Relationships between ABLA test performance, auditory matching, and communication ability

Abstract

The present study examined whether an extension of the Assessment of Basic Learning Abilities (ABLA) test, to include auditory matching tasks, enhanced its relationship to communicative ability. The participants were 40 developmentally-disabled persons. Participants were assessed on the ABLA test, and four auditory matching tasks. In addition, a care worker of each participant completed the Communication Ability Screening Survey (CASS) and a portion of the Vineland daptive Behavioral Scales (VABS) that assessed communicative ability. To examine whether adding auditory matching tasks to the ABLA test would increase its correlation with communication ability, a forward multiple-regression analysis was used. For individuals classified at or above ABLA Level 4, the addition of auditory matching tasks to ABLA Levels 4 and 6 differentiated individual communicative ability to a greater extent than the ABLA test alone.