The Importance of Assessment for Children with Autism PDF

# The Importance of Assessment * Assessment (analysis) drives the intervention * An initial assessment provides a baseline (operant skill level) * On-going assessment provides tracking and outcome data * On-going assessment can guide program adjustments * The failure to conduct an a...

# The Importance of Assessment * Assessment (analysis) drives the intervention * An initial assessment provides a baseline (operant skill level) * On-going assessment provides tracking and outcome data * On-going assessment can guide program adjustments * The failure to conduct an adequate assessment can result in an inappropriate and ineffective curriculum for a child, as well as a waste of valuable teaching time and resources # What Should Be Assessed for Children With Autism? * It is essential to identify a child's existing verbal, nonverbal, and social skills (e.g., mands, echoics, listener skills, peer initiation) * It is also essential to identify the language, social, behavioral, and learning barriers that are preventing or slowing down skill acquisition * Most common language assessment tools for children with autism fail to provide this necessary information (Esch, LaLonde, & Esch, 2010) * For example, 28 out of 30 assessments fail to assess a child's mand repertoire (Esch et al, 2010), and none provide an assessment of possible barriers # A Behavioral Approach to Assessment for Children with Autism * Basic behavioral concepts and principles allow professionals to identify and quantify learning, as well as barriers (e.g., motivation, reinforcement, stimulus control, generalization) * A behavioral analysis of typical human development provides a frame of reference for an assessment (e.g., Bijou & Baer, 1965; Novak & Pelaez, 2003; Schlinger, 1996; Skinner, 1957) * Skinner's (1957) analysis of verbal behavior provides a behavioral framework of language and social behavior that can be used to guide an assessment and intervention program (Sundberg & Michael, 2001)