Understanding Students with Intellectual Disabilities

ED222Fall 2009

Essential Outcomes

• Gaining factual knowledge (terminology, classifications, methods, trends)

• Learning fundamental principles, generalizations, or theories

• Developing a clearer understanding of, and commitment to, personal values

Important Outcomes

• Learning to apply course material (to improve thinking, problem solving, and decisions)

• Developing specific kills, competencies, and points of view needed by professionals in the filed most closely related to this course

• Acquiring skills in working with others as a team

Defining Intellectual Disabilities (MR)

• AAIDD definition– Intellectual disabilities is a disability characterized

by significant limitations in both intellectual functioning and in adaptive behavior as expressed in conceptual, social and practical adaptive skills

– This disability originates before age 18

5 assumptions• Limitations in present functioning must be considered

within the context of community environments typical of the individual’s age, peers and culture

• Valid assessment considers cultural and linguistic diversity as well as differences in communication, sensory, motor and behavioral factors.

• Within an individual, limitations often coexist with strengths

• An important purpose of describing limitations is to develop a profile of needed supports

• With appropriate personalized support over a sustained period, the life functioning of the person with mental retardation generally will improve

Intensities of Support

• Intermittent: “As needed”• Limited: Consistent, but time limited• Extensive: Regular involvement (daily), but

time limited• Pervasive: Constant, high intensity, potential

life sustaining nature

Prevalence of ID

• Inconsistent rates reported• US Department of Education reported 0.08%

in 2006• 511,041 students with ID, ages 6 to 21,

received special education services

Characteristics of ID

• Limitations in Intellectual Functioning– Measured through IQ tests

• Memory (short term)• Generalization• Motivation (outer-directedness)• Limitations in Adaptive Behavior– Three domains: Conceptual Skills, Social Skills,

Practical Skills– Self-determination

Determining the Causes

Causes by Timing• Prenatal• Perinatal• Postnatal

Causes by Type• Biomedical• Social• Behavioral• Educational

Evaluating Students with Intellectual Disabilities

• Determining the Presence– Evaluate intellectual functioning and adaptive

skills• Intellectual functioning: an IQ test• Adaptive Skills: measures such as AAIDD’s Diagnostic

Adaptive Behavior Scale (DABS)

– Determining the Nature and Extent of General and Special Education and Related Services• For the older students, the Transition Planning

Inventory is useful

Partnering for Sp.Ed., and related services

• Transition Services key goals– To improve collaboration and links between

systems to support student achievement of meaningful school and post-school outcomes

– To promote the student’s self-determination and self-advocacy

– To increase parent participation and involvement

Partnering for Special Education and Related Services

• Four levels of transition teams– A statement transition team that includes

secondary educators, adult service providers, adults with disabilities, and family members

– A communitywide team representing all of the key agencies involved

– A school wide team consisting of key professionals and family members

– An IEP team for each student

Determining Supplementary Aides and Services

• Paraprofessionals– Paraprofessionals can be important– More than 280,000 in the U.S.– Paraprofessionals add appropriate levels of

support, they may isolate students, velcroed effect

– Roles and Responsibilities

Planning Other Educational Needs• Functional Skills may include:– Applied money concepts– Applied time concepts– Community mobility and access– Grooming and self-care– Leisure activities– Health and safety– Career Education

• Instruction in Inclusive Classrooms• Instruction in Community Settings

Early Childhood Services

• Prelinguistic milieu teaching• First, follow the child’s lead– Then, set the stage for communication– Finally, be strategic when using games like Pat-a-

Cake and Peak-a-Boo

Early Childhood Students

• Steps in prelinguistic milieu teaching– Prompt the child to communicate– Prompt the child to initiate– Vocally imitate the child’s resultant vocalizations– Comply with the child’s requests– Recode the child’s communication act– Acknowledge the child’s communication act– Talk to the child

Elementary and Middle School Students

• Self-determined learning models of instruction– 12 student questions– Teacher objectives– Educational support– Three phases:

1. What is my goal?2. What is my plan?3. What have I learned?

Secondary and Transition Students

• Community Based Instruction– Teaching in the natural environment– Community-based instructional approaches• Learn it where you’ll need to do it• Teacher it where you want your students to practice it

– Project TASSEL

Measure Students’ Progress

• Progress in the general curriculum– Date based monitoring: Requires teachers

regularly to collect different types of data such as:• Response by response data• Instructional and test data• Error data• Anecdotal data

Measure students’ progress

• Progress in addressing other educational needs– Ecological inventory process• Life Space Analysis

– Gather information about the student’s daily environment– Conduct ecological inventories– Conduct a discrepancy analysis– Perform an Activity Task Analysis

Making Accommodations for Assessment

• Accommodations may include:– Dictating responses to someone– Having extended time– Having test items orally read– Clarifying test times