Purpose: Designed to assess handicapped and non-handicapped persons in their personal and social functioning.

Population: Birth to 18 years and low functioning adults.( survey form 0-90 years) Score: 13 scores. Time: 2 editions: Interview Edition (20-60) minutes, Interview Ed., Expanded Form (6090) minutes. Authors: Sara S. Sparrow, David A. Balla, and Dominick V. Cicchetti. Publisher: American Guidance Service.

It can be used to help diagnose and evaluate the special needs of students. The focus of this particular test is the measurement of the adaptive behaviors, including the ability to cope with environmental changes, to learn new everyday skills and to demonstrate independence. Vineland-II forms aid in diagnosing and classifying mental retardation and other disorders, such as autism, Asperger Syndrome, and developmental delays.

Adaptive behavior, according to Eugene Edgar Doll, a pioneer in psychology, is multidimensional and reflects the individuals personal and social skills as he interacts with his environment

Adaptive behaviors are everyday living skills such as walking, talking, getting dressed, going to school, going to work, preparing a meal, cleaning the house, etc. They are skills that a person learns in the process of adapting to his/her surroundings.

Since adaptive behaviors are for the most part developmental, it is possible to describe a person's adaptive behavior as an ageequivalent score. An average five-year-old, for example, would be expected to have adaptive behavior similar to that of other five-year-olds.

The primary purpose of the VABS is to assess the social abilities of an individual, whose age ranges from preschool to 18 years old. The purpose of measuring adaptive and maladaptive behavior is usually either for diagnosis or for program planning, education programs for determining eligibility, for program planning, and for assessing outcomes. The diagnosis of mental retardation, for example, requires deficits in both cognitive ability and adaptive behavior, occurring before age 18.

It is used to determine the type and amount of special assistance that people with disabilities may need. This assistance might be in the form of home-based support services for infants and children and their families, special education and vocational training for young people, and supported work or special living arrangements such as personal care attendants, group homes, or nursing homes for adults. Adaptive behavior assessments are often used in preschool and special education programs for determining eligibility, for program planning, and for assessing outcomes.

They can also be used to develop individual educational, rehabilitative, and treatment programs and can monitor progress during such a program. Finally, the VABS can be used in research in which the development and functioning of handicapped and non-handicapped individuals are investigated

Since adaptive behavior is a composite of various dimensions, the test measures five domains. These are the Communication, Daily Living Skills, Socialization, Motor Skills, and Maladaptive Behavior domains.

Originally, the content and scales of Vineland-II were organized within a three domain structure: Communication, Daily Living, and Socialization.

The Communication Domain evaluates the 1. receptive, 2. expressive, and 2. written communication skills of the child. The Daily Living Skills Domain measures 1. personal behavior as well as 2. domestic and 3. community interaction skills. The Socialization Domain covers 1. play and leisure time, 2. interpersonal relationships, and various 3. coping skills.

The Motor Skills Domain measures both gross and fine motor skills. The first four domains are key parts of the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale. But the last domain, Maladaptive Behavior, is an optional part of the assessment test. It is used when measuring obvious undesirable behaviors. For children who are younger than 6 years old, a different version of the VABS is used

This assessment tool is in the form of a questionnaire and it is administered in a semi-structured interview Select respondent, who knows the individual best, will give honest answers. Do not read items to respondent ask specific interview style questions.

Start point is determined by chronological age, may be lowered for suspected developmental delays. Maladaptive Behavior section does not require general questions just describe each behavior and ask whether individual always or never engage in such activities

2= usually or habitually performed with out help and reminder. 1= performed sometimes. 0= never performed. N/O= No opportunity. DK= dont know.

BASAL= 4 consecutive scores of 2. BASAL ITEM= highest item in highest set of 4 consecutive scores of 2 CEILING= 4 consecutive scores of 0. CEILING ITEM= lowest item in lowest set of 4 consecutive scores of 0.

Computing sub domain raw scores: All items below ceiling are considered as having scores of 0. All items above basal item are considered as having scores of 2. Transfer raw scores to summary page. Find v-scale score for sub domain, standard scores for domains and standard score for adaptive behavior composite. Locate PR, stanine, bands of errors, adaptive level, age equivalent and maladaptive level.

For STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES compare each domain score to the median domain score. Difference of 10 or more points qualifies as domain strength and weakness. For sub domain strengths and weakness compare each sub domain score to median sub domain score. Difference of 2 or more is considered sufficient.

 ADAPTIVE

LEVEL Descriptive categories to better communicate test results to parents and teachers. Categories are High, moderately high, Adequate, Moderately Low, Low.

MALADAPTIVE LEVEL Average; About same number of maladaptive behavior as normal children exhibit in standardization sample. Elevated; More maladaptive behavior than 84% of same age children in standardization sample. Critical ; Clinically significant range.

Tashas overall adaptive functioning is in the Moderately Low range, the results show a weakness in Socialization in comparison with her own average level of functioning. More information about her weakness in Socialization is needed, particularly information about her ability to form peer relationships and get along with others. Such information will provide support for hypothesis that her performance in the Interpersonal Relationships Subdomain is a major contributor to her Socialization weakness. In addition, further evolution is suggested in the area of Daily Living Skills. Finally, if Tashas maladaptive behavior continues at the same level or increases into the Clinically Significant level, consideration should be given for referral to a clinical psychologist or a child psychiatrist.

For more detail interpretation (page 70-73 in manual).

Split-half and test-retest reliability coefficients for the Composite scores are good, ranging from median values of .83 for the Motor Skills domain to .94 for the Composite. Interpreter coefficients are lower for the same measures: .62 to .78. When broken down by sub domains, the coefficients fluctuate a great deal and some are quite low.

Selected standardization subgroups were compared on the original Vineland, the ABIC, the K-ABC, the PPVT-R, and the VABS. These concurrent measures exhibited low to moderate correlations, with generally higher coefficients obtained when the comparisons were made on subjects with handicapping conditions.

Limitations of the test Due to the nature of its administration, in which adult observers, such as the parent and the teacher, answer the items, this assessment test is used to assess the adaptive behaviors only of individuals who are 18 years old and younger. In cases of individuals who are older and whose social functioning abilities have already been identified as below developmental expectations, the VABS can be utilized.

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