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Using the BASC-3 Flex Monitor to assist in the diagnostic process

Oftentimes effectively supporting students with behavioral issues begins with gathering the data via assessment. The BASC-3 system includes very comprehensive and useful measurement tools including behavioral rating scales and a Behavior Intervention Guide. Working in step with the rating scales, the Behavior Intervention Guide provides psychologists and educators with evidence-based strategies which can be implemented to support students in their area of need.

The BASC3-3 Flex Monitor is a web-based tool that allows psychologists to select specific items from a test bank aligned with the BASC-3 behavioral rating scale. Using the Flex Monitor can further inform psychologists whether a child is at risk for specific clinical issues like hyperactivity or depression and can be used to augment the diagnostic process.

Sample assessment, diagnosis, and intervention plan using BASC-3 components

Based on her teacher’s and mother’s ratings of her behaviors, Sarah, a third-grade student, is at risk for attention concerns. Using the BASC-3 Intervention Guide, Sarah’s team can suggest interventions such as a daily behavior report card or self-management techniques that would be useful at home and school alike.

After several weeks her team will monitor her progress to see if the interventions are effective — or if they need to be tweaked. The BASC-3 Flex Monitor can be customized to the needs of individual students in order to better track the effectiveness of interventions. In Sarah’s case, her psychologist can select 10 or 12 key items related to attentional problems that can represent a targeted evaluation of her interventions. As with the full rating scale, her progress monitoring results are compared to a normative sample. If Sarah’s attention is improving, they can continue with the strategies that are working, or adjust her interventions and monitor her progress again in a few weeks.

Webinar: Learn more about the using the BASC-3 Flex Monitor!

Improve the Efficacy of Progress Monitoring by Focusing on Student Specific Needs with the BASC-3 Flex Monitor

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Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are a complex group of related disabilities marked by differences in communication and socialization, a limited range of interests, and the presence of repetitive behaviors (NASP, 2010). Students with ASD often include the following characteristic:

• Cognitive. Differences in the development of traditional cognitive skills, with incongruencies between development in processing visual/nonverbal information and rote learning with delays in developing skills in processing verbal information and a difference in the learning and use of abstract information;
  
• Social skills. Poor development of traditional social skills and rule governed behavior;
• Communication. Differences in responding to quickly presented verbal information, understanding complex commands, and expressing wants and needs;
  
• Organization/self-direction. Organizational abilities do not conform to traditional classroom practices. Often has difficulty screening out distractions, completing activities independently, initiating work activities, organizing free time, stopping one activity and moving on to the next, being flexible, shifting attention to a new focus.

The Group Autism Speaks

Provides Excellent resources to assist in the Support of Children with ASD, they also provide information and statistics and information about Autism Research.

Here are some of the data and information they have recently collected.

• In 2020, the CDC reported that approximately 1 in 54 children in the U.S. is diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), according to 2016 data.
  • 1 in 34 boys identified with autism
  • 1 in 144 girls identified with autism
• 31% of children with ASD have an intellectual disability (intelligence quotient [IQ] <70), 25% are in the borderline range (IQ 71–85), and 44% have IQ scores in the average to above average range (i.e., IQ >85).
• Autism affects all ethnic and socioeconomic groups, but minority groups tend to be diagnosed later and less often.
• Early intervention affords the best opportunity to support healthy development and deliver benefits across the lifespan.
• There is no medical detection for autism.

Evaluation procedures and assessments like the Vineland 3 continue to assist in the identification of students who need support for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), increasing its prevalence and requiring educators to develop practices that allow them to support more students.

In order to guide our efforts we have worked with Special Educators, surveying them, in order to discover the challenges they are facing in supporting these students.

They indicated that they need more and better trained coworkers, Professional Development and Resources and instructional programs/materials.

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