Designed for children with autism, as well as individuals who show language delays, the Verbal Behavior Milestones Assessment and Placement Program (VB-MAPP) is an educational assessment instrument and a curriculum guide used to assess learning, language, and social skills. The program has five categories that display a balance across verbal operants and related skills.

The first category is the VB-MAPP Milestones Assessment, which provides detailed information of a child’s existing verbal repertory along with other related skills. It contains 170 measurable learning and language milestones sequenced across 3 levels of development (0-18 months, 18-30 months, and 30-48 months). The skills that are assessed include tact, independent play, and writing.

The second category is the VB-MAPP Barriers Assessment which provides 24 common learning and language acquisition barriers experienced by children with autism or other developmental disabilities. Identification of barriers allows for the development of specific strategies of intervention to help lead to more effective learning.

The third category is the Transition Assessment, which assists in the identification of a child’s progress. It contains 18 assessment areas and can provide a measurable way for priorities to be set in order to meet the student’s educational needs. Also included are measures of the overall score on the milestones assessment, barriers assessment, as well as various behaviors and skills.

Fourth of the assessment categories, is the Task Analysis and Skills Tracking, which provides a more in-depth breakdown of skills, serving as a complete learning and language skills curriculum guide. There are hundreds of skills presented. These skills cover the 16 areas of the overall assessment.

The final category is the Placement and IEP Goals, developed based on the previous four assessments. This guide gives a specific direction for each of the 170 milestones in the first assessment as well as IEP goal suggestions. These suggestions help parents, teachers, and program designers build the most effective curriculum fitting the student.