Introducing the MOTAS-EL: An ABA Assessment Tool for Early Learners
- Ashleigh Evans (BCBA)
- 15 minutes ago
- 5 min read
There are many assessment tools used in ABA therapy to evaluate skills and guide treatment planning. One of the newer additions to the field’s assessment battery is the Meaningful Outcomes Treatment and Assessment Scale (MOTAS), which has become a valuable resource for clinicians working with learners ages five through adulthood.
Until recently, however, the MOTAS wasn't designed for early learners. To meet the need for a comprehensive assessment for children under five, the authors of the original MOTAS developed the MOTAS-EL, a companion tool specifically designed for children ages 0–5.
Built with early development in mind, the MOTAS-EL helps clinicians identify foundational skills, align programming with developmental milestones, and design meaningful, individualized therapy plans during the most critical years of development.
In this article, we’ll take a closer look at the MOTAS-EL and how it supports meaningful care for early learners.
What is the MOTAS-EL?
The Meaningful Outcomes Treatment and Assessment Scale—Early Learner (MOTAS-EL) is a comprehensive criterion-referenced skills assessment. The MOTAS-EL is primarily used with children with autism or other neurodevelopmental differences.
✔️ For children 0-5
✔️ Contains almost 900 skill items
✔️ Spans 17 domains
The purpose of the MOTAS-EL is to guide BCBAs and other clinicians in identifying and targeting age-appropriate, meaningful skills, while building on each individual's strengths and interests. A key component of the MOTAS-EL is the integration of parent input throughout the assessment. What's meaningful to one learner and family may not be meaningful to the next, so caregiver input is essential to assessment and program development.
Is the MOTAS a Norm-Referenced Assessment?
The MOTAS-EL is a criterion-referenced assessment, not norm-referenced. This means it's used to evaluate a child’s skills against clearly defined criteria rather than comparing performance to a standardized sample of same-age peers.
That said, the MOTAS-EL does incorporate developmental milestone age ranges for each skill. These age markers provide helpful context about when skills typically emerge, allowing clinicians to determine whether a learner’s performance aligns with expected developmental timelines. Because many clinicians receive limited formal training in distinguishing age-typical development from delay, this feature is especially valuable.
For example, imagine assessing a two-year-old learner who scores a 0 on the item “selects appropriate clothing for the weather.” The MOTAS-EL indicates that this skill typically emerges around 48–60 months. With that context, the clinician can recognize that this is developmentally appropriate for a two-year-old and not necessarily a skill deficit requiring intervention.
Just keep in mind that those milestone ranges are used as informational guides, not normative comparisons.
What Skills Does the MOTAS-EL Evaluate?
The MOTAS-EL covers skills across 17 domains, which include:
Joint Attention
Imitation
Play
Communication
Self-Awareness
Social Behavior
Transitions
Toileting
Community Outings
Hygiene and Personal Care
Dressing
Eating
Sleep
Contributing to Home
General Safety
Group Skills
Cognitive Engagement
It's important to note that while this tool is comprehensive, it's not necessary to complete every domain for every learner. Focus on the domains that are currently most meaningful to the family.
How to Administer the MOTAS-EL
Before administering the MOTAS-EL, carefully review the assessment and scoring guidelines. Here's a brief overview of the process.
Conduct the LOOP-EL Interview
Begin by interviewing the parent(s) or caregiver(s) using the Levels of Optimum Performance – Early Learner (LOOP-EL) interview.
The LOOP-EL is a structured caregiver interview designed to gather information about:
The child’s current abilities
Behavioral strengths and areas of concern
Family priorities
The relative importance of targeting specific domains of functioning
This step ensures that assessment and treatment planning are aligned with the family's values and focused on truly meaningful outcomes.
Administer the MOTAS-EL
Next, conduct the MOTAS-EL. Go through the domain(s) of interest and rate your learner on a scale of 0-5 based on direct observations. Each item is scored on a 0–5 scale:
0=Not Applicable
1=Pre-Skill 2=Prompted 3=Independent 4=Generalized 5=Maintained
This scoring system goes beyond simple mastery. It allows clinicians to track whether skills are generalizing and maintaining over time. During reassessments, you can monitor not just acquisition, but long-term skill retention.
Calculate Domain and Subdomain Scores
After completing the assessment, calculate scores for each domain and subdomain assessed. Use the scores to help identify strengths, emerging skills, and priority areas for intervention.
Select Treatment Goals
Using information from both the MOTAS-EL assessment and the LOOP-EL interview, develop a treatment plan focused on meaningful, developmentally appropriate outcomes.
The Kindness Method: MOTAS-EL
Like the original assessment, the MOTAS-EL includes the Kindness Method, with the goal of ensuring therapy providers are implementing kindness in every client interaction.
The Kindness Method section of the MOTAS and MOTAS-EL include:
An initial questionnaire
Provider goals
Scoring grid
Goal development table
Follow-up questionnaire
This section of the assessment actually focuses on the provider's behavior, which is a novel shift from other assessments. As clinicians, we focus so much on shaping our clients' behavior that sometimes we overlook the importance of assessing and shaping our own.
The Kindness Method invites BCBAs, therapists, and fieldwork trainees to self-assess and set personalized goals to develop more compassionate, mindful interactions with clients, caregivers, and stakeholders.
More Supplementary Materials
The MOTAS-EL also includes a few supplementary tools, including:
School Readiness Checklist: Use this tool to evaluate your learners' readiness to transition to an educational setting and plan goals that support readiness.
Teaching Procedures: An overview of evidence-based teaching strategies, from assent-based teaching to NET and behavioral skills training.
Autism Spectrum Disorder Diagnostic Criteria: Reference this when developing goals for insurance-funded clients to ensure goals include a rationale that aligns with ASD criteria to demonstrate medical necessity.
MONROE Phonetic Sound Inventory: The Meaningful Oral Nexus Reference for Optimal Efficiency is a tool created by a Speech Language Pathologist, to assess a learner's ability to produce various sounds. This tool also includes the order in which sounds typically develop.
Motor Skills Checklist: This tool is used to screen motor skills based on a learner's age and milestone development.
Sensory Systems and Activities: This guide outlines various activities that focus on each sensory system. Clinicians can use the ideas to enrich therapy sessions.
These additional assessments and tools were developed by professionals in ABA and related fields, helping the MOTAS-EL be a more well-rounded, multidisciplinary-focused tool.
The Joy Curriculum
One more standout component of the MOTAS-EL is the Joy Curriculum. This can either be completed by the provider guiding the parent or by the parent using the curriculum independently.
The Joy Curriculum includes a questionnaire and rating scale focused on caregiver behaviors and interactions with their child. It assesses a wide range of areas, from relationship building to responding to emotional distress.
For example, caregivers reflect on statements like:
“Encourages child to keep trying”
“Finds opportunities to provide positive statements and compliments to child”
“Stays calm when child is upset”
Importantly, the curriculum also addresses caregiver well-being, including self-care and self-compassion, with items such as:
“Is patient and loving with self”
“Practices mindfulness”
This broader focus recognizes that meaningful outcomes for young children are closely tied to caregiver confidence, emotional health, and interaction style. BCBAs can use the results of the Joy Curriculum to develop individualized, meaningful caregiver goals that strengthen parent–child interactions while also supporting caregiver resilience.
Where Can You Purchase the MOTAS-EL?
The MOTAS-EL is a comprehensive ABA assessment that can drive meaningful outcomes for learners 0-5 years of age. You can purchase online through Different Roads to Learning.
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