Main findings related to the reliability of the Lithuanian version of the VB-MAPP assessment

Abstract

Despite a strong need for reliable instruments dedicated to the assessment of the domains of social skills and language in children with autism spectrum disorders, few assessments are available in the Lithuanian language. At the same, very little research is available in the assessments’ adaptation field. The problems may occur from cultural and linguistic differences during the translation and adaptation of the Assessments from the source to the target culture. The professionals lack valid instruments in the Lithuanian language dedicated to the functional assessment of the social communication and language skills of children with autism spectrum disorder. English-speaking countries implement M.L. Sundberg’s „The Verbal Behavior Milestones Assessment and Placement Program: VB-MAPP for this purpose, and it is also translated into eight other languages (Sundberg., 2014). In order to check the reliability of the Lithuanian version of the VB-MAPP, the data of 75 children in the age range from 2 to 6 years, diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, were collected and quantified using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). The statistical analysis revealed that Cronbach’s alfa for the Milestones scale is 0.992; for the Barriers scale is 0.963; for the Transition scale is 0.970. This confirms that the Milestones scale is reliable for language and social skills assessment of children with autism spectrum disorder, the Barriers scale is reliable for teaching and learning barriers assessment of children with autism spectrum disorder and the Transition scale is reliable for the assessment of common skills and learning possibilities of children with autism spectrum disorder. Cronbach’s alfa value was also high in the Milestones and Transition subscales. After applying the Mann-Whitney criterion to non-parametric variables and the Student's t-test to parametric variables, the Milestones, Barriers, and Transition scales, respectively, in the studied sample, the mean ranks of girls are slightly higher than those of boys, but in no case a statistically significant difference was found between the genders (in all cases p>0.05). In other words, the scales and subscales of the VB-MAPP Assessment are reliable for assessing language and social skills in both girls and boys with autism spectrum disorder. Also, in the sample of this study, statistically significant differences were found in the scores of language and social skills, teaching/learning barriers, general abilities, and abilities to learn assessment between the age groups of 2-4 years and 4-6 years of children with autism spectrum disorder. Older children (4-6 years) scored higher on the Milestones, Barriers, and Transition scales and subscales than younger children, which is consistent with the learning of new skills as children grow. This article will represent the VB-MAPP’s reliability values of the Lithuanian version including different methodological steps while focusing on the reliability of VB-MAPP scales.