapy, we teach your child to request, “my way” instead of reacting with frustration.
- Building Tolerance: Gradually, we help your child tolerate hearing, “Dinner is ready now,” while remaining calm.
- Practicing Transitions: We guide your child through transitions in a step-by-step way, ensuring they feel secure and know their tablet will still be available later.
Over time, this process reduces tantrums and builds confidence in handling transitions calmly. PFA and SBT offer a compassionate, evidence-based approach to helping your child thrive.
By understanding your child’s unique needs and working collaboratively with you, we create a path toward meaningful, long-term progress.
If you have questions or would like to explore whether PFA and SBT might be right for your family, don’t hesitate to reach out. Together, we can create a brighter, more connected future for your child.
