Introduction to the ABLLS-R

1. Introduction to the ABLLS-R Assessment of Basic Language and Learner Skills- Revised

2. A Description of the ABLLS-R The ABLLS-R assesses 25 Domains within 4 Areas: • Language Skills – Cooperation and Reinforcer Effectiveness, Visual Performance, Receptive Language, Vocal Imitation, Requests, Labelling, Intraverbal, Spontaneous Language. • Academic Skills – Play and Leisure, Social Interaction, Group Instruction, Group Instruction, Classroom Routines, Generalized Responding, Reading, Math, Writing, Spelling. • Motor Skills – Imitation, Gross Motor, Fine Motor • Self Help – Dressing, Eating, Grooming, Toileting.

3. Purpose • “… to identify those language and other critical skills that are in need of intervention in order for a child to become more capable of learning from his everyday environment.” • To provide a measure of other important skills such as academic, motor skills and self-help skills.

4. Rationale • Skills acquisition for students with ASD is different than typical students. • Goals can be based on the student’s ability level • Teaching a few critical skills can increase the student’s ability to acquire new skills without specialized teaching conditions. • Students learn how to learn!

5. Advantages • Emphasis on function over structure • Motivation • Variety of skills measured (language, academics, self-help, motor skills) • Measures generalization of skills • Tracks skills over time – easily referenced • Provides specific information for teaching objectives.

6. Disadvantages • Skills are not compared to the learner’s age group - age norms not provided. • Those administering the assessment should have a fundamental understanding of verbal behaviour.

7. Unique Features of the Ablls-R Assessment of Basic Language and Learner Skills- Revised

8. Language - Structure vs. Function • Skinner’s analysis of verbal behaviour serves at the conceptual basis of the ABLLS-R assessment. • Most assessments measure WHAT words the student uses to communicate (structure). • Skinner also looks at WHY the student communicates (function).

9. Motivation • What motivational conditions affect the student’s ability to demonstrate skills? • Does the student’s ability to demonstrate the skill change under a variety of motivating conditions? • Does the student respond to social reinforcement?

10. Complex stimuli • Can the student attend to a variety of combined stimuli? • Verbal and visual • Language in the natural environment (Skinner’s analysis).

11. Generalization • Does the student demonstrate these skills across various environments? • With different instructors? Parents? Peers? • Are the skills functional when they are needed, especially language skills?

12. Fluency • Can the student USE the skills quickly when necessary? • In a variety of contexts? • What’s important about responding in a timely fashion?

13. Joint attention • Does the student share attention to actions, objects or situations with others? • Critical to the acquisition of other more complex social skills.

14. Learner Readiness • Is the student willing to be taught? • Does the student respond to social reinforcement? • Intermittent reinforcement? • Can the student attend to learning materials, follow instructions and respond in a timely manner?

15. Social Skills • Does the student notice peers? • Does the student interact with peers? • Does the student learn from peers?

16. Basic Learner Skills Assessment of Basic Language and Learner Skills- Revised

17. Basic Learner Skills • Cooperation and Reinforcer Effectiveness • Visual Performance • Receptive Language • Motor Imitation • Vocal Imitation • Requests • Labelling • Intraverbals • Spontaneous Vocalizations • Syntax and Grammar • Play and Leisure • Social Interaction • Group Instruction • Classroom Routines • Generalized Responding

18. Basic Learner Skills • “…15 important skill areas that appear to be critical in order to learn from everyday experiences.” • 382 items • 70% of the assessment • Why are such simple skills so important?

19. Small group Activity • Why is the skill area important? • What other skill areas might a deficit in this area affect? • How might it impact behaviour? • What questions do you have about the skill area?

20. Large group sharing • Share with the large group what you discussed around each of the skill areas

21. Barriers to LearningVB-Mapp(Sundberg, 2008) Skill Deficits in the following areas have been identified as creating barriers to learning • Poor, absent or weak repertoires in: • Requesting • Receptive/ expressive labelling • Motor imitation • Echolic skills • Matching to samples • Listener repertoires • Intraverbal • Social behaviour

22. Barriers to LearningVB-Mapp(Sundberg, 2008) • Negative behaviours • Instructional control • Prompt dependent • Defective scanning skills • Failure to make conditional discriminations • Failure to generalize • Weak or atypical motivators • Response weakens motivation • Reinforcement dependent • Self stimulation • Obsessive-compulsive disorder • Hyperactivity • Failure to make eye contact, or attend to people • Sensory defensiveness

23. Completing the initial assessment Assessment of Basic Language and Learner Skills- Revised

24. Who can complete the Assessment • A Professional who has knowledge of the Protocol and who has direct contact with the student on a regular basis. • Has a background in conducting and interpreting assessments.

25. Initial assessment • Informally • Over a period of several weeks • Scored on the skills tracking grid • Provides information about the strengths and weaknesses • Allows the teacher to identify any missing skills that may interfere with a student’s ability to acquire new skills effectively

26. Initial assessment • The initial assessment may be completed in several steps • Review the assessment and identify the areas where the student clearly meets the criteria for • the highest score on an item (ie. score of 2 or 4) • Has not demonstrated skills in that area • Identify areas where the level of the student’s skills are in question • Gather information from other professionals, team members, parents • Observe the student demonstrating the skills

27. Information sources • Information from parents, the school team and other professionals familiar with the student. • Direct observation of the student in a variety of situations. • Formal presentation of tasks by the assessor.

28. Scoring the Assessment • Information that is provided must accurate, not a guess. • Scores are based on what skills the student consistently demonstrates at present. NOT: • Skills demonstrated in the past, but no longer consistently observed. • Emerging skills. • It is better to underestimate a student’s skill level.

29. Transfer results to tracking grids • The open circles to the left of the grid should be colored in for items that were tested but for which the student scored 0 on the initial assessment • The assessment date may reflect the time period in which the assessment is completed, for example instead of an assessment DATE, the month and year in which the assessment was completed may be used

30. Updating the assessment • IS MUCH EASIER THAN THE INITIAL ASSESSMENT because it takes less time • If a student remained at the same level as the initial assessment, the same number should be circled on the appropriate line of the update • When transferring updated information to the tracking grid, using different colors provides easy visual identification of the student’s progress

31. Tips from the trenches

32. Small group activity • Choose at least one assessment area and do the initial scoring for one of the students in your class. • Take into account the criteria for a mastered skill

33. Scoring the Assessment • Information that is provided must accurate, not a guess. • Scores are based on what skills the student consistently demonstrates at present. NOT: • Skills demonstrated in the past, but no longer consistently observed. • Emerging skills. • It is better to underestimate a student’s skill level.

34. Developing IPP goals from the assessment Assessment of Basic Language and Learner Skills- Revised

35. Intensive teaching 1:1 teaching interactions

36. Elements of good teaching interactions • Teaching environment is paired with reinforcement. • Goals are appropriate to the student’s skill level, small and achievable. • Goals are clear to the student and the teacher. • New skills are introduced with appropriate levels of prompting to support learner success. • Prompts are effectively faded. • New skills are interspersed with mastered skills to support the learner and decrease avoidance behaviours.

37. Prompting • Physical Prompt – hand over hand or some type of physical contact to cue the skill. • Verbal Prompt – a spoken cue (ie. “what do you want?) • Echoic prompt – modeling the exact verbal response which the child can then echo. • Imitative prompt – modelling • Gestural prompt – Demonstrating the response (ie. Pointing to a picture).

38. Natural Environment teaching Teaching throughout the classroom and throughout the day

39. Group teaching interactions Small group teaching

40. Zippedy doo • A6 – The student will work for instructor controlled reinforcement. • C1 – Responds to own name • D5 – Imitation of hand and arm movements • D17 – Imitation of speed of action • D20 – Imitation of a motor sequence

41. The little Old Lady book • A10 – scans items in an array • B3 – match identical objects to sample • C5 – Follow instructions to touch common objects in various positions • C8 – Follow instructions to give named non-reinforcing items. • C10 – touch item vs. distractor • C15 – touch own body parts • C37 – select by function

42. The Little old lady book • D1 – Motor Imitation with objects • D4 – Imitation, leg and foot movements • D5 – Imitation, leg and foot movements • E3 – Imitation, initial sounds of words • G6 – Labels pieces of clothing • G7 – Labels ongoing actions • H1 – Fill in words from songs • H7 – Intraverbal Associations

43. Elements of effective group teaching interactions What are some of the elements that make a good group teaching interaction? • Mix and vary skills • Provide adequate prompting • Have clear goals • Pair the teaching environment with access to reinforcement. • Limit ‘wait time’ by interspersing turn taking activities with imitations or group activities. • Try to adjust goals in addition to adjusting prompt levels.

44. Elements of effective group teaching interactions • What is the role of the teacher in a group? • What is the role of the Educational Assistant? • How can the two work as a team?

45. Using the ABLLS-R to inform programming