Life Skills Assessment Options in Transition Planning Gary M. Clark, Ed.D. Department of Special Education University of Kansas Lawrence, KS

Life Skills and Appropriate Measurement of Functional Achievement Transition services… a results-oriented process that is focused on improving the academic and functional achievement of the child with a disability to facilitate the child’s movement from school to postschool activities………

Life Skills and Appropriate Measurement of Functional Achievement The IEP for students 16 and older (and younger when appropriate), must have: “..appropriate measurable postsecondary goals based upon age-appropriate transition assessments related to training, education, employment, and, where appropriate, independent living skills;”

What do we mean by life skills? Daily living skills Independent living skills Community participation skills

Examples of daily living skills….. Grooming and hygiene Appropriate choices in nutrition Appropriate care of clothing Responsible for personal belongings Knowing how to respond to symptoms of illness, accidents, or emergencies Appropriate use of leisure time Basic money management skills

Examples of independent living skills… Mobility and orientation skills (including driving or use of public transportation) Advanced skills of clothing selection and clothing care Advanced skills in personal care (grooming, hygiene, appropriate fashion choices) Advanced skills in personal responsibility for nutrition, fitness, and health care Advanced skills in money management and consumer skills Skills in finding and securing appropriate residential choices

Examples of community participation skills… Skills in locating and using community leisure and recreation facilities Skills in accessing community agencies (health, rehabilitation, employment, etc.) Appropriate consumer skills in the community Skills in accessing social opportunities for personal enjoyment and/or personal growth Interpersonal skills with family and others Responsible community behavior (civility) Responsible behavior as a citizen (voting, paying taxes,obeying laws, volunteering, conservation,etc.)

Assessing Daily Living Skills with Formal Assessments Adaptive behavior scales AAMR Adaptive Behavior Scale (School Edition) Adaptive Behavior Inventory Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale Scales of Independent Behavior Street Survival Skills Questionnaire

Assessing Daily Living Skills with Formal Assessments, cont’d. Responsibility and Independence Scale for Adolescents (RISA) Kaufman Functional Academic Skills Test (K-FAST)

Responsibility and Independence Scale for Adolescents  Ages 12-20, mild disabilities or students at risk  Subscales: Domestic Skills, Money Management, Citizenship, Personal Planning, Transportation Skills, Career Development, Self-Management, Social Maturity, and Social Communication  Scaled scores and percentile ranks based on norm groups  Administration time, minutes

Assessing Daily Living Skills, cont’d. Commercially available life skills assessments: BRIGANCE® Life Skills Inventory Life Centered Career Education Knowledge and Performance Batteries

Life Skills Inventory (LSI)

LCCE Knowledge Battery

Assessing Independent Living Skills Commercially available instruments: Ansell-Casey Life Skills Assessment (Level III) Functional Skills Screening Inventory

General Transition Assessment Instruments that Include Vocational/Occupational Assessment Enderle-Severson Transition Rating Scales LCCE Competency Assessment Knowledge Batteries Transition Skills Inventory (TSI) Transition Behavior Scale (2/e) (TBS) Transition Planning Inventory (TPI-UV)

Assessing Daily Living Skills with Informal Assessments Informal assessment options: Checklists Interviews Observations Situational assessments for specific skills Ecological or environmental assessments Functional evaluations

Checklists Advantages: 1. Permit assessment of a variety of behaviors 2. Permit quick responses 3. Eliminate students’ need to write 4. Quick/efficient for teachers and parents

Checklists Disadvantages: 1. Requires reading 2. Many responses are not easily answered with Yes/No or a simple check that the behavior/trait applies most of the time 3. No chance to immediately probe answers 4. Problems in reliability

Structured Interviews A structured interview is an informal assessment technique, but it has structure to it. An interview protocol is used to stay focused on the area of information desired, but probes or questions asking for clarification or examples are permitted.

Examples of Structured Interview Questions What chore can you do best at home? Why do you think that is your best? Can you plan and prepare a meal for yourself? For others? Do you do all of your own laundering of clothes? If not all, any part of it? Do you have a driver’s license? Can you use a city bus?

Observations Life skills observations are more difficult to do for school personnel. The obvious alternative is to use checklists and interviews with families to take advantage of their observations.

Assessment in the Context of Life Skills Environments Ecological assessment Situational assessment Functional assessment or functional evaluation

Ecological Assessment Life skills ecological assessment includes task analyses and environ- mental expectations or demands of the life skills environments Involves questions such as: Is ____ asked/required to ____? Are there strict standards for performance of ___? Is supervision required? Under what kinds of conditions are the tasks performed?

Functional Assessment: A Definition A functional evaluation or assessment process is one that is an organized approach to determining the interests, needs, preferences, and abilities that an individual student has in the domains of daily living skills, and occupational/ employability skills.

Functional Assessment A functional assessment can use both formal and informal assessment procedures to provide a basis for planning and action.

Situational Assessment Advantages: 1. Permits data collection on a variety of behaviors 2. Is highly authentic assessment 3. Permits assessment to occur in the context of learning, working, social, or leisure situations in the home, school, or community

Situational Assessment Advantages, cont’d.: 4. Is more motivating for students than tests, surveys, interviews, etc. 5. May be ongoing for a period of time and increases reliability of assessment data

Situational Assessment Disadvantages: 1. Difficult to assess some behaviors because of a lack of control over the situational environment 2. Observers/raters/evaluators cannot be in the situation at all times 3. Observers/raters/evaluators in the situation might change the situation by being there

Situational Assessment Disadvantages, cont’d.: 4. Is time-consuming for student and assessment personnel 5. Requires coordination with a variety of persons for it to work 6. Requires high degree of planning and monitoring

Life Skills Situational Observation Assessment Questions Is the student performing the life skills task(s) of the selected environment? Does the student perform the task(s) consistently? Is the student performing the task(s) at a satisfactory rate? Does the student meet secondary expectations of the targeted task(s)?

Life Skills Situational Assessment Questions, cont’d. Does the student know when errors are made or when the task is unsatisfactory because of quality, waste of materials, or performance rate?

Checklist for Analyzing Performance Problems (Mager & Pipe (1997) What is the performance discrepancy? Why is there said to be a problem? What is the actual performance at issue? What is the desired performance?

Checklist for Analyzing Performance Problems (Mager & Pipe (1997), cont’d. Is it worth pursuing? What would happen if we left it alone? Are our expectations reasonable? What are the consequences caused by the discrepancy?

Checklist for Analyzing Performance Problems (Mager & Pipe (1997) Can we fix it? Do the non-performers know what is expected of them? Can the non-performers describe desired performance and expectations? Are there obvious obstacles to performance? Do the non-performers get feedback on how they are doing?

Checklist for Analyzing Performance Problems (Mager & Pipe (1997) Is desired performance punishing? What are the consequences of performing as desired? Is performance actually punishing or perceived as punishing?

Checklist for Analyzing Performance Problems (Mager & Pipe (1997) Is undesired performance rewarding? What rewards, prestige, status, or comfort support the present way of doing things? Does misbehaving or “goofing off” get more attention than doing it right?

Checklist for Analyzing Performance Problems (Mager & Pipe (1997) Are there any consequences at all? Does desired performance lead to consequences that the task performer sees as favorable? Does non-performance lead to consequences that the task performer sees as unfavorable?

Checklist for Analyzing Performance Problems (Mager & Pipe (1997) Is it a skill deficiency? Could the task performer do it in the past? Is the skill used often enough to maintain proficiency?

Checklist for Analyzing Performance Problems (Mager & Pipe (1997) Can the task be modified? Can we provide some type of performance aid? Can we redesign the environment or provide other physical help? Can we transfer part of the job to someone else or arrange a changing of jobs?