Administering the BASS

Testing can be anxiety-provoking for many people and interfere with best test performance. As much as possible, make the individual feel at ease before and during the assessment.  

Perform the assessment in a quiet, distraction-free environment.

Administer the assessment alone if possible. If the individual requests the presence of family/carer, ask the person present not to give hints or clues.  

Consider where you will set up the stimulus in relation to yourself and the individual (e.g., using a laptop, you will have to reach the keys to click through the PowerPoint). 

Please follow the standardised instructions as written on the record form. This is important for the tool's validity and reliability.

When possible, point to the relevant parts of a scene to aid comprehension of verbal instructions.

The stimulus slides contain written instructions to complement verbal instructions for the hard of hearing.

Avoid saying whether the individual's responses are correct or incorrect, whilst still being supportive and encouraging. 

Only correct an incorrect response if the instructions say to do so.

In the Social Reasoning subtest open response format, if an individual provides an incorrect response that is also one of the multiple choice options, score as incorrect for both open response and multiple choice.

In the Memory for New Faces subtest open response format, if an individual provides an incorrect response that is also one of the multiple choice options, continue as per instructions for incorrect responses (i.e., read out the full list of multiple choice options and ask them to pick the correct answer from them).

The BASS can be administered via telehealth where both the test administrator and respondent have access to a computer with a microphone, webcam, and videoconferencing software enabling screen sharing. 

No modifications are required for BASS test administration via telehealth, as stimuli are presented on-screen in both face-to-face and telehealth formats, and both instructions and answers are provided verbally. 

Information on the reliability of BASS scores across administration formats is available here