Assessment Flashcards
Operational Definition
Detailed definition of the behavior in observable terms. Must be thorough enough that any person could read it and understand what the behavior is and begin collecting data on the behavior.
Objective (Operational Definition)
Operational definitions only include directly observable aspects of behavior (e.g., hitting), not unobservable internal states (e.g., frustration).
Clear (Operational Definition)
Operational definitions should be unambiguous. Anyone, without any prior knowledge of the behavior, should be able to understand the definition. A good test is that a person who has never seen the behavior can “act it out” from the definition.
Complete (Operational Definition)
The definition includes all of the information necessary for you to discriminate between the behavior and other behaviors that are similar but do not count. Including specific examples and non-examples is often helpful.
Individualized (Operational Definition)
The particular forms of a behavior that one individual display will likely be different from those of another. For example, Jimmy’s aggression might include hitting and kicking, whereas Sally’s might include pinching and scratching
Preference Assessment
A set of procedures used to determine if one or more stimuli may function to increase the rate of a specific behavior or behaviors when delivered following the occurrence of that behavior. You are trying to determine which reinforcers are most effective. Preference assessments are done during the assessment process and are done throughout the course of therapy.
Free Operant Preference Assessment
The therapist does not interact with the client. The therapist observes which items the client interacts with and records the time spent with the item. This is a simple observation procedure with no manipulation. The client can freely choose which items to play with or use. The items are ranked by the amount of time the client spent with them.
Single Item Preference Assessment
The therapist simply presents one item after another. The therapist records whether the client consumed/interacted with the item, made no response to the item, or avoided the item. For food items a small piece is presented, and for non-food items the client is allowed to interact with the item for 30 seconds. The amount of times a client interacted with an item is counted. The items are ranked by the amount of times a client interacted with them.
Paired Choice Preference Assessment (Forced Choice Preference Assessment)
The therapist presents 2 items to the client and records which item the client chooses. Allow the client to interact with the item for 30 seconds. All items should be randomly presented in pairs. This forces a choice from the client and is useful when the client interacts with most items during a single item preference assessment. The items chosen the most are ranked as stronger reinforcers.
Multiple Stimulus Preference Assessment with Replacement
The therapist presents multiple items at a time and records which item the client chooses to interact with. Allow the client to interact with the item for 30 seconds. Once the item is chosen the therapist places it back into the mix of multiple items. The downside of this method is the client can continually pick the same item over and over again not providing a ranking order of reinforcers. No more than 7 items should be presented. This is a good choice of preference assessment for clients who can scan an array.
Multiple Stimulus Preference Assessment without Replacement
The therapist presents multiple items at a time and records which item the client chooses to interact with. Allow the client to interact with the item for 30 seconds. Once an item is chosen the therapist does not place it back into the array.
Baseline
Baselining is finding out where a client’s skills or behaviors are before beginning therapy. Before beginning to teach a new skill, a baseline probe should be conducted in order to identify whether the learner already has the skill. Present a prompt and record the learner’s response. Typically, three baseline data points will be sufficient, but your supervisor will guide you as to how much data to take.
Skill Assessments
Skills assessments determine where a client’s skills are. They typically assess areas such as social skills, coping skills, self-help skills, language skills, learning skills, daily living skills, communications skills. Often these assessments come as packaged product. The most commonly used skill assessments in ABA are: Verbal Behavior Milestones Assessment and Placement Program (VB-MAPP), Assessment of Basic Language and Learning Skills—Revised (ABLLS-R), and Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales 3rd edition (Vineland-3).
Curriculum-Based Assessment
Curriculum-based assessment (CBA) and curriculum- based measurement (CBM) are the repeated, direct assessment of targeted skills in basic areas, such as math, reading, writing, and spelling. An example of a CBM is measuring how many words a client could read in a minute. A therapist would give the client a grade level passage and have the client read the passage out loud. The therapist would record how many words the client read correctly per minute.
Social Skills
Social skills are skills used to communicate and interact with people. Social skills include verbal and non-verbal communication, body language and personal appearance.
