ASSESSMENT
Bridging The Gap ...
The Psychoeducational Profile Revised (PEP-R) and now the NEW Psychoeducational Profile (PEP-3): TEACCH Individualized Psychoeducational
Assessment
Schopler, Eric, Robert Jay Reichler, Ann Bashford, Margaret D. Lansing, Lee M. Marcus. The Psychoeducational Profile Revised (PEP-R). Austin: Pro-Ed, 1990
The PEP-R is a nice assessment and program planning tool for preschool and gradeschool-aged children with autism. The test covers a variety of key developmental areas and can
help the give one a better picture of the, sometimes sporadic, developmental patterns of children with autism. The test items are presented with simple, concrete instructions, and
most of the expected responses are nonverbal.
The PEP-R is the first part of a four volume set, Individualized Assessment and Treatment for Autistic and Developmentally Disabled Children. The third volume of this set, Teaching
Activities for Autistic Children meshes well with the PEP-R assessment, providing ideas for teaching skills and behaviors in those areas where a child may exhibit some deficit.
A description from volume one of the PEP-R:
The PEP-R is an inventory of behaviors and skills designed to identify uneven and idiosyncratic learning patterns. The test is most appropriately used with children functioning at of
below the preschool range and within the chronological age range of 6 months to 7 years. If a child is older than 7 but younger than 12 years, the PEP-R can provide useful
information when at least some developmental skills are at or below the first-grade level. After 12 years of age, a prevocational evaluation using the Adolescent and Adults
Psychoeducational Profile (AAPEP) (Mesihov, Schopler, Shaffer, & Landrus, 1988) is recommended.
Used as an assessment, the PEP-R provides information on developmental functioning in
- Imitation
- Perception
- Fine Motor
- Gross Motor
- Eye-Hand Integration
- Cognitive Performance
- Cognitive Verbal areas
The PEP-R also identifies degrees of:
- Behavioral abnormality in Relating
- Behavioral abnormality in Affect (cooperation and human interest)
- Play and Interest in Materials
- Sensory Responses
- Language.
The PEP-R kit consists of a set of toys and learning materials that are presented to a child within structured play activities. The examiner observes, evaluates, and records the child's
responses during the test. Then, at the end of the session, the child's scores are distributed among seven Developmental and four Behavioral areas. The resulting profiles depict a
child's relative strengths and weaknesses in different areas of development and behavior.
Rather than evaluating a child using only Passing or Failing scores, the PEP-R provides a third and unique score called Emerging. A response scored Emerging is one that indicates
some knowledge of what is required to complete a task, but not the full understanding or skill necessary to do so successfully. A child may demonstrate a sense of what a task is
about or even partially complete it, but do so in a peculiar way. These kinds of responses are scored as Emerging.
Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS)
(Schopler, Reichler, & Renner, 1988)
Autism involves not only developmental delays but atypical behaviors. The strength of the PEP-R is that it looks at both of these aspects. The Developmental Scale tells where a child
is functioning relative to peers. The items on the Behavioral Scale have the separate but related assessment function of identifying responses and behaviors consistent with a
diagnosis of autism. These categories and measures are based on the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) (Schopler, Reichler, & Renner, 1988) designed to screen for and
diagnose autism.
The total number of unusual, or dysfunctional behaviors are quantified qualified, indicating the severity of a child's behavioral difficulties. Behaviors are scored as Appropriate, Mild,
or Severe. The items on the Behavioral Scale are not norm-referenced like those on the Developmental Scale; these particular behaviors, in their mild or extreme forms, are abnormal
for children at any age. Scores from the Behavioral Scale can be useful for tracking behavioral changes over time and making decisions on how to group youngsters in a classroom.
In addition to its unique scoring system, the underlying use of the PEP-R differs from most psychological instruments. This inventory is designed as an educational tool for planning
individualized special educational programs. There are three companion volumes to the PEP-R in the series called Individualized Assessment and Treatments for Autistic and
Developmentally Disabled Children, Volumes 2 and 3, Teaching Strategies for Parents and Professionals (Schopler, Reichler, & Lansing, 1980) and Teaching Activities for Autistic
Children (Schopler, Lansing, & Waters, 1983) are collections of individualized teaching activities, indexed according to the seven PEP-R developmental function areas. Volume 4,
Adolescent and Adult Psychoeducational Profile (AAPEP) (Mesibov et al., 1988), extends the PEP-R to meet the needs of adolescents and adults.
Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales, Second Edition (Vineland-II)
Sara S. Sparrow, Domenic V. Cicchetti & David A. Balla
Ages: Survey Interview Form, Parent/Caregiver Rating Form, Expanded Interview Form—0 through 90; Teacher Rating Form—3 through 21-11
Administration Time: Survey Interview and Parent/Caregiver Rating Forms 20-60 minutes
Expanded Interview form - 25 to 90
minutes and Teacher Rating form - 20 minutes
Scores/Interpretation: Domain and Adaptive Behavior Composite—Standard scores (M = 100, SD = 15), percentile ranks, adaptive levels, age equivalents; Subdomain—V-scale
score (M = 15, SD = 3), Adaptive levels, age equivalents; Survey Interview, Parent/Caregiver Rating Form, Expanded Interview Form—V-scale score, maladaptive levels for the
optional Maladaptive Behavior Index
Benefits
* Addresses today’s special needs populations, such as individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, autism spectrum disorder, and ADHD
* Updated with new norms, expanded age range, and improved items RTI Tier Information
* Useful for diagnosis, qualification for special programs, progress reporting, program and treatment planning, and research
* Offers both respected semi-structured interview format which focuses discussion and gathers in-depth information, and also offers convenient rating forms
Covers the full spectrum of adaptive behavior
All Vineland-II forms aid in diagnosing and classifying intellectual and developmental disabilities and other disorders, such as autism, Asperger Syndrome, and developmental
delays. The scales of the Vineland II were organized within a three domain structure: Communication, Daily Living, and Socialization. This structure corresponds to the three broad
domains of adaptive functioning by the American Association of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities: Conceptual, Practical, and Social. In addition, Vineland-II offers a Motor
Skills Domain and an optional Maladaptive Behavior Index to provide more in-depth information about your clients.
Functional Independence Skills Handbook (FISH)
William K. Killion, Ph.D, c2003
The FISH assessment and curriculum was designed for individuals with developmental disabilities. The goal of the program is to teach functional living skills for greater
independence. Ten FISH assessment booklets (one per person) are provided with each curriculum handbook to help teachers, parents, and other professionals determine a
present level of performance, and to plan goals accordingly. A parent, guardian, or other individual who is knowledgeable about the person with the developmental disability must
administer the assessment.
The assessment guide and curriculum handbook target seven functional areas:
- adaptive behavior
- affective (emotional) skills
- cognitive skills
- sensorimotor skills
- social skills
- speech and language skills
- and vocational skills
Once a present level of performance has been established, the handbook guides the professional through curriculum development. The curriculum contains 421 lessons covering
the seven targeted functional skill areas. The lessons are a criterion-referenced series of tasks. Each lesson lists the specific task, prerequisite skills, concept, behavioral objective,
materials, and a task analysis. Lessons include skill areas such as: eating with a fork; making a sandwich; telling time by hours; using a clothes dryer; dialing a phone; not hurting
others; using money at a store; opening a door; sharing news; unfolding boxes; using a time clock; and many more.