. Clearly, examiners need to be concerned about whether available instruments and practices for assessing adaptive behavior adequately document critical difficulties in social functioning that prevent individuals with mild mental retardation from fulfilling key roles and expectations in society. (1999), Jacobson and Mulick (1996), Spector (1999), Hill (1999), Test Critiques, test reviews in the Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, and the Mental Measurements Yearbooks for more detailed psychometric information about these and other measures. For individuals whose diagnosis is most in question because their measured IQs are near the cutoff, this vital area may determine the presence or absence of mental retardation. It does not have the problems with floor effects in diagnosing developmental delays at the youngest ages that are present in other adaptive behavior scales. Click on an item in the set below to see more info. Student assessment results from formal, standardized assessment tools are often statistically based and can be very difficult for families to understand. Scales developed subsequently improved on the simple rating format found in the ABS, which contained a finite list of problem behaviors rated according to the frequency of occurrence. Widaman and McGrew (1996) further argued that agreement on a common set of terms for domains of adaptive behavior (in contrast to the use of or as above) would contribute to a better consensus on the structure of adaptive behavior. Such concerns arise in part because intellectual performance, the other criterion associated with mental retardation, is measured by comprehensive intelligence tests that are the most thoroughly researched forms of psychological assessment (Neisser et al., 1996). Retaining all features that made the second edition the preferred instrument for evaluating adaptive behavior, the ABAS-3 is even easier to administer and score. Measures of typical performance involve an attempt to assess what an individual typically does or how a person usually feels (Cronbach, 1990). Purpose, defnition, and two examples of adaptive behavior assessments Defnition of six specialized assessment terms both of a content and statistical nature including an explanatory example of each used in formal adaptive behavior assessments There is no mention of any standardized cutoffs for adaptive ability, except for mention of the use of scales of social maturity and adaptation in the measurement of adaptive behavior. Percentage of People Ages 5-18 Lower Than Two Standard Deviations Below the Mean on the Domains of the Adaptive Behavior Assessment System. The proportion of children from homes with low socioeconomic status was lower than that in the census data. Meyers et al. These measures also may be validly used, with repeated or periodic administrations, for assessment of changes in status. It appears to have good potential for assessing adaptive behavior for diagnostic purposes. In describing mild mental retardation, there is minimal reference to adaptive behavior problems, except for the inclusion of low academic skill attainment.. It also allows for reconciliation of ratings among these informants. assessment of Jane's adaptive behavior. The dimensions of adaptive behavior and social skills in the Gresham and Elliott model are surprisingly similar to the 10 adaptive skill areas in the 1992 AAMR definition of mental retardation. These other bits of data could include a review of developmental and social history, direct observation of the individual's behavior, verbal reports from interviews, and the use of the other structured and semistructured interviews. Nine behavior domains measure personal independence and personal responsibility in daily living, including prevocational/vocational activity. As part of initial assessment of behaviour that challenges, take into account: However, teachers have limited opportunities to observe all behaviors on the VABS-C and must necessarily provide estimates of behaviors that do not occur in the school context. For example, assessments are used during classroom instruction to measure students' learning related to the academic content, and different assessments are used to measure students' overall cognitive, physical, or social . The other consists of a person who also knows the individual being assessed well but who independently completes a checklist of specific items without assistance. In recent years, existing operational definitions of adaptive behavior and techniques for measuring adaptive behavior have been criticized as being inadequate for determining the presence of significant limitations in individuals with mild mental retardation. However, this also means that most scales are structured in steps that permit sampling of typical developmental tasks at each age. Furthermore, issues are raised about the degree to which existing instruments are able to take into account the cultural context in assessing an individual's adaptive behavior. Social competence model. (1984), that adaptive behavior lacks a unifying theoretical foundation. A widely used technique, which was first employed by Spivack and Shure (1974), is to present the individual with a story describing a social problem, as well as a particular strategy that the protagonist might use to resolve the problem. Highly structured interviews have unique problems as well. For example, assessments are used during classroom instruction to measure students learning related to the academic content, and different assessments are used to measure students overall cognitive, physical, or socialemotional abilities. Among the very large number of adaptive behavior scales on the market, very few have adequate norms and reliability to diagnose mental retardation in people with IQs in the questionable range (e.g., 60-80). Whereas ability measures focus on what the examinee can do in a testing situation, the . For the AAMR Adaptive Behavior Scale-School scales (Lambert et al., 1993a) the norming group included 2,074 students (ages 3-21) with mental retardation living in 40 states, and a sample of 1,254 students (ages 3-18) without mental retardation from 44 states. Refusal to perform a task that a person is capable of doing is also a reflection of problem behavior and should not be considered in relation to adaptive behavior. It is unclear whether individuals with low-normal intelligence or mild mental retardation would be able to respond reliably to hypothetical situations. Federal review of the SSI program has indicated that such deception is an uncommon occurrence. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 2002. Regarding the ability to adjust one's social strategies to fit the needs of a particular social situation, children with mild mental retardation often fail to use information from the specific social cues present in the social situation to guide their search for appropriate strategies (Leffert et al., 2000). Adaptive behavior has been an integral, although sometimes unstated, part of the long history of mental retardation and its definition. Some caution is needed in interpreting these findings, because the study is small and unrepresentative. (2000) mention the utility of adaptive behavior measures as components of multidimensional models of functioning and child psychopathology but did not include any adaptive behavior scales in an extensive listing of prominent measures that are currently used in psychological testing in schools. Greenspan (1999) also has argued for many years that the presence of maladaptive behavior, or mental illness, is irrelevant for the purpose of diagnosing of mental retardation. Some of these scales were developed to serve only one of these purposes; however, several have attempted to include both the breadth required for diagnosis and the depth required for clinical use. Examples include social skills, cleaning, and personal grooming. A high level of training is necessary in order to capture and distinguish the level, quality, and pattern of adaptive behavior displayed by a given subject, as viewed by the eyes of the respondent (parent, teacher, or caregiver). There are a number of ways to assess the level, quality, and pattern of adaptive functioning, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. This problem, and recommended strategies to avoid errors in diagnosis, are discussed in the section on norms. In order for the assessment to be clinically and scientifically meaningful, it is important that the assessor be sufficiently trained in using and interpreting appropriate instruments. In this section, we discuss a variety of psychometric features of adaptive behavior scales that have implications for decision making about mental retardation. There is considerable overlap in adaptive behavior attainment among children with mild mental retardation and matched peers. Interview methods recommended for different measures vary from high to low structure. A psychologist, social worker, or other professional who has appropriate training in interview techniques must complete these forms. The result is an overidentification of skill limitations among minority children. Thus, considerable variation has been found in the content covered by different scales (Holman & Bruininks, 1985; Thompson et al., 1999). Therefore, these instruments generally do not have firm cut off points at each age at which adaptive behavior is considered to be substantially or markedly impaired. Rather, there is a standard clinical methodology that consists of presenting the individual with a hypothetical situation in the form of a story and asking What would you do if this happened to you? The Social Problem-Solving Test (Castles & Glass, 1986) is an example of an assessment instrument employing this methodology that was specifically designed for use with individuals with mental retardation. Grooming 2. In the characterization of mild mental retardation, the ICD-10 guide points out that, some degree of mild mental retardation may not represent a problem. It goes on to state that the consequences will only be apparent if there is also a noticeable emotional and social immaturity. This statement implies that for individuals with mild mental retardation, intellectual deficits are apparent only when represented by problems in adaptive behavior (emotional and social immaturity). Typically these measures are structured in terms of factors, domains, and subdomains or scales. The definition also includes the notion that adaptive skills are affected by the presence of appropriate supports and with appropriate supports over a sustained period, the life functioning of the person with mental retardation will generally improve.. In a 1990 survey, Archer et al. Brown, personal correspondence, June 17, 2001). Manuals for the major adaptive behavior scales encourage the use of multiple informants, for example, teachers and parents. Professionals call this life skills social competence, or adaptive behavioral functioning. Below the Mean on the domains of the adaptive behavior scales encourage the use of informants... 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