What Is the AFLS? Assessment of Functional Living Skills Explained
- Ashleigh
- 3 days ago
- 4 min read
We're continuing our ABA Assessments Series with an overview of the Assessment of Functional Living Skills (AFLS).
The Assessment of Functional Living Skills (AFLS) is a comprehensive assessment used in ABA to evaluate learners' functional living skills. This assessment focuses on the real-world, everyday skills that individuals need to live as independently as possible, from brushing teeth to managing money and navigating the community.
In this post, we’ll break down what the AFLS is, who it’s for, and how it can be used to guide meaningful, functional goals in ABA therapy.
What is the AFLS?
Developed in 2012 by James W. Partington, PhD, BCBA-D, and Michael M. Mueller, PhD, BCBA-D, the AFLS is a criterion-referenced assessment designed to assess a wide range of functional, adaptive, and self-help skills across various life domains. The primary goal of using the AFLS is to identify skill strengths and areas for improvement that directly impact daily living, independence, and quality of life.
What Does the AFLS Assess?
The full assessment includes six protocols. Each of these has a separate area of focus. These protocols can be used together or individually, depending on the learner’s needs, environment, and goals.
The AFLS assesses the following skills.
Basic Living Skills: Focuses on essential self-care and hygiene tasks such as bathing, brushing teeth, toileting, dressing, sleeping routines, and personal safety.
School Skills: Evaluates the functional skills required to successfully participate in a classroom setting, including following directions, completing assignments, navigating the school environment, managing materials, and using technology.
Home Skills: Assesses tasks necessary for functioning within the home. This includes cleaning, meal preparation, organizing belongings, and using household tools and appliances.
Vocational Skills: Evaluates job readiness and workplace behaviors such as following schedules, completing tasks, working with others, and using job-related tools.
Independent Living Skills: Covers higher-level life skills required for living independently, including money management, paying bills, grocery shopping, using transportation, managing time, and handling emergencies.
Community Participation Skills: Assesses the ability to navigate and participate in community settings. Skills include using public transportation, shopping at stores, eating at restaurants, social awareness, and manners.
How Many Skills Does the AFLS Cover?
In total, the AFLS includes over 1,900 skills across 66 skill areas. It's important to note, however, that clinicians do not need to evaluate all 1,900 skills for each learner. That's one of the benefits of using this assessment—you can pick and choose protocols or even individual domains that are relevant to your learner's area of focus and needs.
Who is the AFLS Designed For?
The AFLS is designed for individuals aged 2 through adulthood. With multiple protocols, there's an assessment for every learner based on their current stage in life.
Educators and BCBAs commonly use the AFLS to evaluate the abilities of:
Children, teens, and adults with autism
Individuals with developmental or intellectual disabilities
Learners transitioning from school to adulthood
Young adults preparing for independent or supported living
Clients participating in vocational or life skills programs
How is it Administered?
The AFLS can be conducted through direct observation or via interviews with parents, caregivers, or other professionals. This assessment is often completed as a team effort, with everyone contributing insights into the learner's abilities.
Interviews are highly valuable with the AFLS for a few reasons. For one, the BCBA may not have the opportunity to observe all the skills directly. For example, if a learner only attends therapy in the clinic, there may not be opportunities to observe their ability to cross a street safely, navigate a store, or engage in other community-specific skills. Further, this assessment would be incredibly time-intensive to complete entirely through direct observation.
Benefits of Using the AFLS in ABA
Using the Assessment of Functional Living Skills in ABA therapy programs offers many benefits, including:
Promotes Independence: Assessing practical, functional skills that directly impact a person’s ability to live more independently at home, school, work, and in the community enables clinicians to develop targeted goals that promote autonomy.
Individualized and Flexible: Clinicians can select specific protocols or skill areas based on the learner’s age, developmental level, and life goals.
Tracks Progress Over Time: Track incremental progress over time to monitor skill acquisition, adjust goals, and celebrate growth.
Supports Transition Planning: Whether the goal is school readiness, supported employment, or independent living, the AFLS helps identify what the learner needs to prepare for the next stage of life.
Encourages Collaboration with Caregivers: Parents and caregivers play a critical role in teaching and reinforcing life skills. The AFLS helps bring them into the process through interviews to gain a deeper understanding of the learner's current abilities and the caregiver's priorities.
Comparing and Contrasting AFLS and ABLLS-R
The AFLS and the ABLLS-R are both criterion-referenced tools created by Dr. James Partington to assess skill development in individuals with autism and other developmental disabilities. While they share a common foundation, each assessment serves a different purpose and is used at different stages in a learner’s development.
The ABLLS-R focuses on language, early learning, and foundational pre-academic skills. The AFLS differs in that it focuses on functional living skills. The ABLLS-R is ideal for early learners and those with limited verbal behavior or other foundational skills. AFLS is better suited for older children, teens, and adults working toward increased independence.
Both the ABLLS-R and AFLS are commonly used within ABA therapy settings. The AFLS is also often used in vocational and community support settings.
Each of these tools is used by behavior analysts and educators to guide goal development and intervention planning.
Can They Be Used Together?
Yes! Many clinicians use the ABLLS-R with younger learners to build foundational skills and then transition to the AFLS as they progress. Together, they offer a comprehensive roadmap from early skill development to real-life independence.
Where Can You Purchase the AFLS?
You can purchase physical copies of the AFLS at Different Roads to Learning and Amazon.
Additionally, CentralReach offers a digital platform for the AFLS and ABLLS-R assessments called CR Assessments. Learn more about CR Assessments here.
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