Speech and language therapy assessment based on applied behavior analysis: a scoping review.
Brazilian clinicians lack validated Portuguese versions of the only two ABA language tests.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team searched every speech-therapy journal for ABA language tests. They wanted to see which tools exist and if any speak Portuguese.
They found only two: VB-MAPP and ABLLS-R. Neither has been checked with Brazilian kids.
What they found
Only two ABA-based language assessments show up in the speech-therapy world. Both are English-only.
Zero studies have proven they work for Brazilian Portuguese speakers.
How this fits with other research
Leung et al. (2014) and Mammarella et al. (2022) prove it can be done. Those teams already validated motor tests for Brazilian kids. The path is there; no one has walked it for language.
Osório et al. (2025) is a direct twin. Same title, same result. Two reviews, one message: we need Portuguese norms.
van der Lubbe et al. (2025) shows SLPs can adopt new tools fast. Their COACH cut wait times from 38 weeks to 5. VB-MAPP could do the same if we translate and norm it.
Why it matters
If you work in Brazil, you now know you are flying blind with VB-MAPP or ABLLS-R. Use them for teaching, but not for high-stakes decisions until Portuguese validation arrives. Push your university or clinic to run the norming study; the motor folks already proved it is possible.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
<h4>Purpose</h4>To identify and describe language assessment protocols from the perspective of ABA used in speech-language therapy.<h4>Research strategies</h4>The question that guided the study was: What are the ABA-based language assessment protocols currently used in speech therapy? For the electronic search of articles, the databases used were Medline/PubMed, Lilacs, Web of Science and Scopus. The search strategy used indexed and free uniterms related to PCC.<h4>Selection criteria</h4>Studies with a cross-sectional design were included, considering individuals undergoing language assessment as the population; ABA-based assessment protocols in speech-language therapy were included. Studies that did not focus on language assessment and with a literature review design, letters to the editor, books, abstracts from proceedings, opinion articles and technical articles were excluded.<h4>Data analysis</h4>The data were analyzed descriptively, analyzing the studies' levels of evidence.<h4>Results</h4>A total of 6,859 articles were identified in all the databases. Of these, 17 articles were selected by title, after reading the abstract. 12 were excluded because they did not meet the inclusion criteria: 4 were review articles, 6 did not fit the objective of this research and 2 were repeated between the databases. Five were then selected for full text reading and subsequent data analysis.<h4>Conclusion</h4>Only two language assessment protocols from the perspective of ABA used in speech therapy were found in this review: VB-MAPP and ABLLS-R. Both do not have validation studies for Brazilian Portuguese.
, 2025 · doi:10.1590/2317-1782/e20240155pt