Adaptive Behavior Assessments: An Important Tool for Neurodivergent Individuals

Adaptive behavior assessments highlight many important facets of the neurodivergent experience. For example, they highlight three main points that can have a tremendous impact on an autistic child’s life. These are: 

• The skills that matter most to the neurodivergent individual 
• Their strengths 
• The support they’ll need to thrive in a variety of settings  

At the same time, adaptive behavior assessments like the Adaptive Behavior Assessment System, Third Edition(ABAS®-3) provide insight into the person’s daily functioning and social skills. Using the ABAS-3 to learn more about “the inner experience of autism” is a good neurodiversity affirming tool (Ratto et al., 2023). 

Which Areas Does ABAS-3 Cover?

An adaptive behavior assessment, which comes after an autism assessment, can supply data in many key areas. These include: 

• Interests that spark connection, passion, and curiosity
• Coping strategies and skills that assist or hinder
• Challenges and frustrations at school, home, or work
• Communication abilities, including patterns
• Routines that make it easier for every day functioning 
• Disparate mismatches between neurodivergent people and their surroundings
• Events that cause sensory reactions or strong emotions 
• Emotions, along with skills for managing them
• Social experiences and relationships 

ABAS-3 and Sensory Reactions 

Let’s take a closer look at events that cause sensory reactions. There are at least seven primary sensory categories, and no two experiences of autism are alike (CBC Radio Staff, 2015). Therefore, one person may be extremely sensitive to smells and sounds, while another has challenges with lights and touch. 

Common sensory triggers include: 

• Lights – Fluorescent, flickering, or bright lights 
• Sounds – Multiple conversations, unexpected sounds, loud noises 
• Smells – Body odors, cleaning products, food odors, strong perfumes
• Touch – Unexpected touch, certain clothing textures, crowded places, messy play 
• Movement (vestibular) – Being swung, unfamiliar motions, rocking
• Tastes – Textures that are slimy or too soft, strong flavors 
• Internal states (interoception) – Pain, hunger, feeling too cold/hot, fatigue 

Typical reactions to feeling overstimulated include: 

• Avoidance – Avoiding crowds, refusing certain clothes/food, covering eyes/ears
• Fight/flight/freeze – Running away, meltdowns, shutdowns, freezing 
• Seeking – Seeking out intense input such as specific textures (water) or deep pressure
• Panic/anxiety – Rapid breathing, increased heart rate, fear 

With ABAS-3, a neurodivergent person can identify events that cause sensory reactions in advance. By knowing what their sensory triggers are, they can take steps to steer clear of them in the future. Or, if they must encounter these triggers, ABAS-3 can help them learn how to better handle their sensory reactions.

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