Selecting the Right Skills Assessment for Your Clients

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Abstract

A critical component of any behavior analyst’s job is being able to select and conduct assessments with clients. One type of assessment commonly used by behavior analysts working with individuals with autism and other disabilities is a skills assessment. Skills assessments provide information on an individual’s current repertoire and are used to help identify areas of strength, skill deficits, and other barriers to learning. Thankfully, there are many commercially available skills assessments out there for behavior analysts to use, but the question remains: how do we know which is best to use for our clients? Since there is no “one size fits all” approach to skills assessment, behavior analysts must consider many factors when selecting the best one for their client. This course will provide you with a basic overview of the most commonly used skills assessments in ABA and an introduction to a decision-making model designed to help guide you in the process for selecting the skills assessment that is most appropriate for your clients.

Learning Checklist

1. Explain the purpose of a skills assessment in ABA
2. Identify examples of developmental and functional skills targeted in skills assessments
3. Identify the most common skills assessments used with individuals with intellectual and developmental
4. disabilities
5. Describe advantages and disadvantages of five commonly used skills assessments
6. Explain the most common reasons for selecting a skills assessment
7. Identify factors to consider when choosing a skills assessment for a client
8. Use the steps of the decision-making model to select the most appropriate skills assessment for a client