Comparison of parent and teacher ratings of adaptive behavior of children with mental retardation.

The Adaptive Behavior Scale-School Edition was administered to 22 parents and 22 teachers, using the third party assessment method to obtain ratings of the adaptive behavior of children with mental retardation. No significant differences in parents' and teachers' ratings for Personal Self-Sufficiency, Community Self-Sufficiency, and Personal-Social Responsibility were found. Teachers and parents also did not differ significantly in ratings of the importance of the behaviors subsumed by these factors. Difficulty in rating some items reflected differences in the accessibility of these behaviors for teachers and parents. Results suggest that group differences may not exist between parents' and teachers' ratings once the method of administration and familiarity with the instrument are controlled. Occasionally, however, a parent's rating may differ from a teacher's sufficiently to lead to a different classification.