What are the Differences Between the ABLLS and the VB-MAPP?

I received a question on my blog two weeks ago asking about the differences between the ABLLS and the VB-MAPP. This week I’ll address this question.

The Assessment of Basic Language and Learning Skills, otherwise known as the ABLLS, was written by Dr. James Partington and Dr. Mark Sundberg in 1998. The ABLLS was not written as a “stand alone” book. Instead, it is one of three books that were written to go together. Many people (including me) credit the publication of Drs. Sundberg and Partington’s three-book collection (including the ABLLS) with the creation of the Verbal Behavior Approach.   Without the ABLLS, my son with autism who is 13 years old would not have progressed to the point he is now and I most likely would not have become a BCBA or written my book. I am therefore eternally grateful to Drs. Sundberg and Partington for publishing the ABLLS.

The Verbal Behavior Milestones Assessment and Placement Program (VB-MAPP) was written by Dr. Mark Sundberg and published by AVB Press (http://www.avbpress.com/) in 2008. This newer assessment tool has many advantages over the ABLLS.

Some of the things that I like better about the VB-MAPP include: 1) Skills as well as barriers are assessed; 2) The tool was field tested with over 150 typical children and dozens of children with autism; 3) There are three clear levels in the MAPP so you can gauge the skills of a child with autism with age ranges of typically developing children; 4) Once the VB-MAPP is completed, the boxes can be added up to obtain a score (making progress more objective and the tool more appealing to researchers); 5) Practitioners who use the VB-MAPP are more likely to develop a balanced program with emphasis on improving the child’s deficits without further splintering skills; 6) The MAPP contains a transition assessment which is helpful in making decisions about the level of inclusion or group instruction that may be appropriate; and 7) I find the VB- MAPP to be easier to administer.

Both the VB-MAPP and ABLLS can be used as assessments, curricula, as well as skills tracking guides. Both tools consist of a series of boxes (although the MAPP has far fewer boxes) requiring completion by an adult who is familiar with the child and, more importantly, knows how to assess skills accurately. The initial assessment using the VB-MAPP or ABLLS can take hours to complete, especially if the learner has more advanced skills.

They are both great tools for a consultant trained in the Verbal Behavior Approach, but for a parent without any background in ABA, the VB-MAPP and the ABLLS can be very overwhelming. In order to assess accurately using one of these tools and program most effectively for your child, consultation with a BCBA familiar with Skinner’s Analysis of Verbal Behavior is strongly advised.

The ABLLS, ABLLS-R (A revised ABLLS published by Dr. Partington in 2006) and the VB MAPP assessment tools are all available at http://www.difflearn.com/ and information regarding BCBA’s can be found at http://www.bacb.com/. After completion of a thorough ABA/VB assessment, lots of programming advice can be found in my book: The Verbal Behavior Approach: How to Teach Children with Autism and Related Disorders (http://www.verbalbehaviorapproach.com/).