LAGGING SKILLS
This section will help you understand why the child is responding so maladaptively to problems and frustrations. Please note that
these lagging skills are not the primary focal point of intervention. In other words, you won’t be discussing the lagging skills with the
student, nor will you be teaching most of the skills explicitly. The primary targets of intervention are the unsolved problems you’ll be
documenting in the next section.
q
Diculty maintaining focus
q
Diculty seeing “grays”/concrete, literal, black & white, thinking
q
Diculty handling transitions, shifting from one mindset
or task to another
q
Diculty taking into account situational factors that would
suggest the need to adjust a plan of action
q
Diculty considering the likely outcomes or consequences
of actions (impulsive)
q
Inflexible, inaccurate interpretations/cognitive distortions or
biases (e.g., “Everyone’s out to get me,” “Nobody likes me)"
q
Diculty persisting on challenging or tedious tasks
q
Diculty attending to or accurately interpreting social cues/
poor perception of social nuances
q
Diculty considering a range of solutions to a problem
q
Diculty shifting from original idea, plan, or solution
q
Diculty expressing concerns, needs, or thoughts in words
q
Diculty appreciating how his/her behavior is aecting others
q
Diculty managing emotional response to frustration so as
to think rationally
q
Diculty starting conversations, entering groups,
connecting with people/lacking other basic social skills
q
Chronic irritability and/or anxiety significantly impede
capacity for problem-solving or heighten frustration
q
Diculty empathizing with others, appreciating another
person’s perspective or point of view
q
Sensory/motor diculties
q
Diculty handling unpredictability, ambiguity, uncertainty, novelty
CHILD'S NAME _______________________________________________________________ DATE ________________
The ALSUP is intended for use as a discussion guide rather than as a freestanding check-list or rating scale. It should be used to identify
specific lagging skills and unsolved problems that pertain to a particular child or adolescent.
UNSOLVED PROBLEMS
SCHOOL/FACILITY PROMPTS:
Are there specific tasks/expectations the student is having diculty completing or getting started on?
Are there classmates this student is having diculty getting along with in specific conditions?
Are there tasks and activities this student is having diculty moving from or to?
Are there classes/activities the student is having diculty attending/being on time to?
HOME/CLINIC PROMPTS:
Are there chores//tasks/activities the child is having diculty completing or getting started on?
Are there siblings/other children the child is having diculty getting along with in specific conditions?
Are there aspects of hygiene the child is having diculty completing?
Are there activities the child is having diculty ending or tasks the child is having diculty moving on to
& Proactive Solutions
THIS IS HOW PROBLEMS GET SOLVED
ASSESSMENT OF LAGGING SKILLS & UNSOLVED PROBLEMS
ALSUP 2020
Unsolved problems are the specific expectations a child is having diculty meeting. The wording of an unsolved problem will
translate directly into the words that you’ll be using when you introduce an unsolved problem to the child when it comes time to
solve the problem together. Poorly worded unsolved problems often cause the problem-solving process to deteriorate before it
even gets started. Please reference the ALSUP Guide for guidance on the four guidelines for writing unsolved problems.
livesinthebalance.org
REV 102020
