The QABF is a peer-reviewed questionnaire that helps determine the function of the behavior. The function of the behavior answers the question, “why are they doing that?” or “what are they trying to communicate?”. Often, when people lack sufficient communication skills to communicate their feeling, needs, and wants, they use behaviors to communicate those feelings, wants, and needs.
By using the QABF, we can better determine what the student might be communicating and use that information to develop adaptive communication skills that will result in the student’s needs and wants being met more easily because everyone in the environment will be able to understand them better.
The five categories of possible functions that the QABF considers are attention, escape, nonsocial, physical, and tangible. Attention means that the student is engaging in the MB to get the attention of anyone in the environment including what some might consider positive or negative attention such as reprimands. Escape means that the student is engaging in the problem behavior to get out of a task or to leave an environment that they might consider aversive. Nonsocial means that the student would engage in that behavior regardless of the reactions of those in their environment. It is a behavior that just feels good or has a neurological effect. Physical means that the behavior is more likely to occur if the student is not feeling well or may hint at an underlying medical cause.
It is possible that a problem behavior has more than one function.
You can find the QABF form here.
