Adaptive Behavior Scales for ... Health Article

Definition

Adaptive behavior scales are standardized tests used to describe and evaluate the behavior of infants, toddlers, and preschoolers, especially those at risk for communication delays and behavior impairments.

Purpose

Adaptive behaviors are learned. They involve the ability to adapt to and manage one's surroundings to effectively function and meet social or community expectations. Infants learn to walk, to talk, and to eat with a spoon. Older children learn to cross the street, to go to the store, and to follow a great variety of rules while interacting with people, such as when to say please and thank you. Good adaptive behavior promotes independence at home, at school, and in the community. Undesirable or socially unacceptable behaviors that interfere with the acquisition of desired skills and with the performance of everyday activities are classified as maladaptive behaviors, or more commonly, behavior problems. Maladaptive behavior interferes with child's achievement of independence because the child requires more supervision and assistance in order to learn how to behave appropriately.

Problems in developing adaptive skills can occur in children of any age. For example, difficulties can develop in mastering basic functional skills (such as talking, walking, or toileting), in learning academic skills and concepts, or in making social and vocational adjustments. Adaptive behavior scales are evaluation tools designed to help care providers improve their assessments of the abilities and needs of infants and children who have disabilities or are at risk for developmental delays.

Description

Many different adaptive behavior scales are used in the United States for assessment purposes. The most widely used are the Developmental Profile II (DPII), the Early Coping Inventory (ECI), the Bayley Scales of Infant Development (BSID), the Scales of Independent Behavior—Revised (SIB-R), the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales (VABS), and the Adaptive Behavior Scales (ABS).

Developmental Profile II (DPII)

The DP-II behavior scale is used to screen for developmental delays and compare a child's development to that of other children who are in the same age group. This scale is a check-off list of 186 skills. A parent or therapist who knows the child well simply indicates whether the child has mastered the skill in question. The DPII, which can be administered from infancy to age nine, assesses development in the following areas:

• Physical development: Large and small muscle coordination, strength, stamina, flexibility, and sequential motor skills.
• Self-help development: Ability to cope independently with the environment, for example, to eat, dress, and take care of self and others.
• Social development: Interpersonal abilities, emotional needs, and how the child relates to friends, relatives, and other adults.
• Academic development: Intellectual abilities and skills required for academic achievement; IQ (intellectual quotient) score.
• Communication development: Expressive and receptive communication skills, including written, spoken, and body language.