Triveni Goswami Vernal
Registered Special Educator (A64010)

VB-MAPP (Verbal Behaviour Milestones Assessment and Placement Program) as the name suggests is an “assessment and skills-tracking system to assess the language, learning and social skills of children with autism or other developmental disabilities” (Accessed from the website https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verbal_Behavior_Milestones_Assessment_and_Placement_Program).

VB-MAPP was developed by Mark Sundburg, a Behaviour Therapist and researcher working in the field of language assessment and intervention for over three decades, in 2008. It was based on B.F. Skinner’s (1957), Analysis of Verbal Behaviour.

There are five main components of VB-MAPP (Accessed from the website https://marksundberg.com/vb-mapp/):

a) Milestones Assessment: It assesses “170 measurable learning and language milestones that are sequenced and balanced across 3 developmental levels (0-18 months, 18-30 months, and 30-48 months). The skills assessed include mand, tact, echoic, intraverbal, listener, motor imitation, independent play, social and social play, visual perceptual and matching-to-sample, linguistic structure, group and classroom skills, and early academics”.

b) Barriers Assessment: This assessment assesses 24 language acquisition and learning challenges /barriers faced by children on the Autism spectrum and with other developmental disabilities.

c) Transitions Assessment: It consists of 18 assessment areas that can form the basis to gauge whether the individual is making meaningful progress or not.

d) Task Analysis and Supporting Skills: “The VB-MAPP Protocol contains 35 pages of Task Analysis and Supporting Skills for 14 of the 16 domains of the Milestones Assessment (there is no task analysis and supporting skills list provided for the echoic or spontaneous vocal behaviour domains)”.

e) Placement and IEP Goals: This is related to the 4 other components and is the foundation for providing a direction as well as designing the goals in an IEP. Any further intervention can be based on this.

VB-MAPP now has an app for online assessments and collection of data, to create an IEP etc. It is https://www.vbmappapp.com/home . The following website conducts web-based training on the implementation of the VB-MAPP:
https://datamakesthedifference.com/web-based-training/

In my last blog, I had provided a brief overview of the ABLLS-R (Assessment of Basic Language and Learning Skills-Revised). While both ABLLS-R and VB-MAPP are criterion referenced assessments that assess language, communication and other skills in individuals with Autism and other developmental disabilities, there are certain differences between them.

First, VB-MAPP is based on developmental milestones, whereas ABLLS-R organizes skills into multiple domains, and is not developmentally sequenced.

Secondly, VB-MAPP focuses mostly on language and learning skills, while ABLLS-R has a much wider focus, including language, academic, self-help and motor skills.

Thirdly, VB-MAPP includes Barriers Assessment, Transition Assessment and a comprehensive module on Task Analysis. These are not available in ABLLS-R.

The choice of using either of them, for an assessment, would be dependent on the discretion of the therapist.

RESOURCES:
https://marksundberg.com/vb-mapp/
https://www.vbmappapp.com/home
https://datamakesthedifference.com/web-based-training/
https://marksundberg.com/history/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verbal_Behavior_Milestones_Assessment_and_Placement_Program
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Author Dr.Triveni Goswami Vernal

Dr.Triveni Goswami Vernal is a Registered Special Educator (CRR: A64010), a Psychologist and an Expressive Arts Therapy Practitioner in training (UNESCO-CID). She is an Avaz Certified Educator and Certified in Dyslexia Teacher Training. She is also an art educator for children with additional needs.

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“Space”
Kabir Vernal
Acrylic Painting on Stretched Canvas