Functional Life Skills for learners with limited repertoires and moderate
to severe problem behavior

We are committed to leading the way in providing professionals working with learners with the best assessment and curriculum tool to meet their learners' needs. Many learners, who are assessed initially using the VB-MAPP, may stop making meaningful progress and caregivers may quickly realize that a different approach is needed. Dr. McGreevy and Troy Fry have created an amazing assessment and curriculum and data collection system to meet the needs of these special learners.

Data Makes The Difference

About the EFL APP

EFL App is the electronic version of the print version of Essential for Living, the function-based assessment and curriculum that values the importance of assessing and programming for communication for all learners. Essential for Living uses small increments of change in data collection to show progress. EFL App saves time by identifying possible skills on which to focus, based on the results of the Quick Assessment, and by offering the ability to track daily cold probe data easily for those chosen skills.

Data Makes The Difference

Our personal experience with Essential for Living and the EFL App

In 2018, Liz and Steve were given the distinct privilege of working with Dr. McGreevy and Troy Fry to create a web-based app for Essential for Living to help automate the assessment and programming for these learners.

In 1996, Liz and Steve’s daughter, Sarah, was diagnosed with Autism. They saw the difference that Applied Behavior Analysis made to Sarah’s progress. As a result, Liz returned to school and earned her Master of Science degree in Special Education with an emphasis in ABA.  She became a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) in 2008.

Part of the journey involved finding a good path forward from the developmental instrument (VB-MAPP) to a daily living skills program, that  works on communication and problem behavior (EFL). Sarah’s world has opened up and she is able to do so much more in the community, both for herself and others. EFL was the solution for us!

Dr. Patrick Mcgreevy, Ph.D., BCBA-D

Data Makes The Difference & EFL

Only approved EFL app by the wonderful Authors!

At EFL App, we’re proud to work closely with Dr. Patrick McGreevy and Troy Fry, the creators of the Essential for Living assessment and curriculum, to bring you the only author-approved app for Essential for Living. Our team collaborated with both Dr McGreevy and Troy Fry to ensure the app meets their exacting standards for accuracy and effectiveness. We also continue to work with them both to incorporate any updates or changes to EFL. This ensures that our app is always current and reliable for professionals in the field. Trust the expertise of both Dr. McGreevy and Troy Fry, and our team to provide you with the best tool for assessing and programming with EFL.

Essential For Living

Ongoing updates & improvements

Stay tuned for more exciting developments from EFL App including a comparison report with color coding to show whether a learner is making progress with a particular skill or whether a team meeting is needed due to regression.  

EFL can be used with clients who have the most complex needs, as well as with those who might need more practice with toleration skills.  The skills in EFL align very well with Dr.Greg Hanley’s work on Skill Based Treatment (SBT). 

For more information: https://essentialforliving.com/practical-functional-assessment-skill-based-treatment-essential-for-living/ 

Troy Fry
Troy Fry, MS, BCBA

Data Makes The Difference

The Essential For Living App Advantages

Accessible

A comprehensive assessment tool that can be accessed and completed on any device with a web browser and soon to be available as an iOS app.

User-Friendly

User-friendly interface and controls that guide even novice users to unlock the power of EFL.

Resources

Resources for teaching and reinforcing the skills assessed in Essential For Living, including lesson plans (protocols) all written by Dr. McGreevy and Troy Fry.

Data sharing

Users can add members to their learners’ teams, including parents, enabling them to collaborate to see the results of the assessment, program for the learner and find the best communication method that is most beneficial to the learner.

Data Makes The Difference

Watch The EFL Web App
Walkthrough Video Below!

Play Video

Data Makes The Difference

Frequently Asked Questions

The VB-MAPP and Essential for Living apps are educational tools designed for teachers of individuals with developmental disabilities, including autism and related disorders.

The VB-MAPP App is a criterion-referenced developmental assessment tool, curriculum guide, and skill-tracking system that is designed to assess children with autism, and other individuals who demonstrate language delays.

The Essential for Living App is a comprehensive function-based assessment tool for teachers to help individuals learn daily living skills, such as communication, self-care, and social skills. There may come a time in a learner’s life when catching up to typically developing peers and using a developmental assessment is no longer appropriate. Using a function-based assessment and curriculum that continues to work on communication may be what is needed.

DataMTD offers both* types of assessments/curricula as apps. The goal of our apps is to save time by automating some of the processes so team members can spend more time working with their learners than on paperwork.

Our VB-MAPP and EFL apps offer several advantages over the traditional print books.

  • The apps allow users to access all of the same content in a more interactive and engaging format. The apps also 
  • They feature automated reporting and scoring, eliminating manual and time-consuming tasks.
  • Information is easily accessible at the moment it is needed, without the need to search through pages. 
  • They include progress reports and video examples that help guide users through each step. Additionally, 
  • Videos within the apps demonstrate how to conduct assessments, providing hands-on learning opportunities for newer staff. 
  • Our apps also offer the ability to share access digitally with others, enabling collaboration with unlimited team members at no additional cost. 

 

All this makes our apps a convenient and cost-effective solution for all your assessment needs!

The VB-MAPP and Essential for Living apps can be incredibly beneficial for a wide range of individuals including parents, clinicians, practitioners, psychologists, speech-language pathologists, para-educators, and classroom support staff. 

These apps offer several key benefits including their time-saving features, the assessor’s ability to share information with others, and the generation of editable progress reports. These features make the apps an essential tool for anyone working with children who need support in their development. 

With “How To” and “Show me” video examples integrated into every step, these apps provide a comprehensive and convenient resource for improving the lives of learners. 

Additionally, the ability to collaborate and share learner data digitally with an unlimited number of team members at no cost makes the apps an even more powerful tool for supporting learners and their families.

To access the VB-MAPP and Essential for Living apps, you can follow these simple steps:

  1. Create a free account for the VB-MAPP app at vbmappapp.com or for the Essential for Living app at eflapp.com.
  2. For those using an iPhone, iPad or Mac, the VB-MAPP APP is available on the App Store.
  3. Take a look around and explore the features of the app.
  4. If you require a free license, simply contact us at info@datamtd.com.
  5. For more information and support, you can visit our guide section at https://support.datamtd.com.

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