SLEUTHING YOUR STUDENT’S COMPREHENSION Provincial Integration Support Program

What do we mean by Comprehension?  Understanding others’ communication  Understanding what is happening  Interpreting cues and signals in the environment  Handling changes and transitions

Specific Comprehension Skills Direction Following Object/Picture Identification Matching Sorting Functions Answering yes-no questions

Why?

Better understanding of student’s abilities More appropriate individual educational plan

CHALLENGES

 Formal assessment tools are not usually appropriate  Standardized tests normed on typically developing children with intact sensory and motor systems  Children are also expected to have adequate fine motor skills so that they can touch, point, and/or manipulate objects or pictures reliably  Lack of world knowledge

Sensory Challenges  Auditory  Hearing Loss  Difficulty filtering background noise from foreground auditory information

Visual  Cortical Visual Impairment

Physical Challenges Eye-hand coordination can be difficult Crossing mid-line can be difficult

ASSESSMENT STRATEGIES

What forms of communication does the student understand?  Gestures  Cues from the environment  Speech  Manual signs  Signs, logos, pictures  Printed material

 Separate objects or pictures  Enlarge pictures  Use different response methods:  Yes/No  Same/different  Numbers  Use assisted scanning

Some points about Yes/No responses Typically developing children don’t reliably answer yes/no questions before 30 months of age By about 18 months, they recognize a yes/no question, but usually respond in the affirmative because that’s what is usually expected for the response

Typically developing children first hear “no” in terms of prohibiting an action. Children with severe disabilities usually hear the word “no” much less There are different types of yes/no questions: Acceptance/rejection: in the present Confirmation/denial: in the past Knowledge testing

Children with severe disabilities are often asked rhetorical questions, for which a response is not really expected Example: Do you want me to stop feeding you?

 Use response methods that the student can control volitionally:  Head turning  Eye movements  Body movements/gestures

Observe the student :  with a variety of people  In a variety of environments

Interview people who know the student well

What to assess?  Direction Following  Auditory Sequencing  Auditory Memory

Skill Expected by Look at the window. Close your eyes. End of Kindergarten Look at the book, then look at the window End of grade 1 Look up, then open your mouth, then look at the book End of grade 2 Open your mouth, then look at the book, then look up, then look at the brush End of grade 3

ASSESSING SYMBOL USE FOR COMMUNICATION

LANGUAGE COMPREHENSION CHECKLIST

COMPREHENSION CHOICE MAKING DATA COLLECTION

COGNITIVE STEPPING STONES

TREATMENT STRATEGIES

Make sure that student’s physical needs are met - e.g., wheelchair tray on to increase stabilization

 Following directions within the students physical and sensory abilities  Teach vocabulary and concepts in natural contexts  Use Visual Supports  Ask student to “show” you or to “look at” something  Teach yes/no responding  Ask “What,” “Who,” “Where” questions

 Teaching augmentative or alternative communication skills is comparable to foreign language immersion

Model and pause, model and pause, model and pause ….