The American Association on Mental Deficiency-Adaptive Behavior Scale: Allowing Credit for Alternative Means of Communication

Instructions for Part One of the American Association on Mental Deficiency-adaptive behavior scale (ABS) were revised to allow credit for alternative methods of communication, such as sign language. Braille, and fingerspelling. This revision and the standard 1974 American Association on Mental Deficiency-adaptive behavior scale were completed by two independent raters for 134 deaf-blind individuals between the ages of 3 and 30 years. A t-test analysis was completed in order to determine whether sensory-impaired individuals were penalized for using alternative communication. Results indicated that awarding credit for alternative means of communication had no effect on nine of the ten ABS domains. However, on Domain IV (Language Development) all item scores were higher, with eight of the nine items attaining significance in the predicted direction.