The Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale and Special Needs Students

written by: Mayflor Markusic edited by: Elizabeth Stannard Gromisch updated:
2/14/2012
Psychologists have found that the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale is an
effective assessment tool for identifying various special needs of children. It is
usually administered in clinical settings, but today teachers can utilize the third
edition.

What is the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale?

The Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale or VABS is one of the various assessment
tools that can be used to help diagnose and evaluate the special needs of
students. The focus of this particular test is the measurement of the adaptive
behaviors, including the ability to cope with environmental changes, to learn new
everyday skills and to demonstrate independence.

Adaptive behavior, according to Eugene Edgar Doll, a pioneer in psychology, is

multidimensional and reflects the individuals personal and social skills as he
interacts with his environment. Thus, three social research scientists, Sara
Sparrow, David Balla, and Domenic Cicchetti developed the VABS.

This is one of many assessment tools available for special needs students. For
more of a basic understanding read this overview on special needs students
assessment tools and tests.

Purpose of the test

The primary purpose of the VABS is to assess the social abilities of an individual,
whose age ranges from preschool to 18 years old. The results reliably reveal
crucial information for diagnosing various disabilities, including autism, Asperger
syndrome, mental retardation, and speech impairment.

Since adaptive behavior is a composite of various dimensions, the test measures

five domains. These are the Communication, Daily Living Skills, Socialization,
Motor Skills, and Maladaptive Behavior domains.

The Communication Domain evaluates the receptive, expressive, and written

communication skills of the child.

 The Daily Living Skills Domain measures personal behavior as well as domestic
and community interaction skills.

The Socialization Domain covers play and leisure time, interpersonal

relationships, and various coping skills.

The Motor Skills Domain measures both gross and fine motor skills.

The first four domains are key parts of the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale. But
the last domain, Maladaptive Behavior, is an optional part of the assessment
test. It is used when measuring obvious undesirable behaviors. For children who
are younger than 6 years old, a different version of the VABS is used.

Administration of the test

This assessment tool is in the form of a questionnaire and it is administered in a
semi-structured interview.

Recognizing the need for flexibility of assessment tools, the updated forms of the
Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale comes in three editions, the Survey Form, the
Expanded Form, and the Classroom Edition.

Survey Form This is the edition that is closest in content to the original version
of VABS that was published in 1984 by the American Guidance Services. It has
297 items distributed over the four domains. The childs parent or primary
caregiver answers the items, usually within 20 minutes to an hour.

Expanded Form This edition is most useful to teachers and psychologists who
are planning the IEP of the special child. With 280 questions added to the first
297 questions of the survey form for a total of 577 items, the results will provide
a comprehensive evaluation of the special childs needs. The results are also
used to put together any treatment or rehabilitative program. This edition can be
completed within 60 to 90 minutes.

 Classroom Edition This edition is composed of 244 items that evaluates a

childs adaptive behavior inside the classroom. The teacher answers the
questions but only a qualified professional can interpret the scores.

Limitations of the test

Due to the nature of its administration, in which adult observers, such as the
parent and the teacher, answer the items, this assessment test is used to assess
the adaptive behaviors only of individuals who are 18 years old and younger. In
cases of individuals who are older and whose social functioning abilities have
already been identified as below developmental expectations, the VABS can be
utilized.

Standardization
The Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale has been nationally standardized using
respondents who were stratified according to factors that could significantly
influenced the answers to the items, such as gender, age, race, geographical
region, size of community, and parental education. For the interpretation of
scores, the procedure was developed by Angoff and Robertson and similar to that
of the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children, in which there are score
equivalents for the raw scores in each domain, percentile ranks, age equivalents,
adaptive levels, and maladaptive levels.