When you begin the journey of autism care, the roadmap can often feel blurry. You might notice small things about your child: a reluctance to wear certain fabrics, a unique way of playing with toys, or a struggle to communicate needs that you can’t quite piece together.
You sense your child needs support, and you want to do whatever is in your power to be there for them.
At ABS Kids, we believe that understanding your child’s unique perspective is the first step toward helping them thrive. This understanding starts with a comprehensive assessment.
For many families, the word “assessment” sounds clinical and intimidating. It implies a test that one can pass or fail. But at ABS Kids, our assessments are different. They are not about judgment; they are about discovery. They are designed to help us partner with you to connect the dots between your child’s behaviors and their underlying needs.
If you are preparing for an assessment or just curious about the process, this guide will walk you through what we do, why we do it, and how it often leads to those powerful “Aha!” moments where everything finally makes sense.
More Than Just a Test: The Purpose of Assessment
An assessment at ABS Kids is a comprehensive evaluation performed by a psychologist, post-doctoral fellow, or licensed psychological associate (LPA). Its primary goal is to identify your child’s specific strengths and the “growth edges” where we can partner with you to help them reach their full potential.
You may have already encountered screening tools, such as the M-Chat-R Online Screening Tool. These are excellent first steps that indicate a need for further review. Our assessment goes much deeper than a checklist. We don’t just look for a diagnosis; we look at the whole child.
A Comprehensive Approach
An autism diagnosis provides a clinical framework, but it is just one piece of the puzzle. To create a treatment plan that truly helps your child in their daily life, we utilize tools like the ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis) assessment and functional living skills assessments (such as the AFLS) to gather a complete picture.
The process typically involves:
- Parent Interviews: Because you are the expert on your child.
- Direct Observation: Watching how your child plays, communicates, and interacts with their environment.
- Skill Analysis: Determining which developmental milestones have been met and which need support.
The ABA Assessment: Unlocking the “Why”
The core of our intake process involves the ABA Assessment. This evaluation looks at behavior in a very specific way: by examining the function behind it.
Many parents come to us saying, “My child throws a tantrum every time we get ready for school.” In an ABA assessment, we dig deeper. Is the tantrum happening because the transition is too fast? Is it because the sensory experience of putting on shoes is painful? Or is it simply a way to communicate, “I’m not ready yet”?
The “WOW” Moment: Decoding Communication
One of the most common realizations parents have during this process involves communication.
The Scenario: Your child grabs your hand and physically places it on a toy or a door handle without looking at you or speaking.
The Insight: Before the assessment, you might have thought your child was just being demanding or quiet. Through the assessment, we learn that this is “hand-leading,” a tool used by children who haven’t yet mastered verbal requests or pointing. They are communicating; they just need help building the bridge to more functional language.
The Scenario: Your child repeats lines from their favorite cartoon over and over, sometimes out of context.
The Insight: This is called echolalia. It’s not just “noise.” Often, a child uses a script from a show because the emotion in that scene matches how they feel right now. The assessment helps us recognize this as a valid attempt at connection, not just a behavior to be reduced.
Assessing Functional Living Skills (AFLS)
While academic skills are important, our assessments also focus heavily on “adaptive” or “functional living” skills. This is where we look at the practical, everyday tasks that allow a child to be independent. This often involves the Assessment of Functional Living Skills (AFLS).
We look at areas including:
- Basic Living Skills: Toileting, dressing, grooming, and eating.
- Home Skills: Helping with simple chores and safety within the home.
- Community Participation: Safety awareness in parking lots and navigating public spaces.
The “WOW” Moment: Identifying Skill Gaps vs. Behavior
Families often confuse a lack of skill with a lack of compliance. The assessment clarifies the difference.
The Scenario: You ask your child to “Go get your shoes and put them on,” but they wander off or play with a toy instead.
The Insight: You might feel frustrated, thinking your child is ignoring you. However, the assessment might reveal that your child has a deficit in “multi-step processing.” They heard “Go,” but lost the rest of the instruction. Or, they may lack the fine motor strength to manipulate the shoe, making the task feel impossible. Once we identify that this is a skill gap, not a behavior problem, we can teach it, and the frustration on both sides often melts away.
Determining the Right Level of Support
Once the assessment is complete, we use the data to recommend a treatment plan tailored to your child’s needs. This generally falls into two categories, as outlined in our care models:
1. Focused ABA Therapy
This is typically for children (often over age seven) who need help with a specific set of targeted behaviors.
Goal: To tackle distinct challenges like safety skills, sleep routines, or reducing aggression.
Why it helps: It allows older children to gain independence in the community without requiring a full-time therapy schedule.
2. Intensive ABA Therapy
This is usually recommended for children under age seven or those with significant behavioral needs.
Goal: Comprehensive early intervention addressing communication, social skills, self-care, and learning readiness.
Why it helps: Research shows that intensive early intervention gives children the highest probability of reaching their long-term potential. It helps build the foundational “learning to learn” skills that serve them for the rest of their lives.
Your Role: Partners in Care
At ABS Kids, we practice family-centered care. This means your insights during the assessment are just as valuable as our clinical data. We know that “Work in WOW” isn’t just about the breakthroughs your child makes in our centers; it’s about the breakthroughs that happen in your living room.
By understanding the assessment process, you move from being an observer of your child’s challenges to being an active partner in their solutions. You stop asking, “Why are they doing this?” and start saying, “I see what they need, and I know how to help.”
Ready to Find Answers?
If you are seeing behaviors in your child that you can’t quite figure out, or if you have a diagnosis and aren’t sure where to turn next, we are here to help.
An assessment is the beginning of a roadmap tailored specifically for your family. It is the first step toward those “WOW” moments where your child’s potential becomes clear.
Contact ABS Kids today to schedule your assessment and start your journey.
About ABS Kids: ABS Kids partners with children and families to deliver high-quality, compassionate applied behavior analysis (ABA) therapy at home, in schools, and in our centers. From diagnosis to ongoing treatment, we support children with autism every step of the way. We proudly provide ABA therapy in California, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Utah. Join our team to combine purpose with professional growth.
