ADAPTIVE BEHAVIOR RESEARCH PAPER

Running head: ADAPTIVE BEHAVIOR RESEARCH PAPER
Adaptive Behavior Research Paper
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1ADAPTIVE BEHAVIOR RESEARCH PAPER
Introduction
The term adaptive behavior can be defined as the behavior that enables an individual to get
accustomed with his or her environment while ensuring greatest success as well as least conflict
with other individuals. Some of the major examples of adaptive behavior includes real life skills
like grooming , getting dressed avoiding danger, following school rules, safe food handling,
managing financial resources, maintaining cleanliness as well as the ability to effectively interest
with the peers. Issues with adaptive behavior are being faced by individuals of all age range. A
good number of behavioral interventions are being applied to treat children as well as adults who
are suffering from development disabilities like autism in order to develop a wide variety of
adaptive skills (Hodapp, 2011). In this report, an adaptive behavior assessment instrument, The
Vineland adaptive behavior scale, has been analyzed. The advantages and disadvantage of
adaptive behavior assessment instruments and how they are best applied has been assessed.
Along wit this, the outcomes of the assessment and their degree of meaningfulness has also been
discussed in this report.
1. What are the advantages/disadvantages of a variety of assessments?
The first adaptive behavior assessment instrument was first developed by Nihira,
Fosterm, Shellhaas and Leland in the year 1968 and has been named as the Adaptive
behavior checklist. Since then the mentioned scale has been revised a good number of times
and is currently knownas AAMD Adaptive Behavior Scale. One of the most crucial
advantages of the scale includes it helps the physiologistsfor assessing the socialas well as
practical domains of adaptive functioning. Another advantage of the adaptive behavior scales
is that it allows the physiologists to measure the adaptive behavior of a wide range of people

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from birth to 89 years. When it comes to disadvantages, it can be said that the mentioned
instrument provides measurement that are not highly reliable in several cases.
When it comes to the Vinland Adaptive behavior scale a good number of advantages as
well as disadvantages can be pointed out. The four domain associated with adaptive behavior
includes the motor or physical competence, Cognitive Competence or Conceptual
Intelligence, Independent or Daily Living Skills or Practical Intelligence and Social
Competence or Intelligence (Price, Morris& Costello, 2018). The vine land adaptive behavior
assessment instrument corresponding the four domains for children and the last three
domains for adults. According to researchers, the mentioned measurement scale provides
highly reliable analysis that shows high level of internal consistency, test retest, split half as
well as interrelated reliability. A further advantages includes it can be administered with in a
limited time period of 20 to 30 minutes.
Considering the fact that the insruments are among the few that possess extensive norms,
comparison between peers of same age are possible. Thus otheradvantagesof the Vineland
adaptive behavior measurement scale are that it provides percentile ranks, stanins, and
adaptive levels, standard scores as well as age equivalents. While the standard score possess
mean of 100, the standard deviation is 15.
While the above mentioned factors are considered to be the chief advantages of the
mentioned instrument good number of disadvantages of the Vine and Adaptive behavior
scale can be pointed out. One of the chief disadvantages of this instrument is the receptive
subdomain of the communication domain only possess 13 items that are heavily weighted at
the basal end of the scale. Thus it can be clearly understood that the Vineland scale possess
low ceiling compared to alternative instruments like Peabody Picture Vocabulary test.