Testing, Testing....

Will this be the most thrilling blog you read all year? Not by a stretch. I can pretty much guarantee that a blog about TRICARE-required testing is not spellbinding reading. But you can save yourself some stress and confusion by understanding what the testing requirements are, when you are required to complete them, and the best way to approach each one.

There are two basic categories of testing. Testing required yearly and testing required every 6 months.

Let’s break each one down in a little bit more detail.

Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales (Vineland-3)

• Ages: All

• Format: online questionnaire, child-specific link sent to your email on by “Q-Global”

• Frequency: Yearly, usually due at the time of an assessment (which is why we send the link around the time the BCBA is beginning the 6-month assessment)

• Length: 241 items

• Set aside: at least an hour

• Scored and reported (and feel free to direct questions to): Dr. Kaminski

• Why the results are important: The results from the Vineland are an indication of how well skills and behaviors taught in ABA are being generalized to meaningful activities in the child’s daily life. TRICARE uses this information to evaluate whether skills and behaviors taught during ABA therapy can effectively extend beyond one-one sessions.

• Description: The Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales (VABS) (Vineland-3) is a standardized assessment tool that measures the child's independent display of skills needed in normal daily living. Adaptive functioning is affected by three basic skill sets, Conceptual (including reading, number, money, time, and communication skills), Social, and Practical Life Skills. Adaptive behaviors include real-life skills such as grooming, getting dressed, avoiding danger, safe food handling, following school rules, managing money, cleaning, and making friends. Adaptive behavior also includes the ability to work, practice social skills, and take personal responsibility. The results can take into account not just age, but also whether the child has ASD, which makes the results more meaningful with respect to level of functioning among children and adolescents with ASD.

Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS-2)

• Ages: 2.5 years to adult

• Format: online questionnaire, child-specific link sent to your email on by “bkaminski@greenboxaba.com”

• Frequency: Yearly, usually due at the time of an assessment (which is why we send the link around the time the BCBA is beginning the 6-month assessment)

• Length: 65 items

• Set aside: 15-20 minutes

• Scored and reported (and feel free to direct questions to): Dr. Kaminski

• Why the results are important: The results from the SRS are an indication of how well skills and behaviors taught in ABA are being generalized to social interactions in the child’s daily life. TRICARE uses this information to evaluate whether skills and behaviors taught during ABA therapy can effectively extend beyond one-one sessions.

• Description: The Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) identifies social impairment associated with autism spectrum disorders and quantifies its severity. It is one of the most widely used measures related to social impairments associated with ASD. In addition to a Total score reflecting severity of social deficits in the autism spectrum, the SRS-2 generates scores for five Treatment subscales: Social Awareness, Social Cognition, Social Communication, Social Motivation, and Restricted Interests and Repetitive Behavior.

Pervasive Developmental Disorder Behavior Inventory (PDDBI)

• Ages: 2.0 – 18 y 5m

• Format: online questionnaire, child-specific link sent to your email by “No Reply” (at parinc.com)

• Frequency: Every 6 months, due at the time of an assessment

• Length: 188 items

• Set aside: 30 minutes

• Scored and reported (and feel free to direct questions to): Your BCBA

• Why the results are important: The results from the PDDBI are the pri