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Transition and Vocational Assessments

Conducting assessments that are related to transition needs or services is an important and necessary consideration for students identified with or suspected of having autism spectrum disorder (ASD), as with any disability identified under special education law.

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Overview

Conducting assessments that are related to transition needs or services is an important and necessary consideration for students identified with or suspected of having autism spectrum disorder (ASD), as with any disability identified under special education law. Provisions of IDEA (2004) require the Admission, Review, and Dismissal (ARD)/IEP committee to address students’ transition needs and services by the age of 16. If transition assessment, either formal or informal, is needed, a variety of approaches are available for consideration. The most commonly administered assessments address student interests (topics, subjects, or fields of interest as they relate to vocations and avocations); aptitudes (job-related knowledge and abilities); or preferences (e.g., type of setting or work environment preferred, working individually or alone, working inside or outside, active/physical or sedentary work). An additional area of assessment, self-determination, has become increasingly important, as IDEA has emphasized the importance of student involvement in transition planning and decision-making. Moreover, these concepts have been supported by research and linked to important outcomes: individuals with higher self-determination scores reported higher perceptions of life satisfaction. Thus, self-determination focused services and supports could be an effective method of promoting quality of life by encouraging more self-determination acquisition and opportunities for young adults with ASD as they transition to adulthood (White, Flanagan, & Nadig, 2018).

This section of TARGET includes a review of transition-related assessments that may be used for students who have or are suspected of having ASD. Included are standardized norm-referenced measures, as well as criterion- and curriculum-referenced tools. In addition to the areas of assessment mentioned above, other, more in-depth assessment processes may be required, depending on individual needs. Examples of other assessments include, but are not limited to, informal occupational exploration through school-based opportunities or hands-on community-based experiences; assessment of work behaviors; situational work assessments (assessing individual’s competencies in performing essential job duties of specific competitive employment positions); work sampling; work tolerance and functional capacity assessment; motor skill and manual dexterity testing; assessing assistive technology needs and accommodations required within a workplace; assessing postsecondary training and workplace accommodations; and independent living skills assessments. Adaptive behavior assessment results and any relevant implications should also be considered when assessing an individual’s transition needs.

Included within this section of the TARGET is summary information about the following assessments for transition:

  • Air Self-Determination Scale
  • ARC’s Self-Determination Scale- Adolescent Version (SDS)
  • Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB)
  • Brigance Transition Skills Inventory (TSI)
  • Career Ability Placement Survey (CAPS)
  • Career Orientation Placement and Evaluation Survey (COPES)
  • Career Occupational Preference System (COPSystem-3C)
  • Career Occupational Preference System – Picture Interest Inventory (COPS-PIC)
  • Community-Based Functional Skills Assessment for Transition-Aged Youth with ASD
  • Prevocational Assessment Screen (PAS)
  • Reading-Free Vocational Interest Inventory – Second Edition (R-FVII:2)
  • Skills Assessment Module (SAM)
  • Standard SDS and Student SDS (formerly Self-Directed Search – Fifth Edition [SDS-5])
  • TEACCH Transition Assessment Profile (TTAP) – Second Edition
  • VOC-TIES and Career Development Plan

A few researchers have investigated psychometric properties of some of the instruments included in this section. For example, Chou et al. (2017a) found that both the AIR Self-Determination Scale and the ARC Self-Determination Scale showed reliability and validity in the measurement of global self-determination in students with ASD. Later, White et al. (2018) found that the SDS to the AIR Self-Determination Scale are highly correlated, and that the use of both measures concurrently may be helpful in terms of identifying goals that promote overall quality of life in young adults.

In terms of research investigating patterns of instrument results among persons with ASD, Chou and colleagues’ (2017b) study with the ARC Self-Determination Scale found that profiles of self-determination differ between students with ASD, ID, and LD. Specifically, students with ASD had significantly lower levels of autonomy compared with students in either other group; levels of self-regulation in the ASD group lower than among students with LD but similar to those with ID; and students with ASD, like those with ID, had significantly lower levels of self-realization than students with LD.