Assessment of Lagging Skills and Unsolved Problems Discussion Guide

Assessment of Lagging Skills & Unsolved Problems (ALSUP) Overview

• Official Document Title: ASSESSMENT OF LAGGING SKILLS & UNSOLVED PROBLEMS (Rev. $8/29/11$).

• Copyright Identification: Center for Collaborative Problem Solving $2005$.

• Administrative Fields: The document includes designated fields for the Child's Name and the Date.

• Primary Function: The ALSUP is intended to be used as a discussion guide. It is explicitly stated that it should not be treated as a freestanding checklist or a simple rating scale.

• Objective: The goal is to identify specific lagging skills and corresponding unsolved problems that pertain to a specific child or adolescent.

Instructions for Implementation

• Step-by-Step Methodology:

  • Identify if a specific lagging skill applies to the child.

  • If a lagging skill is identified, check it off.

  • Crucial Sequence: Before moving on to the next lagging skill in the list, identify specific examples—referred to as "unsolved problems"—in which that specific lagging skill is causing difficulty.

• Defining Unsolved Problems: These should specify the explicit conditions under which the child or adolescent has difficulty meeting expectations.

• Prioritization Mechanism: Users must rate the degree to which each recorded unsolved problem is setting in motion challenging episodes. This is done to assist in the prioritization of interventions.

Frequency and Rating Scales

• Frequency Descriptors for Lagging Skills:

  • Seldom

  • Sometimes

  • Often

  • Very Often

• Intensity Rating for Unsolved Problems:

  • A numerical scale is provided to rate the impact of unsolved problems: $0$, $1$, $2$, and $3$.

Comprehensive List of Lagging Skills

1. Transitions and Mindsets: Difficulty handling transitions; difficulty shifting from one mindset or task to another.

2. Sequencing: Difficulty doing things in a logical sequence or prescribed order.

3. Persistence: Difficulty persisting on challenging or tedious tasks.

4. Temporal Awareness: Poor sense of time.

5. Focus: Difficulty maintaining focus.

6. Impulsivity: Difficulty considering the likely outcomes or consequences of actions.

7. Problem-Solving Variety: Difficulty considering a range of solutions to a problem.

8. Communication (Expressive): Difficulty expressing concerns, needs, or thoughts in words.

9. Communication (Receptive): Difficulty understanding what is being said.

10. Emotional Regulation: Difficulty managing emotional response to frustration so as to think rationally.

11. Internal States: Chronic irritability and/or anxiety that significantly impede the capacity for problem-solving or heightens frustration.

12. Cognitive Flexibility (Gray Areas): Difficulty seeing the "grays"; engaging in concrete, literal, or black-and-white thinking.

13. Rules and Routine: Difficulty deviating from rules or routine.

14. Uncertainty: Difficulty handling unpredictability, ambiguity, uncertainty, or novelty.

15. Mental Rigidity: Difficulty shifting from an original idea, plan, or solution.

16. Situational Adjustment: Difficulty taking into account situational factors that would suggest the need to adjust a plan of action.

17. Cognitive Distortions: Inflexible or inaccurate interpretations; presence of cognitive biases. Examples include:

    • "Everyone's out to get me."

    • "Nobody likes me."

    • "You always blame me."

    • "It's not fair."

    • "I'm stupid."

18. Social Cues: Difficulty attending to or accurately interpreting social cues; poor perception of social nuances.

19. Social Initiation: Difficulty starting conversations, entering groups, or connecting with people; lacking other basic social skills.

20. Attention Seeking: Difficulty seeking attention in appropriate ways.

21. Impact Awareness: Difficulty appreciating how his/her behavior is affecting other people.

22. Empathy: Difficulty empathizing with others; difficulty appreciating another person's perspective or point of view.

23. Self-Perception: Difficulty appreciating how s/he is coming across or being perceived by others.

Non-Exhaustive Examples of Unsolved Problems

Home Environment Context

• Morning Routines: Waking up; getting out of bed; completing the morning routine; getting ready for school.

• Sensory Issues: Sensory hypersensitivities (specific details should be noted).

• Academic Work: Starting or completing homework (specific details should be noted).

• Electronics: Time spent in front of a screen including TV, video games, and computers.

• Nighttime Routines: Going to or getting ready for bed at night.

• Interpersonal: Sibling interactions (specific details should be noted).

• Responsibilities: Cleaning the room or completing household chores (specific details should be noted).

School Environment Context

• Task Management: Shifting from one specific task to another; getting started on or completing class assignments (specific details should be noted).

• Interpersonal: Interactions with a particular classmate or teacher (names/details should be noted).

• Unstructured Times/Common Areas: Behavior in the hallway, at recess, in the cafeteria, on the school bus, or while waiting in line (specific details should be noted).

• Competition and Expectations: Handling disappointment; losing at a game; not coming in first; not being first in line (specific details should be noted).