This chapter will summarize contemporary models and methods used for the assessment of adaptive behavior functioning in children and adolescents. This chapter will also emphasize how to best use such assessment information for diagnostic and eligibility purposes and in developing interventions and support plans. We will review the use of traditional, norm-referenced adaptive behavior assessment tools as well as what will be referred to as “supplemental methods,” including the direct observation of adaptive skill functioning. The assessment of adaptive behavior with respect to developmental expectations, cultural expectations, systems of care, and legislation will also be discussed. Lastly, case studies will be presented to illustrate the usefulness of these methods in assessing individuals and planning effective interventions and services.

This study gave voice to parents raising young children with challenging behavior using a qualitative, phenomenological approach. Seven families raising children between the ages of 25 and 43 months participated in a series of interviews. The children's primary diagnoses varied, but all children exhibited challenging behaviors such as noncompliance, self-injury, tantrums, excessive crying, and property destruction. Results showed that parents' experiences could be grouped into 5 major themes: (a) obtaining accurate and useful information, (b) obtaining services and supports, (c) financial stress, (d) stress among members of the family, and (e) community isolation. Implications for changes to systems of care for young children with challenging behaviors and their families are discussed.

Infant Mental Health JournalVolume 26, Issue 1 p. 85-87 Book Review Pathways to competence: Encouraging healthy social and emotional development in young children Jonathan Worcester, Jonathan Worcester Ed.S., NCSP, BCBASearch for more papers by this author Jonathan Worcester, Jonathan Worcester Ed.S., NCSP, BCBASearch for more papers by this author First published: 04 January 2005 https://doi.org/10.1002/imhj.20030AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onEmailFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article. References Ainsworth, M.D.S., Blehar, M., Waters, E., & Wall, S. ( 1978). Patterns of attachment: A psychological study of the strange situation. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. Goldberg, S., Lojkasek, M., Gartner, G.M., & Corter, C. ( 1989). Maternal responsiveness and social development in preterm infants. New Directions for Child Development, 43, 89–103. Volume26, Issue1January/February 2005Pages 85-87 ReferencesRelatedInformation

In recent years, calls to expand the criteria by which behavior support efforts are evaluated have increased. Success is now said to depend on outcomes that transcend a reduction in the occurrence of problem behaviors and include the achievement of new competencies and improvements in one's quality of life. This single-case investigation was conducted as an effort to evaluate the effects of a positive behavior support intervention with multiple measures that included experimental analyses of the participant's problem behavior, engagement, happiness, and efficiency in completing transitions, as well as adult and peer perceptions of aspects of the participant's quality of life. Multiple baseline analyses indicated that the assessment-based intervention was effective in producing durable improvements in all of the measured variables and that the procedures were socially valid. The results are discussed in the context of the growing number of empirical case studies in positive behavior support, and the need to develop more efficient strategies for evaluating the essential outcomes of intervention.

This article shares the perspective of a teacher involved in a collaborative team that utilized the process of positive behavior support in an effort to improve the behavior and quality of life of a 12-year-old girl with multiple disabilities. The teacher took the initiative and actively sought out the family, other school staff, and behavioral interventionists to join her in developing a behavioral support-plan that allowed a young girl identified with Autism Spectrum Disorder to remain in her classroom. The following is a description of her classroom, how the support plan evolved throughout the school year, and her perspectives and observations about the positive behavior support process.

Applied behavior analysis (ABA) is a prominent and pervasive factor in effective academic instruction for all students, including students with autism spectrum disorder. In this article, we discuss the important contributions of ABA to the processes of academic instruction. To illustrate the impact of ABA in the context of academics, we describe two areas of research and practice in which the perspectives and procedures of behavior analysis have had a conspicuous presence: antecedent interventions and curriculum-based assessment. We also note that the principles and methods of ABA have been extensively integrated into routine educational procedures, that ABA procedures are geared only rarely to particular diagnostic populations, and that recent mandates for functional behavioral assessments signify that the impact of ABA on the practice of education is increasing.