F.8: Interpret assessment data to identify and prioritize socially significant, client-informed, and culturally responsive behavior-change procedures and goals.
Free practice questions for this part of the BCBA, with an explanation for every option.
An assessment of a 10-year-old identifies four concerns: hand-flapping, eye-poking that has caused corneal abrasions, poor turn-taking in games, and occasional loud vocalizations in class. Which should be prioritized first?
- A. Hand-flappingHand-flapping may be stigmatizing, but it does not pose an immediate danger.
- B. Loud vocalizationsLoud vocalizations may disrupt class, but they are less serious than self-injury that causes tissue damage.
- C. Turn-takingTurn-taking is a useful social goal, but it is less urgent than a safety risk.
- D. Eye-pokingCorrect. Behaviors that threaten the client's health or safety generally come first.
A preschool will not enroll a 4-year-old until she is toilet trained. Once enrolled, she would have daily access to peers, new teaching, and new reinforcers. In this context, toilet training is best described as what?
- A. A collateral behaviorCollateral behaviors are untargeted changes that come along with treatment. That is not what this scenario describes.
- B. A behavioral cuspCorrect. A behavioral cusp gives a learner access to new environments, contingencies, and reinforcers, which makes it a high-priority target.
- C. A conditioned motivating operationA CMO changes the value of a reinforcer. It does not describe a skill that opens new environments.
- D. A response classA response class is a group of responses with the same function. It does not describe how much access a skill opens up.
An adult with mild intellectual disability tells the BCBA he wants to learn to cook his own meals. Group home staff mainly want goals for following staff directions. How should the BCBA prioritize goals?
- A. Include the client in goal selection, put his cooking goal first, and work with staff on any functional concerns behind their compliance requestCorrect. Client-informed goal setting gives weight to the client's preferences while addressing legitimate stakeholder concerns.
- B. Choose only compliance goals, since staff carry out the programChoosing only staff-preferred compliance goals leaves out the client's own input and may not serve his interests.
- C. Choose only the cooking goal and ignore staff inputIgnoring staff entirely may miss real needs and weaken how well the program is carried out.
- D. Wait until the client and staff fully agree before setting any goalsRequiring full agreement could delay services for no good reason. Collaborative prioritization is the better path.