ReviewA review of assessments for determining the content of early intensive behavioral intervention programs for autism spectrum disorders
Research highlights
► Of the assessments reviewed, four (VB-MAPP, Brigance IED-II, VABS-II, and CIBS-R) were found to best meet specified criteria. ► None of the assessments reviewed were comprehensive enough to be used for designing a fully comprehensive EIBI curriculum for a child who has deficits across all developmental domains (social, motor, language, daily living, play, executive functions, social cognition, and academic skills). ► None of the assessments reviewed were linked directly to treatment recommendations.
Section snippets
Critical components of an assessment for use in EIBI programs
First, the assessment should be comprehensive. As discussed above, ASD is pervasive and can potentially affect all areas of a child's development; therefore, assessment should address all major areas of human functioning (i.e., social, motor, language, daily living, play, executive functions, social cognition, and academic skills), allowing clinicians to prioritize treatment goals and develop a balanced, fully individualized curriculum. Human child development is enormously complex and an
Direct versus indirect assessment
Direct observation is generally considered the gold standard for measuring a person's abilities within ABA programs (Cooper, Heron, & Heward, 2007). Direct observation has the advantages of providing direct information on the skills that a child actually displayed, not merely third-person reports of what a child may have done, or worse still, information on a variable that is assumed to be a proxy for the state of a hypothetical construct. However, direct observation is not without its
Description of existing assessments
In the absence of an assessment scale developed specifically for the creation of EIBI treatment programs that addresses all major areas of human functioning, clinicians have attempted to adapt a vast number of existing assessments for this purpose. Essentially, any instrument which yields information regarding social, motor, language, adaptive, play, executive functions, cognition, or academic skills may be used to guide treatment planning. However, as already discussed, simply because an
Critical analysis of existing assessments
After reviewing the assessments described above, four meet our original five criteria most closely: the VB-MAPP, Brigance IED-II, VABS-II, and CIBS-R. We now turn to a description of how these four can be used for designing EIBI programs, as well as a critical analysis of the strengths and limitations of each for this purpose.
Conclusion
There is a general dissatisfaction, particularly among ABA treatment providers, with existing assessments that are used within EIBI programs. Without appropriate assessment tools, clinicians are left to assess as they see fit and to choose programs as best they can. They are left to employ a battery of tests and assessment techniques for identifying a child's skills and deficits in order to determine where to begin intervention. “In most cases, the assessment will involve a combination of
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