Role of ASD Consultant and use of ABLLS-R Presented by Cosmin G. Colţea ASD Consultant, Sunrise Health Region
Dec 17, 2015
Role of ASD Consultant and use of ABLLS-R
Presented by Cosmin G. Colţea ASD Consultant,
Sunrise Health Region
SummaryRole of ASD ConsultantVerbal Behaviour assessmentABLLS-R:
Use of assessment dataProgram developmentABLLS-R candidates
AFLS (The Assessment of Functional Living Skills)
Social skills (overview)
Role of ASD ConsultantFor preschool age children:
Screening for Autism Spectrum DisorderSummer programsCoordinate ASD program (SLP, OT, PT, SW,
ASW)Consultations with schools, daycares, othersParent training
Role of ASD ConsultantFor school age children:
Screening for Autism Spectrum DisorderSummer programsFamily supportGeneral consultation
Accessing ASD services:Contact ASDC/OT/PT/SLP/ECP after exhausting
in-school services General consultations Mostly for transitions
Verbal Behaviour Assessment1. BLA (Behavioral Language Assessment Form)
2. ABLLS-R (The Assessment of Language and Learning Skills)
3. VB-MAPP (Verbal Behavior Milestones Assessment and Placement Program)
1. Barriers assessment
4. PEAK (The PEAK: Relational Training System)
1. evaluation and curriculum guide for basic and advanced language skills
Data collectionAssessments useless without good data
collectionTrial by trial data collectionProbe based data collection
Collect – Graph – Analyze - Make changes
Collecting Correct responses and ErrorsE.g., looking at rate of correct vs errors over
time
VB- reviewLanguage = learned behaviour based on
the influence of environment (Skinner, 1957) In other words reinforcement and punishment drive language.
Listener and SpeakerTeach both
ConversationsPinnacle of languageComprised of all the other verbal elements
VB- language classificationMand: Asking/demanding items of interest
E.g., Demanding Juice because thirstyLanguage controlled by motivation
Tact: Naming/Labeling objects/activities/etc. E.g., saying Truck after seeing a truckLanguage controlled by observing items around
Intraverbal: Having a conversation/Answering questionsE.g., Saying Lamb after someone else said Mary had a little…Language controlled by somebody else’s words/languageStudents who respond to some questions but not other!
What do you drive when going home? What do you wear when going home?
VB- language classificationEchoic: Hearing and repeating
E.g., Saying Truck after hearing someone else saying Truck
Language controlled by somebody else’s language
Receptive: Following instructionsE.g., Turning book page when told to do soLanguage controlled by someone else’s language
VB- language classificationTFFC/RFFC: Labeling/Recognizing items/activities by
Function, Feature, ClassE.g., What has 4 legs? Dog; Point to something that barks- Dog.Language/Gestures controlled by someone else’s language
Textual: Reading wordsE.g., Saying Car because student sees the word CarLanguage controlled by written information
Other
VB strategiesImportant:
Check for language use and source of control Analyse student’s language E.g.:
Student saying What’s the matter? when falling , I want to go home for escaping/avoiding demand
Student scrolling for correct response Student using scripted language
Learning occurs based on where the attention goes !!!
ABLLS-R1. Completing the assessment
1. By person responsible for programming 2. Info obtained from:
1. People working directly with the student2. Student observation in different environments3. Formal presentation of tasks
3. Score based on what the student does or can do when required
4. Underestimate if not sure
ABLLS-R1. Completing the assessment
1. Suggested reading: Sundberg and Partington (1989).Teaching
Language to Children with Autism or Other Developmental Disorders
Partington, J (2010).The Assessment of Basic Language and Learning Skills (Scoring Instructions and IEP Development Guide)
Partington, J. (2014). Getting Started: Developing Critical Learning Skills for Children on the Autism Spectrum
ABLLS-R2. Assessing:
5. Prompting responses !1. E.g., combining nouns and adjectives
1. Q: What’s this picture all about?2. A: It’s a big red fire truck
vs3. Q: What colour is this fire truck?4. A: Red truck(simple labeling)
2. Some items include prompting1. E.g., asking with item present
ABLLS-R3. Basic skills (ABLLS-R)
1. 15 skills (A-P)
4. Critical skills for nonverbal students1. Visual performance (B) 2. Receptive language (C)3. Motor imitation (D)4. Vocal imitation (E)5. Requesting (F)6. Social Interaction (L) (Partington, 2014)
I’d add Instructional Control- for teachers
ABLLS-R5. Program development
1. It’s both science and art2. Where’s the FUN?3. Fluid4. Building on existent strengths5. Team work 6. Aim for goals that can be reached within 3
months1. Recognize steps needed to achieve goal2. Reaching small targets reinforces staff
involvement
ABLLS-R6. BLA examples (Sundberg & Partington, 1998):
1. Level 1:1. Limited attendance to tasks/ Lack of social interactions/ Doesn’t
imitate others/ Uses gestures, grabbing others for access to his wants/ Engages in problem behaviour if tasks presented/ Doesn’t label objects in his environment/etc
2. Intervention:1. Requesting items 2. Respond to others’ instructions3. Labeling items through play
3. Possible goal for requesting:1. Student will spontaneously ask for at least 10 wanted items using
a specific response (F5) 1. Few other steps in between baseline and goal
ABLLS-R6. BLA examples (Sundberg $ Partington, 1998):
1. Level 2:1. Not following along with group/Difficult transitions/Very
limited requesting/Some gross motor imitation/Few words approximations/follows instructions without contextual cues/Problem behaviours/etc
2. Intervention:1. Requesting items 2. Increase of motor/vocal imitation3. Labeling/Receptive
3. Possible goal for requesting:1. Requesting missing item needed to complete task (F9)
ABLLS-R6. BLA examples (Sundberg $ Partington, 1998):
1. Level 3:1. Usually cooperative with adults/ Hard to understand
language/ Imitation of others’ behaviour if prompted/ matches identical items/ Labels about 10 items/ etc
2. Intervention:1. SLP2. Requesting 3. Receptive/labeling/etc
3. Possible goal for receptive:1. Selects X pictures and objects named by teacher (C20)
ABLLS-R6. BLA examples (Sundberg $ Partington, 1998):
1. Level 4:1. Attending to tasks up to 30min/Very rare minor problem
behaviour/ Requests many reinforcers/ Good gross motor imitation/ 15 RFFC/ Labels 100 items/ etc
2. Intervention:1. Intraverbals2. Receptive/labeling/etc3. Social skills (with peers not adults)
3. Possible goals for intraverbals:1. Fill in item given class/ class given items/ features given
item/item given features/ (H14/16/17/18)
ABLLS-R6. BLA examples (Sundberg $ Partington, 1998):
1. Level 5:1. Inability to form complete sentences/ Asks for reinforcers /
Strong responding to one-step instructions, difficulties with multiple steps/ Answers identifications questions/ Answers few WH questions/ etc
2. Intervention:1. Intraverbals2. Requesting 3. Receptive/labeling/etc
3. Possible goal for intraverbals:1. What/Where/Who/Whose/When/Which/How/Why(H23-33)
ABLLS-RProgram development summary:
50-70% of targets from Basic Skills (A-P)Increase complexity of existent skillsSocial skills included/adjusted for each studentThe number of programs varies based on level:
Few for early learners (e.g., 5-10) Many for advanced learners (e.g., 15-20)
Consideration of EOs (Establishing Operations)
Can be used with students with limited languageYounger or older
Establishing Operations (EO)EO = environmental event momentarily affecting:
1. The value of a reinforcer2. Behaviours associated with getting the reinforcer
EO : Unconditioned and ConditionedExplains behaviours that occur “out of the blue”Manding (Requesting) relies on manipulating Eos
Thirsty after gym, more likely to engage in asking for waterTeaching walking instead of running- better after gymE.g., student with known history of self-injurious
behaviour (SIB), aggression. Telling student that a non-preferred activity is next may result
in student engaging in SIB or bystander aggression while walking to it
AFLSFor students with limited skills
Early start -> better results
Can be used in combination with ABLLS-R
Social skillsIndividualized
Task analysis
Spectrum:From “eye contact” to “playing rules based games” etc
Coaching model:Presenting task and/or modeling/video modelingPractice with one adult (artificial/real environment)Practice with confederates (artificial/real environment)Practice with peers
Summary
Different verbal operants, under different stimulus (Motivation, Items, Language): MandsTacts Intraverbals, etc
Using ABA principles
Data collection is paramount for:Knowing where to startMeasuring progressKnowing how high to aim
ResourcesShapiro, L.E. (2004). 101 Ways to Teach
Children Social Skillshttp://sociallyspeakingllc.com/my-mission-for-s
ocially/free-pdfs/101_ways_to_teach_social.pdf
PEAKhttp://www.peakaba.com/104-2/
ReferencesPartington, J (2010).The Assessment of Basic
Language and Learning Skills (Scoring Instructions and IEP Development Guide)
Partington, J. (2014) Getting started: Developing critical learning skills for children on the autism spectrum
Sundberg and Partington (1989).Teaching Language to Children with Autism or Other Developmental Disorders