Advanced ABLLS-R

An Advanced Review of The ABLLS®-R: An analysis of the content and Implications for Program Planning

The intent of this workshop is to thoroughly review the content of the ABLLS®-R and to review programming considerations based on a child's scores on this criterion-referenced assessment. This workshop is designed for parents and professionals who have experience in using the Assessment of Basic Language and Learning Skills - Revised (The ABLLS-R) for developing educational interventions for children with autism or other developmental disabilities.

The Assessment of Basic Language and Learning Skills- Revised (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 ABLLS-R 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. 

This workshop will help parents and practitioners learn how to develop these skills using methodology that teaches multiple skills from the various repertoires during teaching activities rather than merely teaching individual skills in isolation. Demonstrations of how to teach "across the verbal operants" will be included in this presentation.

Individuals who are not experienced in using the assessment are encouraged to attend an introductory workshop regarding The ABLLS-R prior to taking this workshop.

Specific Learner Objectives:

• Participants will be able to describe patterns of skill development of typically developing children as measured by the ABLLS-R
• Participants will be able to identify how to implement mixed verbal behavior teaching sessions
• Participants will be able to identify strategies for selecting "learner readiness" skills can be developed while teaching the child other specific skills
• Participants will be able to describe how the skills sequences for each repertoire are arranged from simple tasks to more complex discriminations and sequences of responding
• Participants will be able to identify specific skills within a particular repertoire that are necessary for the development of skills in other repertoires