These answers draw in part from “Meaningful Outcomes Made Measurable: An Introduction to the MOTAS” by Anika Hoybjerg, BCBA-D, LBA (BehaviorLive), and extend it with peer-reviewed research from our library of 27,900+ ABA research articles. Clinical framing, BACB ethics code references, and cross-links below are synthesized by Behaviorist Book Club.
View the original presentation →The MOTAS, the Meaningful Outcomes Treatment and Assessment Scale, is an assessment that makes meaningful, socially valid outcomes measurable in behavior-analytic services. It emphasizes outcomes that matter in daily life instead of isolated skill counts.
MOTAS stands for the Meaningful Outcomes Treatment and Assessment Scale. It is used to select and monitor goals that reflect socially significant, functional change for the learner.
The MOTAS was developed collaboratively with speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, and neurodivergent practitioners, giving it an interdisciplinary and neurodiversity-informed foundation.
The MOTAS-EL is the early learner version of the assessment, applying the same meaningful-outcomes framework to younger or earlier-stage learners so teams can track socially significant progress from the start.
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Meaningful Outcomes Made Measurable: An Introduction to the MOTAS — Anika Hoybjerg · 1 BACB General CEUs · $20
Take This Course →We extended these answers with research from our library — dig into the peer-reviewed studies behind the topic, in plain-English summaries written for BCBAs.
280 research articles with practitioner takeaways
279 research articles with practitioner takeaways
258 research articles with practitioner takeaways
All behavior-analytic intervention is individualized. The information on this page is for educational purposes and does not constitute clinical advice. Treatment decisions should be informed by the best available published research, individualized assessment, and obtained with the informed consent of the client or their legal guardian. Behavior analysts are responsible for practicing within the boundaries of their competence and adhering to the BACB Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts.