Understanding Students with Intellectual Disabilities Chapter 9

Defining Intellectual Disabilities AAIDD definition 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.

Adaptive behaviors everyday living skills such as walking, talking, getting dressed, going to school, going to work, preparing a meal, cleaning the house, etc. They are skills that a person learns in the process of adapting to his/her surroundings.

Definitions of Intensities of Support Intermittent: As needed Limited: Consistency, but time limited Extensive: Regular involvement (daily), not time limited Pervasive: Constant, high intensity, potential life sustaining nature

Characteristics of Intellectual Disabilities Limitations in Intellectual Functioning Measured through use of IQ tests (70 or below) 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 chromosomes Social Behavioral Educational

Evaluating Diagnostic Adaptive Behavior Scale AAMR Adaptive Behavior Scale

Transition Transition Planning Inventory To improve collaboration and links between systems to support student achievement of meaningful school and post-school outcomes To promote the students self-determination and self-advocacy To increase parent participation and involvement

Paraprofessionals Paraprofessionals can be important More than 280,000 in U.S. Paraprofessionals add appropriate levels of support, they may isolate students; velcroed effect Roles and Responsibilities

Measuring Students Progress Progress in the general curriculum Data-based monitoring: Requires teachers regularly to collect different types of data such as: 1. Response-by-response data 2. Instructional and test data 3. Error data 4. Anecdotal data

Making Accommodations for Assessment Accommodations may include: Dictating responses to someone Having extended time Having test items orally read Clarifying test items