Evaluation of a Self-Instructional Package for Training ABA Service Providers to Conduct the Assessment of Basic Learning Abilities -Revised

Abstract

The Assessment of Basic Learning Abilities-Revised (ABLA-R) is an assessment tool used by applied behavior analysis (ABA) service providers for determining the learning ability of clients with intellectual disabilities and autism spectrum disorder ASD. In this study, we combined an ABLA-R self-instructional manual (DeWiele et al., 2014) with video modeling and evaluated the effectiveness of the training package for teaching ABA service providers to administer the ABLA-R to the experimenter who role-played a child with ASD and to a child with ASD. We evaluated the training package using a single-subject, modified concurrent multiple-baseline (MB) design across a pair of participants, replicated across three other pairs of participants, plus a modified nonconcurrent MB design across a pair of participants, replicated across one other pair. Participants demonstrated a significant increase in the accuracy with which they administered the ABLA-R to an experimenter from baseline to post-test, and conducted the ABLA-R with high accuracy in a generalization assessment with a child with ASD. An implication of this research is that the self-instructional training package is an effective tool for training ABA service providers to accurately administer the ABLA-R to children with ASD.