Vb-mapp Assessment Course

Lesson 1 • Structure of the VB-MAPP Tool

Maps all five VB‑MAPP components—Milestones, Barriers, Transition, Task Analysis, and IEP linkage—and explains their interrelationships. Students navigate the package confidently, recognizing how each part informs the others for comprehensive program development.

Lesson 2 • VB-MAPP Overview and Purpose

Introduces VB‑MAPP's design rationale, target population, and evidence‑based foundations, explaining the learner characteristics it addresses. Students learn when and why to select this tool over alternatives, considering its alignment with ABA goals.

Lesson 3 • Verbal Behavior Theory Essentials

Covers Skinner's analysis of verbal behavior and operant categories, detailing how mand, tact, intraverbal, echoic, and listener functions interrelate. Connects this theory directly to VB‑MAPP's assessment logic and instructional planning.

Lesson 4 • Ethical and Professional Standards

Addresses assessor qualifications, informed consent, data confidentiality, and professional boundaries. Students apply rigorous ethics, including cultural competence, record keeping, and compliance with legal and organizational standards.

Lesson 1 • Pre-Assessment Preparation

Covers material preparation, environment setup, and learner history review. Students complete all pre-assessment steps before beginning administration.

Lesson 2 • Completing the Scoring Protocol

Guides accurate completion of all VB‑MAPP scoring forms and summary sheets, emphasizing correct data entry, scoring conventions, and verification steps. Students produce comprehensive, error‑free assessment records that meet quality and compliance standards.

Lesson 3 • Inter-Rater Reliability Procedures

Establishes methods for achieving and verifying inter-rater agreement. Students calculate IOA and resolve scoring discrepancies systematically.

Lesson 4 • Naturalistic Observation Protocols

Teaches structured observation methods for capturing spontaneous verbal behavior. Students score naturalistic samples with the same rigor as probes.

Lesson 1 • Tact Milestones Levels 2 and 3

Addresses advanced tacts such as listener‑responded feature‑feature comparisons (LRFFC), categorization, and private‑event tacts, emphasizing discriminative stimulus control and generalization. Students consistently score these complex repertoires across novel and familiar stimuli.

Lesson 2 • Mand Milestones Level 1

Teaches scoring criteria for early mand behaviors including gestures and vocalizations. Students distinguish scorable mands from non-functional communication.

Lesson 3 • Tact Milestones Level 1

Provides early tact scoring for objects, actions, and features, stressing listener control, stimulus function, and response selection. Students differentiate true tacts from echoics or prompts, noting spontaneous vs. cue‑dependent performances.

Lesson 4 • Interpreting Mand and Tact Profiles

Translates mand and tact scores into clear instructional priorities by linking operant deficits to teaching objectives. Students generate data‑driven recommendations, building individualized programs that balance mand acquisition with tact expansion.

Lesson 1 • Listener Responding Level 1

Covers early listener skills including name response and simple instructions. Students score listener behavior distinct from prompted compliance.

Lesson 2 • Play and Social Behavior Milestones

Covers independent play, social play, and peer interaction milestone scoring. Students assess social repertoires within naturalistic observation.

Lesson 3 • Visual Perceptual and Matching Skills

Teaches scoring of match-to-sample, sorting, and visual discrimination items. Students connect VP/MTS scores to pre-academic skill development.

Lesson 4 • Linking Listener and VP Scores to Goals

Translates listener and visual‑perceptual (VP/MTS) scores into specific IEP and program targets, guiding curriculum planning. Students create clear, actionable goals aligned with learner needs and progress monitoring.

Lesson 1 • Social and Communication Barriers

Covers scoring of deficits in social interaction, joint attention, and spontaneous communication. Students link barrier scores to social programming needs.

Lesson 2 • Interpreting and Prioritizing Barriers

Translates barrier scores into prioritized intervention targets by evaluating each barrier’s impact on learner performance. Students rank barriers by severity and functional relevance, then generate treatment recommendations that address the most critical obstacles first.

Lesson 3 • Instructional Barriers Scoring

Addresses prompt dependency, scrolling, and motivational barriers to learning. Students identify instructional variables that suppress skill acquisition.

Lesson 4 • Introduction to the Barriers Assessment

Explains the purpose, structure, and 24 barrier categories of the Barriers Assessment. Students understand how barriers interact with milestone performance.

Lesson 1 • Group and Classroom Readiness Skills

Covers scoring of group instruction readiness and classroom behavior milestones. Students connect scores to educational placement decisions.

Lesson 2 • Intraverbal Milestones Levels 2 and 3

Addresses complex intraverbal skills like categorization, WH‑question answering, and multi‑turn conversation. Students learn to score advanced verbal chains accurately, evaluating stimulus control, response latency, and maintaining topic relevance across varied prompts and contexts.

Lesson 3 • Social Interaction Milestones

Teaches scoring of peer-directed mands, social tacts, and group interaction. Students assess social verbal behavior in structured and naturalistic settings.

Lesson 4 • Intraverbal and Social Profile Analysis

Translates intraverbal and social scores into programming priorities. Students generate comprehensive verbal behavior profiles from milestone data.

Lesson 1 • Educational Placement Recommendations

Covers using VB-MAPP data to support least restrictive environment decisions. Students justify placement recommendations with assessment evidence.

Lesson 2 • Linking VB-MAPP Data to IEP Goals

Teaches translation of milestone and barrier scores into measurable IEP objectives. Students write goals that are directly traceable to assessment data.

Lesson 3 • Transition Assessment Structure

Explains the 18 areas of the Transition Assessment and their scoring criteria. Students understand how transition scores predict educational placement success.

Lesson 4 • Scoring Transition Assessment Areas

Provides hands-on scoring practice across all 18 transition areas. Students achieve scoring accuracy through structured practice and feedback.

Lesson 1 • Designing Verbal Behavior Programs

Covers translating VB-MAPP priorities into structured verbal behavior curricula. Students sequence instructional targets using assessment data as the guide.

Lesson 2 • Selecting Teaching Procedures

Matches evidence-based teaching procedures to specific VB-MAPP target areas. Students justify procedure selection with assessment and behavioral data.

Lesson 3 • Evaluating Program Effectiveness

Establishes data review cycles to evaluate whether programs match assessment-identified needs. Students adjust programs based on ongoing data analysis.

Lesson 4 • Analyzing Complete VB-MAPP Profiles

Teaches holistic interpretation of milestone, barrier, and transition data together. Students identify patterns and priorities across all assessment components.