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