Comparison of three measures of adaptive behavior

A comparison was made among three adaptive behavior scales. Teachers and parents completed the Adaptive Behavior Scale--School Edition and the Adaptive Behavior Inventory for Children, and 57 EMR and slow-learning students (Ns = 36 and 21, respectively) completed the Children's Adaptive Behavior Scale. Analysis of variance and t-test comparisons indicated higher ratings for the slow-learner group than for the EMR group on all three measures. Also, parents rated students as having better adaptive behavior skills than did teachers. These findings suggest that measures of adaptive behavior can differentiate EMR from slow-learning children and that self-reports from parents on these measures may be somewhat unreliable.