diff --git a/ast.json b/ast.json
index 3a1d934..c3c4cc0 100644
--- a/ast.json
+++ b/ast.json
@@ -3082,10 +3082,10 @@
       "valid": true
     },
     {
-      "name": "valByName",
+      "name": "attrVal",
       "params": [
-        "attr",
-        "name"
+        "tei",
+        "attributeName"
       ],
       "docs": {
         "description": "Gets an attribute value by its case-insensitive display name",
@@ -3106,21 +3106,21 @@
           },
           {
             "title": "param",
-            "description": "An array of tracked entity attributes",
+            "description": "A tracked entity instance (TEI) object",
             "type": {
               "type": "NameExpression",
               "name": "Object"
             },
-            "name": "attr"
+            "name": "tei"
           },
           {
             "title": "param",
-            "description": "The display name to search for",
+            "description": "The 'displayName' to search for in the TEI's attributes",
             "type": {
               "type": "NameExpression",
               "name": "string"
             },
-            "name": "name"
+            "name": "attributeName"
           },
           {
             "title": "returns",
diff --git a/lib/Adaptor.js b/lib/Adaptor.js
index 2d3d7ba..7bb61d2 100644
--- a/lib/Adaptor.js
+++ b/lib/Adaptor.js
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ exports.update = update;
 exports.patch = patch;
 exports.del = del;
 exports.upsert = upsert;
-exports.valByName = valByName;
+exports.attrVal = attrVal;
 Object.defineProperty(exports, "field", {
   enumerable: true,
   get: function get() {
@@ -1859,16 +1859,16 @@ function upsert(resourceType, uniqueAttribute, data, params, options, callback)
  * @example
  * valByName(tei.attributes, 'first name')
  * @function
- * @param {Object} attr - An array of tracked entity attributes
- * @param {string} name - The display name to search for
+ * @param {Object} tei - A tracked entity instance (TEI) object
+ * @param {string} attributeName - The 'displayName' to search for in the TEI's attributes
  * @returns {string}
  */
 
 
-function valByName(attr, name) {
-  var _attr$find;
+function attrVal(tei, attributeName) {
+  var _tei$attributes, _tei$attributes$find;
 
-  return (_attr$find = attr.find(function (a) {
-    return a.displayName.toLowerCase() == name.toLowerCase();
-  })) === null || _attr$find === void 0 ? void 0 : _attr$find.value;
+  return tei === null || tei === void 0 ? void 0 : (_tei$attributes = tei.attributes) === null || _tei$attributes === void 0 ? void 0 : (_tei$attributes$find = _tei$attributes.find(function (a) {
+    return (a === null || a === void 0 ? void 0 : a.displayName.toLowerCase()) == attributeName.toLowerCase();
+  })) === null || _tei$attributes$find === void 0 ? void 0 : _tei$attributes$find.value;
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/Adaptor.js b/src/Adaptor.js
index 461e74c..4949052 100644
--- a/src/Adaptor.js
+++ b/src/Adaptor.js
@@ -899,8 +899,9 @@ export function discover(httpMethod, endpoint) {
                     if (param.schema['$ref']) {
                       let schemaRefIndex =
                         param.schema['$ref'].lastIndexOf('/') + 1;
-                      let schemaRef =
-                        param.schema['$ref'].slice(schemaRefIndex);
+                      let schemaRef = param.schema['$ref'].slice(
+                        schemaRefIndex
+                      );
                       param.schema = tempData.components.schemas[schemaRef];
                     }
 
@@ -1933,13 +1934,14 @@ export function upsert(
  * @example
  * valByName(tei.attributes, 'first name')
  * @function
- * @param {Object} attr - An array of tracked entity attributes
- * @param {string} name - The display name to search for
+ * @param {Object} tei - A tracked entity instance (TEI) object
+ * @param {string} attributeName - The 'displayName' to search for in the TEI's attributes
  * @returns {string}
  */
-export function valByName(attr, name) {
-  return attr.find(a => a.displayName.toLowerCase() == name.toLowerCase())
-    ?.value;
+export function attrVal(tei, attributeName) {
+  return tei?.attributes?.find(
+    a => a?.displayName.toLowerCase() == attributeName.toLowerCase()
+  )?.value;
 }
 
 export { attribute } from './Utils';