Using the ABLLS/ABLLS-R to

Address Individual Student Program

of Study for Students with Autism
Tris Gilland, Ed. S., BCBA
Georgia Department of Education
Autism Academy 2010
Today we will…
 Discuss what it means to have/follow the GPS and
supplemental curriculum and what that looks like for
students diagnosed with autism or PDD
 Discuss the key steps in curriculum development to
include GPS and supplemental
 Review the ABLLS/ABLLS-R and how we can use it when
developing comprehensive program of study
 Determine what we need to teach through skills
assessment
 Review how to develop measurable goals/objectives
based on skills assessment
 Look at how to schedule opportunities to address
program of study
Deciding What To Teach
 Curriculum
-Is defined as what content you teach (i.e., skills,
activities, strategies, concepts)
-Not only requires choosing what a student
needs to learn, but it also includes a process for
organizing the skills, activities, and/or content in
ways to facilitate mastery
-Should result in a quality individualized
education plan (IEP)
-Should be a team approach
-Should incorporate multiple teaching
modalities
Deciding What To Teach
 Curricular Areas
-Has the student already mastered basic
social, behavioral, and oral language skills?
-Does individual curriculum have to
contrast significantly from general
education curriculum?
- Supplemental curriculum may not
necessarily be organized by grade level
initially.
Deciding What To Teach
 Curriculum is based on individual needs and
goals
 Is broken down into small chunks of learning
and presented in ways that result in mastery
 Curriculum should be functional and cover
the following areas: communication, social
skills, domestic skills, community living skills,
recreation/leisure skills, motor skills, and
vocational skills (in addition to already
established academic or pre-academic needs)
Deciding What To Teach
 Curricular Considerations
-Should be functional
*Results in the student being able to
perform essential tasks independently
-Should be chronologically age appropriate
-Should be longitudinal
-Should be horizontally integrated
-Should be community referenced
-Should emphasize communication and
socialization
Key Steps In Curriculum Development
 Delineating long term and short term
goals
 Creating an inventory of what needs to
be learned to reach goals
 Assessing what the student has already
mastered
 Prioritizing what to teach
 Organizing to achieve mastery
 Developing an IEP
Skill Assessment Within A Curriculum
We use the Assessment of Basic
Language and Learning Skills to help
identify areas to teach.
 ABLLS/ABLLS-R
 Identification of critical language skills
needed to advance skill development in
many areas
 Identifies skills in need of intervention
ABLLS-R
 A developmental skills inventory for
children with language impairments
 Based on B.F. Skinner’s work in Verbal
Behavior
-A behavior analytic account of language
development
-Takes into account environmental
conditions that promote learning
Why the ABLLS-R?
 Very comprehensive
 Developmental sequence of items
 Leads to goals and objectives
 Can be used repeatedly
 Used to monitor progress
 Used to develop new skill areas as others
are mastered
Why the ABLLS-R?
Although the ABLLS-R appears lengthy, it
is designed to be completed combining
three methods for assessing student
functioning:
-Teacher interview
-Direct Observation
-Direct Skill Assessment
ABLLS Domains
 Cooperation and Reinforcer Effectiveness (11)
 Visual Performance (21)
 Receptive Language (52)
 Imitation (13)
 Vocal Imitation (9)
 Requests (27)
 Labeling (42)
 Intraverbals (42)
 Spontaneous Verbalizations (9)
ABLLS Domains
 Syntax and Grammar (20)
 Play and Leisure (10)
 Social Interaction (22)
 Group Instruction (12)
 Classroom Routines (10)
 Generalized Responding (8)
 Reading (15)
 Math (42)
ABLLS Domains
 Writing (9)
 Spelling (6)
 Dressing (15)
 Eating (10)
 Grooming (7)
 Toileting (10)
 Gross Motor (28)
 Fine Motor (28)
ABLLS-R
After administering all items in all
domains:
-mastered and deficient areas can be
identified
-can build on strengths
-remediate weaknesses
ABLLS-R Domains
 ABLLS-R leads directly to goals and
objectives
 Wording from evaluation can be used on
IEP
 Subsequent administrations can be used
as data collection systems to monitor IEP
goals/objectives (Pre/Post)
ABLLS-R Results
 The ABLLS-R scoring guide describes two
different learner profiles
-Early Learner
-Advanced Learner
 Differences are based on a child’s mastery of
basic concepts
-Early Learner has not mastered basic concepts
-Advanced Learner has mastered many basic
concepts
 Early Learner vs. Advanced Learner

 Early Learner ABLLS-R data example programs

(1-11):
-Cooperation/Reinforcer Effectiveness A-1
-Visual Performance B-1
-Receptive Language C-1
-Imitation D-1
-Vocal Imitation E-1
-Requesting F-1
-Play/Leisure Domain K-2
Early Learner vs. Advanced Learner
 Advanced Learner ABLLS-R data example
programs (11 and up):
-Letter recognition
-Expressive vocabulary
-Sight word ID
-Math skills
-Sequencing
-Fill in the blanks (Intraverbals)
Let’s take a look at
the ABLLS-R protocol…

 Skills Tracking System

 Look at A1
 Look at B1
 Task Objective
 Criteria
Table Discussion…
 If you are currently using the ABLLS-R
share some “positives/negatives” based on
your experience.

 If you are not currently using the ABLLS-

R, what are you using for curriculum for
students diagnosed with autism (low
functioning)?
 I’ve completed the ABLLS-R.
Now what?

**Using the results of the ABLLS-R, you can

begin to write measurable goals/objectives.
Goals and Objectives
 What should the learner be able to do? (What
is the target behavior or performance?)
 Under what conditions do you want the learner
to be able to do it?
 How well must it be done? (Identify criteria for
acceptable performance.)
 How will the behavior be measured?
 Once criterion is met, the target is considered
mastered and put on a maintenance schedule
for retention.
Goals and Objectives
 Determine strengths and weaknesses via
assessment….How about the ABLLS?-R?
 Allows for individualized instruction
 After goals and objectives are set,
instruction can begin
Goals and Objectives
 Effective behavioral goals include:
-Identification of the learner
(Directs the focus on the learner;
sounds
basic but is often overlooked)
-Identification of the target behavior
-Identification of the conditions under
which
the behavior should occur
-Identification of performance criteria
Goals and Objectives
 Identification of the target behavior:
-Clearly identifies the target behavior
-Definitions should be observable and
unambiguous
(Stranger Test/Dead Man’s Test)
-Includes verbs to describe specific
behaviors
-Identification of performance criteria
Goals and Objectives
 Good definitions:
-Common agreement among everyone
involved
-Count the number of times a behavior
occurs
 Advantages:
-Consistent and reliable observation of
behavior
Goals and Objectives
 Conditions or context
-Description of the antecedent stimuli in
the presence of which the behavior will
occur
-Verbal instructions (“Point to the cup.”)
-Written instructions (“Diagram the
sentence.”)
-Demonstration (“Do this.” and model)
Goals and Objectives
 Needs to address:
-Materials used (paper to trace shapes)
-Setting (in the hall) or Time of day (Upon
arrival…)
-Frequency (How often?)
-Level of prompting required (using a
sequential least to most three step
prompting
hierarchy)
Goals and Objectives
 Performance criteria
-Level of correct performance of the skill
(How much do they have to do it?)
(In what time do they have to do it?)
-Accuracy of a response
(What does correct response look
like?)
 Scoring instructions must be present
 Data collection system must be specified
Performance Criteria
Example:
Given an array of three items and the
verbal cue, “Do this”, Joey will imitate the
action with the correct item with 80%
accuracy across 10 trials for 3
consecutive sessions.
Performance Criteria
Example:
Given 2-D pictures of 10 body parts and
the instruction, “What is it?”, Sara will
verbally identify the name of the body
part with 80% accuracy over 10 trials for
5 consecutive sessions.
Performance Criteria
Example:
Given five 3-D objects and the
instruction, “Match”, Christopher will
correctly match the objects with 80%
accuracy across 10 trials for 3
consecutive sessions.
Use the ABLLS-R
 Use the working and the measurement
systems described in the ABLLS-R
 It provides the curriculum
 It uses each of the components described
previously (behavior, condition, criteria)
 Measurable
Summary…
 What should the learner be able to do (target
behavior)?
 Under what conditions do you want the learner
to be able to do it?
 How well must it be done? (Identify criteria for
acceptable performance)
 How will be behavior be measured?
 Once criterion is met, the skill is considered
mastered and put on a maintenance schedule
for retention.
Table Discussion…

 Using the ABLLS-R/present levels of

performance, write an objective.

 How might you incorporate the ABLLS-R

curriculum into existing classrooms?
How might you incorporate the ABLLS-R as a
curriculum into existing classrooms?

Format of the individualized student curriculum:

 Intended to supply day-to-day guidance to implementers
 Teaching formats (DTT = discrete trial training/teaching and
incidental teaching)
 Activities (break, lunch, morning meeting, circle/group
Instruction, “Jobs”)
 Locations (cubby, cafeteria, classroom, playground, community)
 Verbal Behavior (Speech/Language/Communication Training)
Example of Schedules
SNP Schedule
Autism 3rd-5th
Detailed SNP Schedule
 ABLLS-R Curriculum
Throughout the Day
 DTT (1:1 instruction)
(data sheet)
 Circle
 Verbal Behavior (Manding, Tacting,
Intraverbals)
(data sheet)
 More DTT
 Jobs
 Other Assessments and
Supplemental Curriculums…
 Checklist of Adaptive Living Skills (CALS)
 Adaptive Living Skills Curriculum
 “Rethink Autism” – web-based, subscription
 VB-Mapp – communication/verbal behavior
 A Functional Assessment and Curriculum for Teaching
Students with Disabilities – CEC endorsed
 Autism-Pro – technology based
 Autism Skill Acquisition Program (ASAP) – “Big Book” of
skills, CD’s for data
 Others shared
**GA DOE does not endorse any specific product specified in this current presentation.
Resource List
•Alberto, P.A., & Troutman, A. C. (2006). Applied behavior
analysis for teachers. New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc.
•Cooper, J.O., Heron, T.E., & Heward, W.L. (1987). Applied
behavior analysis. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc.
•Fovel, J. T. (2002). The ABA program companion: Organizing
quality programs for children with autism and PDD. New York:
DRL Books, Inc.
•Foxx, R.M. (1982). Decreasing behaviors of severely retarded
and autistic persons. Champaign, IL: Research Press.
•Foxx, R.M. (1982). Increasing behaviors of severely retarded
and autistic persons. Champaign, IL: Research Press.
•Hodgdon, L. A. (1999). Solving behavior problems in autism:
Improving communication with visual strategies. Troy, Michigan:
QuirkRoberts Publishing.
Resource List cont…
•Hodgdon, L. A. (1995). Visual strategies for improving
communication: Practical supports for school and home. Troy,
Michigan: QuirkRoberts Publishing.
•Maurice, C. (1996). Behavioral intervention for young children
with autism. Austin, Texas: Pro-ed.
•Nkosi, A. J. (2008). Some handouts and slides adapted with
permission from and inspired by BCBA supervision
completed with Dr. Nkosi. Marietta, Georgia: Southern
Behavioral Group.
•Partington, J.W., & Sundberg, M.L. (1998). The assessment of
basic language and learning skills. Danville, CA: Behavior
Analysts, Inc.
•Skinner, B.F. (1957). Verbal behavior. New York: Appleton-
Century-Crofts.
 Tris Gilland, BCBA, Ed. S.
System Resource, Autism
Douglas County Schools
770/651-4967
[email protected]