If you’ve been in the field of ABA, or a closely related field, it is highly probable that you’ve heard of the VB-MAPP. The Verbal Behavior Milestones Assessment and Placement Program (VB-MAPP) is a criterion-referenced assessment tool, curriculum guide, and skill tracking system often used by behavior analysts when working with the autism population or other individuals who demonstrate language delays.
A list of popular Autism & ABA curricula
Written by Emaley McCulloch
Did you know, the VB-MAPP was created to be used as a curriculum guide, rather than an actual curriculum? This incredibly valuable tool was designed to help create effective goals and targets that address individualized language, social skills, and learning readiness following the assessment of the learner’s skills. That is, as clinicians we use this assessment to identify the skills that are already in repertoire, while simultaneously making informed decisions on the noted areas of deficit—or emerging skills—followed by supplemental programs to teach each learner with specific goals in mind. Creating program targets and protocols that list milestones and tasks verbatim was not the intention of the creators of the VB-MAPP. A learner’s scope and sequence of learning milestones and skills need to be individualized and are not often linear in nature.
What if we told you that Motivity has already generated skill acquisition programs that address the VB-MAPP Milestones? The programs address the milestones and tasks at multiple angles and across levels and verbal operants. This month we released our VB-MAPP Skill Library (“VBM-SL”) that houses over 90 skill acquisition programs, and counting, that can easily be modified to fit your learners’ needs and can be added to your learner’s profile immediately following their assessment. Each program has a long-term goal to help guide staff members on the direction of their curriculum, a list of references that correspond with the VB-MAPP Milestones and Tasks, a section specified to include pertinent teaching instructions, materials, responses to be accepted from the learner, and an area to note specific error correction procedures.
The VBM-SL programs vary in the methods by which they are taught. That is, some programs are set up to be taught using naturalistic exemplar training (NET), while others are taught via discrete trial training (DTT). A number of programs include a rate measure to capture mands and tacts emitted throughout a session, and others use a changing criterion design to increase speaker and listener skills. Lastly, several programs have been created to teach speaker and listener skills by way of Multiple Exemplar Instruction (MEI), which consist of the rotation of different verbal operants with different functions (e.g., match, point to, tact, and intraverbal) across a series of consecutive trials.
Navigation Features
Navigating our library is simple. We used our “label” feature and linked every program to corresponding Milestones and Levels of the VB-MAPP. For example, our Colors program can be found using our filter feature using one or more of the following labels: Level 2, Level 3, Listener Responding, Mand, Tact, VPMTS. We also include a crosswalk of all milestones and tasks directly linked to the name and url of the program in Motivity.
More to Come
While the bulk of the VBM-SL library places heavy emphasis on language and acquisition skills, our team at Motivity continues to add more programs that address the Barriers and Transition Assessments found in the VB-MAPP. As we continue to grow this library for our subscribers, our hope is that you, your team, and your learners benefit from our bank of knowledge.
Want to learn more?
Motivity offers organization a free 2-month trial of the VBM-SL. During this time you will be able to access the VBM-SL and copy programs to directly into a learner’s curriculums (see Terms of Use).
Subscriptions
Should your organization choose to continue using the VBM-SL, we offer a monthly add-on fee based on the size of your organization (consult with your Motivity representative for pricing).
References
LaFrance, D. L. and Tarbox, J. (2019). The importance of multiple exemplar instruction in the establishment of novel verbal behavior. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis. 9999. 1-15.
Sundberg, M. L. (2008). Verbal Behavior Milestones Assessment and Placement Program. Concord, CA: AVB Press.
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Director of Clinical Support
Tatum has over a decade of clinical experience as a behavior analyst. She was formerly the director of a treatment center, and was in charge of implementing clinical solutions using a variety of our competitors’ software systems. She joined Motivity as a support consultant last year, and has quickly taken the lead in managing our support and services activities. She is the go-to person for challenging customer issues, and has earned the gratitude and affection of our clients and our support engineers alike, with her skillful approach to problem solving and her steadfast commitment to customer satisfaction.
Director of Clinical Support
Tatum has over a decade of clinical experience as a behavior analyst. She was formerly the director of a treatment center, and was in charge of implementing clinical solutions using a variety of our competitors’ software systems. She joined Motivity as a support consultant last year, and has quickly taken the lead in managing our support and services activities. She is the go-to person for challenging customer issues, and has earned the gratitude and affection of our clients and our support engineers alike, with her skillful approach to problem solving and her steadfast commitment to customer satisfaction.
Director of Sales and Client Services
Brent has led teams driving revenue growth and operational efficiencies in a variety of organizations and global markets. Prior roles include sales, marketing, and general management in the Healthcare IT market. Joining the Motivity team in 2021, Brent is responsible for revenue, client satisfaction and partner relationships. Brent has worked in areas of workflow design and operational efficiencies achieved through the use of technology. He has lived and worked in Lithuania, France, and the United States after his formal education in Economics from the University of Illinois.
Director of Sales and Client Services
Brent has led teams driving revenue growth and operational efficiencies in a variety of organizations and global markets. Prior roles include sales, marketing, and general management in the Healthcare IT market. Joining the Motivity team in 2021, Brent is responsible for revenue, client satisfaction and partner relationships. Brent has worked in areas of workflow design and operational efficiencies achieved through the use of technology. He has lived and worked in Lithuania, France, and the United States after his formal education in Economics from the University of Illinois.
Director of Product Marketing
Brian is an ABA industry expert with an extensive background working for and building some of the original software in the ABA market. His lengthy entrepreneurial background, paired with both a Bachelors degree and a Masters degree in graphic design, Brian’s strengths come from having a deep understanding of user experience, user workflows, branding, and software and product design.
Director of Product Marketing
Brian is an ABA industry expert with an extensive background working for and building some of the original software in the ABA market. His lengthy entrepreneurial background, paired with both a Bachelors degree and a Masters degree in graphic design, Brian’s strengths come from having a deep understanding of user experience, user workflows, branding, and software and product design.
President
Dr. Jakobovits is an experienced business leader who has a long career in clinical software. He received his Ph.D. in Computer Sciences from the University of Washington, then built a successful start up, Vivialog Technologies, which he sold to McKesson in 2008. He served as a Vice President at McKesson for 5 years before leaving to launch Motivity Systems. He is widely published in computer science and informatics journals, and has been awarded several patents. He has raised over $13M in seed capital for his startups through NIH Small Business Innovative Research grants. He is a Research Affiliate with the University of Washington Autism Center.
President
Dr. Jakobovits is an experienced business leader who has a long career in clinical software. He received his Ph.D. in Computer Sciences from the University of Washington, then built a successful start up, Vivialog Technologies, which he sold to McKesson in 2008. He served as a Vice President at McKesson for 5 years before leaving to launch Motivity Systems. He is widely published in computer science and informatics journals, and has been awarded several patents. He has raised over $13M in seed capital for his startups through NIH Small Business Innovative Research grants. He is a Research Affiliate with the University of Washington Autism Center.
VP of Clinical Products
Emaley McCulloch co-founded Autism Training Solutions (ATS), an online learning company, in 2010 which has trained hundreds of thousands of professionals and parents around the globe in evidence-based autism interventions. ATS was acquired by Relias in 2014 and after serving as the VP of Research for 5 years, is currently the Vice President of Clinical Products at Motivity Systems. She is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and holds an MA in Special Education. She has over 20 years’ experience in the field of autism and ABA and has provided and overseen services to hundreds of individuals between the ages of 18 months to 24 years in homes, schools and clinical settings. For eight years she served as a consultant and Clinical Supervisor at agencies based in Hawaii and Japan where she trained groups of professionals and parents.
VP of Clinical Products
Emaley McCulloch co-founded Autism Training Solutions (ATS), an online learning company, in 2010 which has trained hundreds of thousands of professionals and parents around the globe in evidence-based autism interventions. ATS was acquired by Relias in 2014 and after serving as the VP of Research for 5 years, is currently the Vice President of Clinical Products at Motivity Systems. She is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and holds an MA in Special Education. She has over 20 years’ experience in the field of autism and ABA and has provided and overseen services to hundreds of individuals between the ages of 18 months to 24 years in homes, schools and clinical settings. For eight years she served as a consultant and Clinical Supervisor at agencies based in Hawaii and Japan where she trained groups of professionals and parents.
Chief Technology Officer
As Motivity’s CTO and Chief Software Architect, Catalin is the core designer and implementer of Motivity’s architecture and user experience. His industry experience spans more than 20 years, across a multitude of domains. He has 10 patents on diverse applications such as data encoding, user interaction, and latency compensation. Prior to joining Motivity, Catalin was a chief architect of McKesson Corporation’s market-leading, large scale radiology systems. His extensive expertise and diverse background have allowed him to take a unique approach to designing Motivity’s cutting-edge knowledge modeling capabilities.
Chief Technology Officer
As Motivity’s CTO and Chief Software Architect, Catalin is the core designer and implementer of Motivity’s architecture and user experience. His industry experience spans more than 20 years, across a multitude of domains. He has 10 patents on diverse applications such as data encoding, user interaction, and latency compensation. Prior to joining Motivity, Catalin was a chief architect of McKesson Corporation’s market-leading, large scale radiology systems. His extensive expertise and diverse background have allowed him to take a unique approach to designing Motivity’s cutting-edge knowledge modeling capabilities.
