FUNCTIONAL BEHAVIOUR ASSESSMENT + RISK ASSESSMENT
Understand what is happening. Build a clear support plan.
Are hard moments becoming more frequent, intense, unsafe, or difficult to understand? Are you worried about supervision, routines, communication, safety, or how caregivers, support teams, and others involved should respond? Are different strategies being tried, but it is still unclear what is helping or what should happen next?
The Functional Behaviour Assessment + Risk Assessment pathway is a combined assessment pathway for situations where behaviour patterns and safety concerns both need structured review. The goal is to understand what may be contributing to the behaviour, clarify relevant safety concerns, current environmental controls, protective factors, and planning needs, and then support clearer recommendations and support planning.
WHEN COMBINED ASSESSMENT MAY HELP
When behaviour keeps returning and safety is part of the picture.
This combined assessment may help when families or support teams need a clearer understanding of both behaviour patterns and safety-related support needs.
Hard moments keep happening
Similar concerns may be showing up across routines, transitions, expectations, communication, denied access, waiting, or particular environments.
This can help clarify:
- Patterns across routines, settings, and support needs
- What happens before, during, and after hard moments
Safety or supervision needs are part of the picture
Families or teams may be concerned about safety, supervision, the environment, access, community participation, or what needs to be considered before a clearer support plan is built.
This can help clarify:
- Relevant non-emergency safety concerns
- Current environmental controls, protective factors, and planning needs
Strategies have not worked consistently
Different approaches may have been tried, but it may still be unclear what is helping, what is not helping, or what should happen next.
This can help clarify:
- What has already been tried
- What may need to change next
A funder or support team has requested information
FSCD, PDD, or another support team may request assessment information, written recommendations, or a clearer behaviour support plan to guide next steps.
This can help clarify:
- Current concerns and support needs
- Assessment information caregivers and support teams can use for planning
ASSESSMENT PROCESS
How the combined assessment process works.
The assessment process is structured, but it should still feel understandable. The goal is to gather the right information, make sense of both behaviour patterns and safety concerns, and use that understanding to support practical next steps.
01
Listen and review
We begin by learning about the concern, current routines, previous strategies, safety concerns, support history, and what the family or team is hoping to understand.
02
Observe and gather information
Where appropriate, assessment may include observation, records review, caregiver input, team input, and information from the settings where concerns are showing up.
03
Understand the pattern and risk context
We look at what may be happening before, during, and after hard moments, along with communication, routines, safety concerns, current environmental controls, protective factors, and planning needs.
04
Build the support plan
The assessment is used to create written recommendations and a behaviour support plan that caregivers and support teams can understand, use, and review as support continues.
WHAT THE ASSESSMENT CONSIDERS
Behaviour is understood through patterns, context, safety, and support needs.
The Functional Behaviour Assessment + Risk Assessment pathway does not look at behaviour in isolation. It considers what happens around the behaviour, what skills and supports may be involved, what safety needs may be present, what environmental controls and protective factors may already exist, and what information is needed to build practical next steps.
01
Behaviour patterns
What the concern looks like, how often it happens, how intense it may be, how long it lasts, and where or when it tends to happen.
02
What happens before, during, and after
What may be setting the behaviour up, what the behaviour looks like in observable terms, and what happens afterward.
03
Routines, settings, and broader context
How routines, transitions, timing, environment, fatigue, health, expectations, activities, or the people involved may affect the pattern.
04
Communication, skills, and possible function
What the person may be trying to access, avoid, express, or manage, and what communication or skill needs may be part of the picture.
05
Current strategies and support-team responses
What has already been tried, what seems to help, what may not be helping, and how caregivers, support teams, and others involved are currently responding.
06
Safety, environmental controls, and planning needs
Non-emergency safety concerns, supervision needs, current environmental controls, protective factors, and what may need to be considered in planning.
ASSESSMENT + SUPPORT PLAN
What families and teams receive.
The assessment is meant to lead somewhere practical. Families and support teams should come away with a clearer understanding of the behaviour pattern, relevant safety and supervision needs, and a written plan that helps guide what happens next.
A clearer summary of the concern
A plain-language summary of what was reviewed, what patterns were noticed, and what support needs appear most relevant.
Functional understanding
An explanation of what may be contributing to the behaviour, including relevant routines, environments, communication, skills, safety, and responses from caregivers, support teams, and others involved.
Risk Assessment findings
A practical summary of relevant non-emergency safety concerns, current environmental controls, protective factors, gaps, and planning needs.
Written recommendations
Practical recommendations for prevention, skill-building, communication, environmental supports, caregiver and support-team responses, and next steps.
Behaviour support plan
A written plan that caregivers and support teams can understand and use across relevant routines, settings, and support roles.
PAYMENT AND REQUESTED ASSESSMENTS
A combined assessment is usually arranged privately unless funding is confirmed.
Families may seek a Functional Behaviour Assessment + Risk Assessment pathway because they want clearer direction, or because FSCD, PDD, a school, an agency, or another support team has requested written assessment information or recommendations.
Combined assessment services are typically arranged through private pay unless the family has confirmed that the assessment is covered, reimbursable, or included in an approved funding arrangement.
PRIVATE PAY
Assessment paid for directly
Many families arrange combined assessment services privately when they want written recommendations, a clearer support plan, or assessment information before another service path has been confirmed.
REQUESTED BY A FUNDER OR SUPPORT TEAM
Assessment requested for planning purposes
FSCD, PDD, a school, an agency, or another support team may request assessment information or written recommendations. A request for assessment information does not automatically mean the assessment is funded.
Kind Behaviour can explain service fit, scope, fees, billing, and documentation. Families are responsible for confirming funding approval, reimbursement rules, agreement wording, and payer requirements before assessment begins.
FAQ
Questions families often ask about Functional Behaviour Assessment + Risk Assessment.
What is Functional Behaviour Assessment + Risk Assessment?
The Functional Behaviour Assessment + Risk Assessment pathway is a combined assessment pathway for situations where behaviour patterns and safety-related support needs both need to be understood. The Functional Behaviour Assessment contributes functional understanding. The Risk Assessment clarifies safety concerns, current environmental controls, protective factors, and planning needs. Together, this information can support clearer recommendations and support planning after the assessment work is complete.
Is this assessment a diagnosis?
No. This assessment does not diagnose a medical, psychological, or developmental condition. It is used to understand behaviour patterns, context, support needs, and practical next steps.
How is this different from a Functional Behaviour Assessment only?
A Functional Behaviour Assessment focuses mainly on understanding why behaviour may be happening and what supports may help. The Functional Behaviour Assessment + Risk Assessment pathway includes that functional understanding while also looking more directly at relevant non-emergency safety concerns, current environmental controls, protective factors, and planning needs.
How is this different from a Risk Assessment only?
A Risk Assessment focuses mainly on safety-related behaviour concerns, current environmental controls, protective factors, and planning needs. The Functional Behaviour Assessment + Risk Assessment pathway is broader because it looks at both behaviour function and safety context together before recommendations or support planning are developed.
What does Risk Assessment mean in this service?
The Risk Assessment portion of this service means structured review of non-emergency safety-related behaviour concerns, current environmental controls, supervision needs, protective factors, and planning needs. It is not emergency response, forensic assessment, legal assessment, a stand-alone behaviour support plan, or a guarantee that risk can be predicted or eliminated.
When might a combined assessment be recommended?
A combined assessment may be recommended when behaviour is recurring or difficult to understand and safety, supervision, access, community participation, or response planning with caregivers and support teams are also part of the concern.
Can FSCD or PDD request assessment information?
Yes, families or support teams may seek assessment information because FSCD, PDD, or another support team has requested written recommendations, support planning information, or a clearer understanding of current needs. Kind Behaviour can explain service fit and assessment scope, but does not determine funding eligibility or approval.
Do parents, caregivers, or support teams need to participate?
Yes. Caregiver and team input is usually important because assessment depends on understanding routines, history, current strategies, support needs, and what happens across everyday settings.
What do families receive after the assessment?
Families and support teams receive written assessment information and recommendations. Depending on the service scope, this may include a plain-language summary of the concern, functional understanding, Risk Assessment findings, written recommendations, and a behaviour support plan.
What happens after I send an inquiry?
Kind Behaviour will follow up to understand what kind of support you are looking for and gather the basic information needed to review service fit. If Kind Behaviour may be a good fit, the next steps, scheduling, scope, fees, and any relevant funding or payment details will be explained clearly.
If another service or support path may be more appropriate, Kind Behaviour will say that plainly.
NEXT STEP
Not sure whether Functional Behaviour Assessment + Risk Assessment fits?
Send a brief email with what is happening. We can help clarify whether a combined assessment, standalone Functional Behaviour Assessment, standalone Risk Assessment, consultation, or more focused support may make sense.