The BCBA Task List (5th and 6th Edition) requires behavior analysts are familiar with multiple assessment methods, including tools to assess the function of problem behaviors and assess skill strengths and deficits. Although several studies exist on the assessment of functions using indirect functional assessments, descriptive functional…

This paper describes the development of the Behaviour Function Inventory (BFI), an instrument designed to assess particular disorders of psychological development and functioning in children with developmental disorders including autism. A study of the reliability and validity of the scale indicated that the BFI provides precise information on the…

The Questions About Behavioral Function (QABF), a 25-item rating scale, was developed to identify the function(s) of maladaptive behavior in individuals with developmental disabilities. The authors adapted it for use with individuals with serious mental illness who engage in maladaptive behavior and assessed the psychometric characteristics of the…

This paper describes the early childhood special educator's use of the Five P's (Parent/Professional Preschool Performance Profile), a new assessment tool by Judith Bloch, developed by the Variety Preschooler's Workshop (Syosset, New York) for use with children with emotional and developmental disorders functioning on a preschool level. The Five…

This paper offers a rationale for and a description of the creation of the Developmentally Delayed Children's Behaviour Checklist, which is completed by caregivers or teachers and uses a taxonometric model to describe the child's (ages 4-20) disturbed emotions and behaviors. Results of clinical validation studies are cited. (Author/JDD)

This article notes that children with developmental difficulties may exhibit qualitatively different behaviors in addition to or instead of developmental delay. It offers a rationale for neurobehavioral assessment and describes a new instrument, Neurobehavioral Indicators of Atypical Development, that is designed to assist in early screening and…

The Functional Ability Rating Scale (FARS) is an instrument developed by local direct service workers in the field of human services to provide an objective measure of an individual's degree of limitation in seven areas of major life activity (MLA). The subject's level of functioning is assessed in Self-Care, Language and Communication, Learning…