1. Technical Assistance Paper 312530
    1. Questions/Answers
    2. 1. What is adaptive behavior?
    3. 2. Why do we measure adaptive behavior?
    4. 3. How is adaptive behavior measured?
    5. adaptive behavior?”
    6.  
    7. Summary of the Characteristics of Some Adaptive Behavior Measures

Paper Number: FY 2005-3
October 2004
Technical Assistance Paper
312530
Measuring Adaptive Behavior
Background
An adaptive behavior measure is a specific comprehensive assessment of independent living
skills. It is an important tool in eligibility consideration for students with mental handicaps
and in the continual development of effective educational interventions. Using research-
based assessments to measure adaptive behavior will help to ensure that only those students
who meet specific criteria will be found eligible. Parental input is an essential component of
the adaptive behavior assessment process since there are many daily living skills that are
observed primarily at home and are not displayed in the educational setting.
The Florida Department of Education (DOE) is concerned with the disproportionate represen-
tation of minority students in exceptional student education (ESE) programs. The DOE has
entered into a voluntary partnership agreement with the United States Department of Educa-
tion, Office for Civil Rights in order to resolve issues related to the disproportionate represen-
tation of African-American students identified as educable mentally handicapped (EMH).
The Department is committed to providing technical assistance to school districts related to
the use of effective practices in the assessment of adaptive behavior and the inclusion of
parental input in those assessment practices.
The purpose of this technical assistance paper (TAP) is to convey the requirement that school
districts must obtain parental input when assessing a student’s adaptive behavior and consider
this information when making eligibility decisions. State Board of Education Rule 6A-
6.0331 (4)(a)2, Florida Administrative Code (FAC), states that ". . . the standardized assess-
ment of adaptive behavior of students suspected of having a mental handicap shall include
parental input regarding their child's adaptive behavior." This TAP provides individual
educational plan (IEP) and individual family support plan (IFSP) teams with information
about the use of effective practices in the assessment of adaptive behavior. This will assist the
IEP and IFSP teams to make decisions about eligibility for programs for students with mental
handicaps and to develop effective interventions to teach meaningful life skills.
Questions/Answers
1.
What is adaptive behavior?
Adaptive behavior refers to the knowledge, behavior, and daily living skills that are
necessary to function effectively and independently in a variety of settings. Adaptive
REFER
QUESTIONS TO:
Sheryl Brainard
ESE Program Development and Services
325 West Gaines Street, Room 614
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0400
sheryl.brainard@fldoe.org
850/245-0478
John Winn, Commissioner
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PAPERS
(TAPs) are produced periodically by
the Bureau of Exceptional Education and Student Services to present
discussion of current topics. The TAPs may be used for inservice sessions,
technical assistance visits, parent organization meetings, or interdisciplinary
discussion groups. Topics are identified by state steering committees,
district personnel, and individuals, or from program compliance monitoring.
BUREAU OF EXCEPTIONAL EDUCATION AND STUDENT SERVICES

behaviors typically include communication and social skills, daily living skills, personal
care skills
, and other skills that are needed to function at home, at school, and in the
community. A person’s age is very important when considering information about adaptive
behavior. What we expect changes as the person gets older. We expect older persons to
have more knowledge and skills than younger persons, and behavior that is acceptable for
younger children may not be acceptable for older children. For example temper tantrums,
although not desirable, are not unusual for a two-year-old. However, this same behavior is
not acceptable for a fourteen-year-old. The key idea is that functional expectations are
related to a person’s age. The measurement of adaptive behavior assesses the skills of an
individual relative to the skills of his or her same-age peers.
2.
Why do we measure adaptive behavior?
State Board of Education Rule 6A-6.03011(2), FAC states the following:
A student is eligible for a special program for the mentally handicapped if there is
evidence that the student meets all of the following criteria: (a) The measured level of
general intellectual functioning, is two (2) or more standard deviations below the mean.
The standard error of measurement may be considered in individual cases. The profile of
intellectual functioning shows consistent sub-average performance in a majority of areas
evaluated; (b) The assessed level of adaptive behavior is below that of other students of
the same age and socio-cultural group; and (c) The demonstrated level of performance in
academic, pre-academic, or developmental achievement is sub-average.
Students who do not exhibit deficits in all three areas do not meet eligibility criteria for
programs for students with mental handicaps.
In addition to informing eligibility decisions, adaptive behavior measurement is important for
identifying specific skills that need to be taught. Well developed adaptive behavior skills are
just as important to a student’s success as well developed academic skills. Most students
acquire adaptive behavior skills through practical experiences. Some students with disabi-
lities, however, do not acquire these skills without direct instruction. Therefore, a compre-
hensive assessment of adaptive behavior is necessary to develop interventions to teach and
reinforce these necessary skills.
3.
How is adaptive behavior measured?
The assessment of adaptive behavior focuses on two major issues. These include the degree
to which an individual is able to function and maintain him/herself independently and the
degree to which an individual meets the culturally imposed demands of personal and social
responsibilities.
Measurement of adaptive behavior should survey a student’s behavior and skills in a variety
of settings including his or her classroom, school, home, and neighborhood or community.
Since it is not possible for one person to observe a student in all of the key environments,
measurement of adaptive behavior depends on the feedback from a number of people.
Parents and teachers have many opportunities to observe students across settings and are
usually the best sources of information about adaptive behavior.

The most common method of measuring adaptive behavior is through structured interviews
with teachers and parents. An individual trained to administer an adaptive behavior rating
scale (usually a school social worker, school psychologist, or school counselor) interviews
the student’s parents and teachers. The responses are recorded on a rating scale that assesses
the student’s skills and abilities in various settings. Information about adaptive behavior
becomes less valid, however, when the persons being interviewed are not familiar with the
student’s knowledge or skills. It is extremely important for parents and teachers to provide
information as accurately and objectively as possible. These rating scales are designed to
address most, and sometimes all, of the following areas:
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communication
—skills in communicating with others, talking, writing, using the phone,
and other sources that assist with communication
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self-care
—skills in toileting, eating, dressing, hygiene, and grooming
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home-living
—clothing care, housekeeping, property maintenance, food preparation and
cooking, planning and budgeting for shopping
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social
—getting along with others in various social situations, interacting appropriately
with others, being aware of other people’s feelings, forming relationships
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community use
—travel within community, shopping, obtaining services in community
(doctor, dentist, setting up utilities), public transportation
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self-direction
—making choices in allocation of time and effort, following a schedule,
seeking assistance, deciding what to do in new situations
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health and safety
—making choices about what to eat, illness identification and treat-
ment, avoiding danger, relationships and sexuality
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functional academics
—skills that are taught in school that are used on a daily basis
including reading, writing, computation skills, telling time, using numbers
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leisure
—using available time when not working or in school, choosing age- appropriate
activities
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work
—employment skills including work related attitudes and social behaviors,
completion of tasks, persistent effort/stamina.
For school-aged students, communication, functional academics, and social skills are
especially important. When students are in their homes or in their neighborhoods, other
competencies such as home living skills, health and safety, and self-care become increas-
ingly more important. All of the areas listed above are critical for students who are pre-
paring to graduate or enter the workforce.
In addition to interviewing parents and teachers, three other methods can be used to collect
information about a student’s adaptive behavior. These include reviewing the student’s
records from schools and other agencies, observing the student in specific situations, and
testing the student’s skills by giving him or her specific tasks to complete.
Regardless of the specific methods used, it is important that information about the student’s
adaptive behavior is collected from a variety of settings (home, school, and community) and
through multiple means of data collection. This variety will help to ensure that decisions
about students are accurate and contribute to establishing effective educational program-
ming.

4.
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How can we obtain and use parental input?
It is also important that the person obtaining the evaluation information has an understanding
and respect for cultural diversity. All professionals must be aware that their beliefs and
value system may not match the belief and value system of the student they are assessing.
Obtaining parent input is important to ensure that school professionals are informed about
how the student's behavior relates to cultural norms and expectations.
As indicated above, parents must provide input in the assessment of their child’s adaptive
behavior. Parent input on the possible cultural differences may impact how educators
understand the student's behavior. It is important that parents understand how essential this
information is in relation to their child's educational placement. This information can be
obtained by sending a social worker to the student’s home, by inviting the parent to attend a
meeting at school, or via a telephone conversation.
5.
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What if the student’s parents and teachers do not rate the student the same way?
Since different people can have different experiences with the same student, the information
gathered may vary. For some behaviors, students may behave differently at home than at
school, so the ratings may differ. When this is the case, the perspective of the person
responding needs to be taken into consideration. To make sure that the team is making a
decision based on accurate information, it is important to consider information gathered
through a variety of methods. In other situations, the student’s behavior may be consistent
across settings, but observers’ perceptions may be different.
It is unusual for all the information gathered about a student to be perfectly consistent.
Therefore, decisions have to be made based on how the information fits together and
whether there is strong overall support for a particular decision about the student’s adaptive
behavior deficits.
6.
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How is information about adaptive behavior useful?
Adaptive behavior information is educationally relevant for several reasons. First, it must be
used to decide if the student meets eligibility requirements for special education in the area
of mentally handicapped. Second, information about adaptive behavior deficits can be
useful in establishing goals for the student’s IEP or progress plan. Finally, since various
adaptive behaviors are important across settings, parents can use the information that is
gathered to facilitate their child’s development at home and in the community.
7.
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For the purpose of determining eligibility for Special Programs for Students who are
Mentally Handicapped, how can the IEP team determine that there are “deficits in
adaptive behavior?”
Each formal adaptive behavior assessment has norms by which the student’s results are
compared. Deficits in adaptive behavior are determined by comparing the student’s rating
on the scale to the norm of other students of the same age and socio-cultural group.
Limitations in adaptive behavior can be determined by using standardized measures that are
normed on the general population including people with disabilities and people without
disabilities.

Formal Adaptive Behavior Measures
There are several adaptive behavior measures that have been developed by collecting
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information from samples of students and adults from across the country. As discussed earlier,
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these measures are often used to determine if adaptive behavior deficits exist and to determine
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educational goals. In the following table, the names and some important features of these
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instruments are described. All of the instruments described in the table depend to varying
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degrees on interviews with persons who know the student well. None of them can be used
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without the active cooperation and input of parents and teachers.
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Parent participation in adaptive behavior assessment is crucial in order to obtain an accurate and
complete measure of a student’s skills. Without collaboration between school professionals and
family members, it is difficult, at best, to assess the whole child as a member of the school
community and as a member of the general community.
Summary of the Characteristics of Some Adaptive Behavior Measures
Measure
Age
Format/
Useful Derived
(Publication Date)
Range
Informant
Scores
American Association of
3 to 18 or 21
Rating Scale or interview
Factor scores of Personal, Social and
Mental Retardation (AAMR)
years
formats,
Community plus 2 Maladaptive
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Adaptive Behavior Scale-
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Requires professional rater
Domains
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School (1993)
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or interviewer
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Adaptive
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5 to 89 years
Multiple formats including
Composite, plus scores in 10
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Behavior Assessment System -
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rating scale (preferred),
adaptive skills areas. The latter may
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Second Edition (2003):
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interview, and self-report
be useful in EMH eligibility
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School, Parent, and
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for adults; Multiple
determination
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Adult Forms
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informants encouraged
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Comprehensive Test of
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Birth to 60 years
Rating scale with behavioral
Composite plus 7 domains, self-help,
Adaptive Behavior – Revised
“tests” that are used if the
home, independence, social,
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(2000)
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behavior has not been
sensory, motor, and language/
observed. Encourages
academic
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multiple informants
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Scales of Independent
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3 to 90 years
Highly structured interview
Composite plus motor, social
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Behavior – Revised (1996)
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conducted by professional
interaction and communication,
or paraprofessional.
personal living, and community
living; maladaptive behaviors
included
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Vineland Adaptive Behavior
Birth to 99 years
Semi-structured interview
Composite plus Communication,
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Scales (1984): Interview and
requiring well-trained Daily Living, Motor (0-6 yrs), and
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School Editions (revision
professional; School form Socialization. No maladaptive
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expected in 2005)
uses a rating scale format. behavior content
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Additional information about adaptive behavior
can be obtained by contacting your school
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social worker, school psychologist, guidance counselor, special education teacher, or district
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exceptional student education (ESE) director. In addition, you may contact the Florida
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Department of Education, Bureau of Exceptional Education and Student Services (BEESS) at
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(850) 245-0478.
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