Five Areas of ALP Assessment

There are five areas of observation and assessment that are considered when trying to determine the learner's current stage and phase. Although the learner's activity and movement with the access method is considered to be indicative of the phase they are in, the other areas provide clues for intervention planning and relative strengths and weaknesses.

Activity & Movement

“Ability to control the access method went from seemingly random movement to clear control. From vague to fluid.”

Understanding

“She started with no understanding of the purposes of the access method and ended with a complete understanding and ability to manipulate its purpose. From no understanding to complete understanding.”

Attention

“She began by showing no attention to the access method and progressed to an ability to sustain focus on both the task and the access method. From distractible to sustained.”

Interaction & Communication

“She started with limited interaction with her communication partners to simultaneously interacting with the device, environment and social partners. She went from no/little social interaction to fully integrated interaction.”

Expressions & Emotion

“She started with some short glances with the instructor to engaging in both signed and verbal communication. She went from neutral to situationally dependent expressions of emotion.”