ACL Use with Children and Adolescent Populations

Can the ACL be used effectively with younger people?

Question:

I attended your training online a couple of years ago when I was working with adult psychiatric populations. I am now working with adolescents and young people from age 11. I wondered about using the LACLs from age 11 and with diagnoses, including neurodevelopmental, such as ASD level 3, and whether the tool is able to be used with this population? 

Response:

The model and screening tools were always meant to be transdiagnostic.

The model and associated assessments are not age specific. The model applies to everyone across the lifespan. However, the model was developed while Claudia Allen was working with adults and older people and most of the research has been done with those groups. There are some studies reported with children and adolescents and the model is used widely with adolescents in clinical practice. It really depends on what you are hoping to understand from using the model/assessments. It is not used to identify developmental delay or ID in childhood, but it can be very useful to understand how kids engage in activities and helps you understand school and social engagement. There is an age analogous table that was developed theoretically in Book 2, Appendix 5, p. 72.

I use the model with neurodivergent population groups and find it useful clinically. However, there are no published studies on using the ACDM with this population. You need to have a good clinical understanding of how neurodivergent children and adults present and a sound understanding of cognitive development. You can then use your clinical judgement to identify patterns of behaviour that reflect cognitive abilities and differentiate them from autistic and ADHD patterns of behaviour. In adolescents we expect to see functional cognitive abilities consistent with patterns predicted at Level.Modes 5.2 to 5.6. You will see normally developing 11- year-olds present with abilities predicted Level.Mode 5.0.

Page 17 in Part A of the ACLS-5, 2nd Edition manual, addresses Intended Populations.