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The Convergent Validity of the PEAK-E-PA and Two Common Assessments of Language Development: The ABLLS-R and the TOLD 1:4

Journal of Behavioral Education volume 31, pages 699–717 (2022)Cite this article

Abstract

The study evaluated the convergent validity of the PEAK-E-PA and two common assessments of language development used in educational and clinical settings: the ABLLS-R and the TOLD-I:4. The PEAK-E-PA provides a measure of a participant’s ability to derive arbitrary stimulus relations, and may therefore provide a more complex analysis of language functioning than traditional behavior analytic language assessments. The results of the present study support a strong, significant relationship between the PEAK-E-PA and the ABLLS-R (r = 0.73, p < 0.01), but the obtained coefficient falls within the lower range of prior psychometric evaluations of behavioral language assessments. The results suggest a stronger relationship between the PEAK-E-PA the TOLD-I:4 (r = 0.94, p < 0.01), supporting the use of the PEAK-E-PA with individuals with autism who have progressed beyond the elementary verbal operant skills assessed for in traditional behavioral assessments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Psychology Department, Missouri State University, Springfield, Missouri State, USA

    Jordan Belisle

  2. Southern Illinois University, Carbondle, USA

    Mark R. Dixon, Bridget E. Munoz & Kate Fricke-Steuber

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  1. Jordan Belisle
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  2. Mark R. Dixon
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  3. Bridget E. Munoz
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  4. Kate Fricke-Steuber
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Correspondence to Jordan Belisle.

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The second author received small royalties from the sale of the PEAK Relational Training System.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Mark K. Dixon receives small royalties from sales of the PEAK curriculum

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Belisle, J., Dixon, M.R., Munoz, B.E. et al. The Convergent Validity of the PEAK-E-PA and Two Common Assessments of Language Development: The ABLLS-R and the TOLD 1:4. J Behav Educ 31, 699–717 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10864-020-09426-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10864-020-09426-x

Keywords

  • PEAK
  • Stimulus equivalence
  • Assessment
  • Education