Assessment & Research

Extending abbreviated error‐correction assessments to adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities

Braren et al. (2022) · Behavioral Interventions 2022
★ The Verdict

Quick error-correction probes often miss the best teaching fix for adults with ID/DD—always verify with the full test.

✓ Read this if BCBAs writing skill-acquisition plans for adults in day-hab or residential settings.
✗ Skip if Clinicians who only work with verbal, typically developing adults.

01Research in Context

01

What this study did

Braren’s team tested a 10-minute error-correction probe on four adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities.

The goal was to see if the short probe would pick the same teaching fix as the full 30-minute version.

Each adult got both tests on the same day while the researchers counted correct responses.

02

What they found

Only one adult’s short probe matched the full test pick.

The other three adults got different error-correction plans depending on which test they took.

Speed of answering stayed the same in both versions, so the quick test did not save time by cutting responding.

03

How this fits with other research

DeLeon et al. (2001) also tried a faster health screen for adults with ID and found it caught missed medical issues.

Their positive result seems to clash with Braren’s mixed findings, but the tasks differ: medical checklists are simpler than choosing a teaching procedure.

Davison et al. (1995) warned that adult programs already skip research-based steps; relying on a quick probe could widen that gap.

Together the papers say: brief tools help only after you prove they pick the same outcome as the long form.

04

Why it matters

If you run a 5-minute error-correction trial in day-hab, do not trust it as the final word. Run the full assessment before you lock in prompting, modeling, or repeated practice. One wrong pick can waste weeks of therapy and learner patience.

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Run the full 30-minute error-correction assessment before you write the prompt-fade plan—no shortcuts until data match.

02At a glance

Intervention
other
Design
single case other
Sample size
4
Population
intellectual disability, developmental delay
Finding
mixed

03Original abstract

AbstractWe extended Carroll et al. (2018) by evaluating the predictive validity of an abbreviated error‐correction assessment (abbreviated assessment) for four adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities. One abbreviated assessment and one validation assessment were conducted for each participant. We used a ranking procedure similar to Carroll et al. to analyze results of the abbreviated assessment and identify the most efficient error‐correction procedure (ECP) for each participant. Results showed high correspondence between the ECP identified during the abbreviated assessment and the most efficient ECP identified during the validation assessment for one of four participants, and moderate‐to‐low correspondence for the remaining three participants. Each participant's average rate of responding during each ECP was comparable across abbreviated and validation assessments, so we conducted statistical analyses to evaluate the strength of relation (Pearson's r) between assessment results. Overall, there was high correspondence between measures taken during both assessments for all participants.

Behavioral Interventions, 2022 · doi:10.1002/bin.1900