Workshops
The Revised ABLLS™-R: An analysis of the content changes and implications for program planning
This workshop is designed for parents and professionals who have experience in using the Assessment of Basic Language and Learning Skills (The ABLLS™-R) for developing educational interventions for children with autism or other developmental disabilities. The intent of the workshop is to thoroughly review the significant changes that have been made in the revised edition of this assessment and to review programming considerations based on these changes (This is not an introductory workshop regarding The ABLLS™-R). For the past 8 years, The Assessment of Basic Language and Learning Skills (The ABLLS™-R) has been demonstrated to be a useful tool for tracking the development of students’ skills. With its focus on the development of basic learner skills that includes a heavy emphasis on specific language skills (i.e., verbal behavior), parents and professionals have been able to identify a student’s strengths and skill deficits, develop instructional programs to help the students acquire critical skills, and then track the student’s acquisition of those skills.
As professionals have continued to work with children, they’ve acquired additional information regarding intervention strategies both through peer-reviewed research projects and through the implementation of intervention services. As a result, there have been several areas of investigation that have influenced how parents and practitioners attempt to help students’ develop a variety of skills. Some of the significant areas of investigation that have been incorporated into the revised edition include an analysis of motivational variables affecting a learner, a more comprehensive analysis of social interaction, imitation, and intraverbal language skills, the investigation of a learner’s ability to fluently use their existing skills, an analysis of shared or joint attention, and an analysis of learner readiness skills.
The revised edition includes many significant improvements based on the input from a variety of parents and professionals (e.g., educators, behavior analysts, speech and language pathologists). Numerous items were added to the original sequences of skills to help further identify deficits within the various repertoires that may be hindering the student’s ability to learn. Several scoring criterion were also adjusted to permit a more accurate measure of some skills. Finally, a review of data from both typically-developing children and those with developmental delays was conducted and several of the sequences have been adjusted to be more consistent with those observed patterns of skill acquisition.
Specific Learner Objectives:
- Participants will be able to identify the methods and sources used to update the ABLLS™-R
- Participants will be able to identify the new skill items that
have been incorporated into the revised edition of the ABLLS™-R
- Participants will able to identify adjustments that were made to scoring criteria
- Participants will be able to describe the effects these revisions will have on determining appropriate learner goals and objectives
- Participants will be able to describe patterns of skill development of typically developing children as measured by the ABLLS™-R
| Workshop Schedule | |
|---|---|
| 8:00 – 9:00 am | Registration |
| 9:00 – 10:30 am | Session One |
| 10:30 – 10:45 am | Break |
| 10:45 – 12:00 noon | Session Two |
| 12:00 – 1:30 pm | Lunch break |
| 1:30 – 3:00 pm | Session Three |
| 3:00 – 3:15 pm | Break |
| 3:15 – 4:30 pm | Session Four |
| Upcoming Dates | ||||
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