Title: Comparing Adaptive and Maladaptive Behavior Problems Scales
Headings: 
Scales Compared
Content: Behavior problems are much more difficult to quantify than adaptive behaviors are, because they are not very developmental and because their expression varies more from day-to-day and from setting-to-setting. Behavior problems do not increase or decrease steadily with age. Nevertheless they can be measured reliably. The purpose of measuring adaptive and maladaptive behavior is usually either for diagnosis or for program planning. The diagnosis of mental retardation, for example, requires deficits in both cognitive ability and adaptive behavior, occuring before age 18. Adaptive behavior assessment is also used to determine the type and amount of special assistance that people with disabilities may need. This assistance might be in the form of home-based support services for infants and children and their families, special education and vocational training for young people, and supported work or special living arrangements such as personal care attendants, group homes, or nursing homes for adults. Adaptive behavior assessments are often used in preschool and special education programs for determining eligibility, for program planning, and for assessing outcomes. Standardization is the process of developing a test that reliably and validly measures a specific dimension of behavior. It involves trying out items and analyzing them;