Why a New Autism Assessment Was Needed
Traditional autism screening and developmental tests—such as the Vineland, ADOS, or VB-MAPP—have undeniable strengths but also major limitations:
-
Require trained professionals and costly materials.
-
Often take 30 minutes to several hours to administer.
-
Involve long waitlists, insurance copays, and travel to specialized centers.
-
Focus on narrow areas of development rather than the whole child.
For families and professionals, this means lost time—when early intervention matters most. Dr. Barbera’s decades of experience as a nurse, autism mom, and BCBA inspired her to create a solution that was fast, accessible, and clinically useful.
What is the BECA Autism Assessment?
The Barbera Early Childhood Assessment (BECA) is a 10-minute, digital questionnaire that parents or professionals can complete online at marybarbera.com/assessment.
It generates quantifiable scores across three critical domains:
-
Self-Care Skills – Eating, sleeping, potty training, dressing, grooming, and other daily living tasks.
-
Language and Learning – From nonverbal communication to conversational speech.
-
Problem Behaviors – Tantrums, aggression, self-injury, resistance to routines, or milder behavioral concerns.
Users also receive an overall score that can be tracked pre- and post-intervention, making it an ideal outcome measure for both clinical practice and research.
With easy-to-see scores, parents and professionals can quickly see a childs strengths and weaknesses and see if interventions are working.
Fast & Digital – Takes less than 10 minutes, no training required.
Cross-Disciplinary – Covers language, self-care, and behavior.
Accessible – Free for parents, easily repeatable for tracking progress.
Quantifiable – Provides pre- and post-scores to measure treatment impact.
Scalable – Useful for individual families, busy clinics, and research studies alike.
