This is an unofficial website created by a special education teacher with experience using The ABLLS who wants to share her resources with others.
The Assessment of Basic Language and Learning Skills, or The ABLLS, is divided into four skills assessment areas: basic learner skills, academic skills, self-help skills, and motor skills. These areas are further divided into 25 smaller skills areas. Each of the 25 skills areas include a variety of tasks that are scored out of 1, 2, or 4 with criteria for each level. Basic learner skills include the skill areas A to P, with O not used. These are Cooperation and Reinforcer Effectiveness, Visual Performance, Receptive Language, Imitation, Vocal Imitation, Requests, Labeling, Intraverbals, Spontaneous Vocalizations, Syntax and Grammar, Play and Leisure, Social Interaction, Group Instruction, Follow Classroom Routines, and Generalized Responding. Academic skills include the skill areas Q to T, which are reading, math, writing, and spelling. The Self-help skills including dressing, eating, grooming, toileting are the skill areas U to X, and the fine and gross motor skills are areas Y and Z.
Once The ABLLS has been done with a student as a pre-assessment, the Skills Tracking System chart is filled in with the results. The Skills Tracking System can be used to make IEP goals for the student. As the goals are reached, they can be check off on The ABLLS and in the Skills Tracking System. The updated Skills Tracking System can then be used to assist in reporting.
The main problem with The ABLLS is that it is long and time consuming. Not only is it 90 pages long, but the number of specific resources required are enormous. Not only are tangible items required, such as puzzles with specific numbers of pieces, but many of the tasks require the student to answer a large number of questions without giving tracking sheets or a list of questions. For example, one task is to answer 50 "where" questions, but only one "where" question is provided as a sample. The ABLLS does come with an appendix, but it is greatly lacking in substance. Some of the few tracking sheets in the appendix are even left blank for the assessor to fill in.
There is also an ABLLS kit that can be purchased for nearly $1500, but although it contains many of the tangible items, it does not contain tracking sheets. Also, the ABLLS kit does not contain ideal items, such as small wooden stacking hoops instead of the usual large plastic style. The main problem with the ABLLS kit is that there is only one of each resource, so that if picture cards are being used with one student, they cannot be used with another. Also, if these resources are used for teaching, other resources may be required for testing or generalization.
This website includes both filled in tracking sheets and resources for The ABLLS. They are both free and reproducible, so a set can be made for each student if desired. Tracking sheets and many of the resources also come in the original format in case the assessor would like to make changes to the pages. Next to each tracking sheet link is a list of the resources used in that area. Next to each resource is a list of areas the resource is used in. I have also included pre-made tracking boards for some areas of the ABLLS, teaching ideas for some areas of the ABLLS, and a list of all the websites I have used as resources. Before you start using these tracking sheets, you must first buy the ABLLS. You will need The ABLLS to pre-assess the student, level each task, and fill in the Skills Tracking System.
In 2007, the Ministry of Education Policy/Program Memorandum No. 140, Incorporating Methods of Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) into Programs for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), came out. It requires school boards to offer students with ASD special education programs using ABA methods where appropriate. It specifically lists under Principles of ABA Programming that the program has to be individualized and that data must be collected and analysed. The ABLLS can assist in these principles. Also in 2007, Effective Educational Practices for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Resource Guide was published in Ontario. In the Foundations section on page 26, the new documents states that "An effective assessment process is continuous and includes ongoing, systematic data collection that is necessary to: monitor student progress, evaluate instructional effectiveness, and update goals as a student learns and masters a skill." The ABLLS can also assist in this assessment process.
The ABLLS in now available in the revised edition, The ABLLS-R. I will be working on making and uploading tracking sheets and resources for the ABLLS-R, but until this is complete, you can use this cross reference to find the resources you need if you are using the ABLLS-R and I have not updated the area you are working on yet.
NEW! I am also including two new documents, a prompt level sheet to include with tracking sheets so that all staff use the same notation for prompt levels, and some additional tasks that we put under the title "Pre-Reading Skills" because many students I work with are lower than the Reading Skills area, but we still want to include them on our school-wide reading tracking board.
Click on the name of the tracking sheet for the pdf version, or click on the word "EDIT" for a version you can edit.
Tracking sheets revised for the ABLLS-R.
Print the resources you require. For flash cards from ESL Flashcards, click on "Download Small Flashcards" and print the pdf file. For "nouns" and "picture sort", download and unzip the zip file. There are over 100 nouns, so a zip file is the only easy way to download them for your own use. Some of the resources require the cutting out of words, letters, or pictures, including "Letter to Word", "Missing Letter", "Money", "Picture to Word", "Word to Word", "Count Out", "Label Class", "Picture to Picture", "Picture to Object", "Block Design", "Copy Sequence", "Replicate", and "Pattern". Cut these out and put them in a zipper style baggie. To edit, click on the word EDIT for a copy you may be able to edit, depending on the program used to create the original file. The first task codes are for The ABLLS, the ones after "ABLLS-R" are for the revised ABLLS.
Here are some additional resources that can be used for generalization.
Click on the name of the tracking board for the pdf version, or click on the word "EDIT" for a version you can edit.
Although I created many of the resources on this site, some of them came from other websites. Where is was practical, I linked to these sites, but at times it was easier to include the resources within my own resources, such as for pictures or fonts. This is where I give credit where credit is due. These are all great sites, and have much more than I used here on my site. Check them out!
Here are some links to some useful autism websites.
