What is the ABLLS-R?
The ABLLS-R, is a device for assessing skills in children with language and
learning deficits and is most commonly used in the process of the development of
a behavioral program for children in the autism spectrum. ABLLS-R stands for
Assessment of Basic Language and Learning Skills
- Revised.
The ABLLS-R has many advantages in guiding the development of a program for a
child with language deficits because it is an assessment, curriculum guide, and
skills tracking system. The ABLLS-R contains a task analysis of the many
skills necessary to communicate successfully and to learn from everyday
experiences.
At core the task analyses of the ABLLS-R
are fundamentally guided by a behavior analytic perspective on all aspects
of human behavior, principally language. Skinner's book Verbal
Behavior, and the subsequent research literature building on that work,
is one of the principal sources for the structure and assumptions of the ABLLS-R. Understanding technical aspects of behavior analysis and Skinner's
Verbal Behavior are important to a robust understanding of the ABLLS-R. The
ABLLS-R provides both parents and professionals with criterion-referenced
information regarding a child’s current skills, and provides a curriculum that
can serve as a basis for the selection of educational objectives. It is
not a diagnostic device; it does not compare the child to norms or the
performance of other children. The ABLLS-R looks at fundamental skills in a
hierarchical sense and breaks them down into their essential components in order
to facilitate the development of laser-like interventions designed to build on
abilities already possessed by the child in order to increase their skills
repertoire.
The ABLLS-R has examines 25 categories
of behavior across a wide range of skills sets. Skills measured range from
essential abilities like orienting on people and objects to complex skills like
talking about pleasant things that are not immediately present (i.e., "How
was your day?"). The largest subcategory of skills examined are
language with the categories defined by function of language and not by
traditional abstract categorization. While the literature is crystal clear
that increases in communication skills can indirectly result in decreases in
dysfunctional behaviors, the ABLLS-R is not meant to directly address
inappropriate behaviors or dysfunctional behaviors as is done through a
Functional Behavioral Assessment and the subsequent Behavior Intervention
Plan. The overall goal of the ABLLS-R is to refine the level of examination
of skills so that teaching can occur in increments that are manageable and
likely to result in meaningful, and permanent, gains for the child.
Therefore, each of the skills is clearly operationally defined with measurable
increments identified. The hierarchical nature of the ABLLS-R means that,
generally, earlier skills within each category are necessary for the independent
and sustained demonstration by the child of skills later in the hierarchy.
This has a practical impact on the use of the ABLLS-R in that gaps in skills that
occur earlier in each category typically are given higher priority in the
writing of initial goals for the child's treatment program.
In general, behaviorists agree that
direct observation of skills is the gold standard for measuring the ability of a
person. That standard applies, again generally, to the use of the ABLLS-R. The main mechanism for collection of skills data for completion of
the ABLLS-R should be direct observation by the evaluator of the child
demonstrating the skills in question. However, there are a variety of life
circumstances that can prevent direct observation of the full range of skills
assessed via the ABLLS-R. Therefore, interview of key caregivers is an
alternative and complimentary process that can be used to complete areas of the ABLLS-R
which might be inaccessible for logistical reasons to the examiner.
The overall goal of the ABLLS-R, as any device, is the accurate summarization of
the child's skills in order to facilitate as accurate and meaningful a treatment
program as possible. The recommendation by the authors, and one that I
endorse for functional reasons, is that when in doubt about the mastery of a
skill by the child the examiner should under-estimate the skill in
question. This may result in attempts to teach skills that the child
already possesses, fine. What it does not do is stress the child
unnecessarily by pressing them to demonstrate skills they do not possess thereby
potentially creating an aversive situation for the child that can negatively
impact subsequent therapy.
The end result of the ABLLS-R assessment, which can take 10-12-14 hours, should be a set of recommendations
that fit the child like a finely tailored suit of clothes. In addition to
its utility as a treatment planning guide, the ABLLS-R is also a program
monitoring device. Because the ABLLS-R is not a traditionally normed device,
and because we actually do want the child to learn the skills involve - however
they learn them, repeating the ABLLS-R within less than one year is both
appropriate and expected. Typically, devices like the IQ tests (e.g.,
WISC, DAS, etc.) can not be repeated in less than a year because of the
potential for the student to have remembered questions thereby spoiling the
tests ability to accurately assess their ability other than their memory.
The ABLLS-R is meant to be a curriculum guide and program monitor and the
recommendation is that it be redone every 6-12 months in order to fulfill that
role as a treatment progress monitor.
Finally, the ABLLS-R is only as useful
as the accuracy of the information that went into completing it and the skill of
the administrator in both completing the ABLLS-R and sorting through the potential
recommendations for future goals. While it is popular to say that anyone
can complete an ABLLS-R, it has been my experience that without an understanding
of the behavioral principles underlying it the resulting profile is less
accurate and informative. We recommend that the ABLLS-R be completed by
someone who is likely to be objective about a child and their abilities who also
has significant experience with children with language delays and other
behavioral deficits commonly associated with autism spectrum disorders. It
has been our experience that the resulting profile is more likely to be a tight
fit with the child and the resulting recommendations much more likely to hit
essential core skills that when addressed will have the greatest impact on the
child's life in the shortest timeframe.
I hope that this brief overview of
the ABLLS-R has been informative and helpful. If you have any questions
about the ABLLS-R, how we at Reinforcement Unlimited use it, training
on the ABLLS-R offered at our clinic, or anything related to our services
please do not hesitate to contact
us. Thank you.
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