1. English Language Development for Students With Significant Cognitive Disabilities
Laurene Christensen, Ph.D., National Center on Educational Outcomes
Vitaliy Shyyan, Ph.D., National Center on Educational Outcomes

2. What does NCEO do? www.nceo.info
Mission: To support the development of inclusive assessment in a rapidly changing state (and consortium) assessment system environment in order to promote improved educational results for students with disabilities.

3. Today’s Essential Questions
Who are students with significant cognitive disabilities?
Who are ELLs with significant cognitive disabilities?
What do we believe about students with significant cognitive disabilities related to their receptive and expressive language development?
How do we separate English language development from language development of for students with significant cognitive disabilities?
What is the difference between language and communication?
How does what we know about language systems affect the socio-cultural implications of including these learners in ESL programming?

4. Who Are Students With Significant Cognitive Disabilities?

5. Students With Significant Cognitive Disabilities
Represent ~1% or fewer of the total assessed population
3 primary disabilities categories are usually listed:
Mental Retardation
Multiple Disabilities
Autism
Highly varied levels of expressive/receptive language use
Most students in the population use symbolic communication
Level of symbolic language distribution is similar across grade-bands
Most of the population read basic sight words and solve simple math problems with a calculator.

6. Students With Significant Cognitive Disabilities
69% likely use symbolic language (verbal or written words, signs, braille, or language- based augmentative systems) to communicate
Approximately 20% use intentional communication, e.g., consistent patterns of gestures or sounds
Approximately 10% communicate primarily through cries, facial expressions, change in muscle tone
There are many misperceptions about students with take an AA-AAS.
Most of them already have basic communication and academic skills.
Although 31% do not have symbolic language, about 20% have identifiable communication methods (e.g. consistent patterns of gestures or sounds) The remaining 10% of students also communicate. However, they do so in ways that may be difficult to identify or understand.
The skills for all the students who take an AA-AAS can be improved with appropriate communication interventions and instruction linked to grade level standards.

7. Who Are ELLs With Significant Cognitive Disabilities?

8. IEP Team Determined The student is classified as ELL.
Student records indicate a disability or multiple disabilities that significantly affect the student’s intellectual functioning and adaptive behavior.
The student is or will be participating in his or her statewide alternate assessment based on alternate achievement standards.

9. The student has a significant cognitive disability.
Not Determined by:
Determined by:
A disability category or label
An IQ score
Native language, social/cultural, or economic differences
Anticipated poor performance or disruptive behavior
The student’s need for extensive, direct individualized instruction
The student’s need for substantial supports to achieve measureable gains
The student’s use of substantially adapted materials and individualized methods of accessing information

10. Participation of ELLs with Significant Cognitive Disabilities in ELP Assessments

11. Federal Guidance on ELLs With Significant Cognitive Disabilities
IEP team membership
Participation in alternate ELP assessments
Provision of accommodations on a case-by- case basis
Meaningful involvement of parents

12. How do we separate English language development from language development of students with significant cognitive disabilities?
Axel Cortes, is a twelve year old elementary bi-lingual student with autism at Idelhurst Elementary in New Hampshire.
Axel Video

13. Language
Language is a specific form of communication where letters, figures, numbers, characters, gestures, or combination thereof (spoken, visual, or both) is universally accepted by a culture or sub culture to facilitate common ideas, expressions, and thoughts.
Students do not move lockstep in language development.
Language is learned by using language in all four domains: listening, speaking, reading, and writing.

14. Communication
Communication is a social event which requires sending or receiving messages with an agreed upon sets of symbols, gestures, objects, pictures, words, sounds, movements.
Communication can be words-based, but often is not for students with cognitive delays who may not use words or more words due to the nature of their disabilities.
Because of their cognitive, social, and communicative delays, these children may have a different form of language to fulfill the function of language (to communicate) based on the individual student needs and abilities.
If the student has a language system (any type of AAC), then the student has access to the language needed to access contents and more because he/she can communicate with set of symbols, gestures, objects, pictures, words, etc., which the student uses as language. 

15. What do we believe about students with significant cognitive disabilities related to their receptive and expressive language development?

16. Communication Beliefs
All individuals and all behaviors (including gestures, cries, noises) communicate.
Communication is possible and identifiable for all students.
Every step toward improved communication, attention, and interaction leads to increased independence
No more fundamental outcome of education exists than the right and the ability to communicate.

17. Symbolic Understanding and Receptive Communication,
A Student Can Have
Symbolic Understanding and
Receptive Communication,
but not Use Symbolic Communication
EXPRESSIVELY.

18. What if the student does not have a dedicated communication system?
The “absence of evidence is not evidence of absence” (Donnellan, 2000).
It is time for a new paradigm because more and more evidence years of research – is refuting the prevailing paradigm. We know that intelligence is not fixed which means that many times, we assume a student can not learn because of in IQ test taking in 3rd grade. What if our futures were determined by a single test in time? Twenty years of research and teacher testimonials tell us that students with cognitive disabilities are capable of learning much more that we believed before. We know that students learn best when we hold high expectations and believe in them (e.g., Carol Dweck, “growth mindset”). We also know that many students need and should be using an alternate or augmentative means of communication in order for us to learn what they know and for them to communicate effectively. The need for a means by which to communicate – an individual communication system for each student - cannot be overemphasized!

19. Intent + Mode (form or language system) + Listener Comprehension =
Successful Communication

20. All Students Communication
Teachers observe to identify communication intent and mode/form
Communications targets (intents) are selected
Student strengths are used to establish the best form or mode of communication
Family members describe what the students like and dislike the most
The team records observations of student preferences (likes/dislikes)

21. Expressive Levels of Communication
Symbolic level or true language use
Emerging symbolic communication: students use pictures, objects, signs to communicate a variety of intents
Pre-symbolic communication

22. Receptive Levels of Communication
Understand simple directions without supportive cues
Understand simple directions with cues
Alerts and attends to others
Does not alert to others

23. Non-Verbal Communication
Intercultural Communication at Work McMan Youth, Family and Community Services
November 17
Non-Verbal Communication
Tone
Touch
Personal distance
Facial expressions
Gestures
Eye contact
If time: examples of each behavior and how other will interpret/judge it
Touch: storti’s example of touching of a typical couple in a café:
Examples:
Touching – CI normal and often, C2 – less often
Loudness of speaking voice – C1 – softer, C2 – louder
Shaking Hands (C1 – firm, then let go of hand, C2 – weaker, and hold onto hand longer
Material Developed by Intercultural Education Program Immigration and Settlement Service Catholic Social Services Do not copy without permission

24. Non-Verbal Communication
Can you guess what this gesture means in Japan?
This Japanese gesture means “angry.”

25. Non-Verbal Communication
Can you guess what this gesture means in France?
This French gesture means “I do not believe you.”

26. Non-Verbal Communication
Can you guess what this gesture means in Iran?
This Iranian gesture is extremely obscene.

27. Non-Verbal Communication
Can you guess what this gesture means in Nigeria and other parts of West Africa?
Rumsfeld’s gesture in Nigerian culture is also extremely obscene. It means what the extended middle finger means in America times five.

28. The Least Dangerous Assumption IS to Presume Competence!
Acting on the presumption of competence provides students with the opportunity to learn, achieve, and ultimately become more independent.
The least dangerous assumption is to presume competence. Acting on the presumption of competence provides students with the opportunity to learn, achieve, and ultimately become more independent.
Presuming incompetence means we do not teach more challenging, age-appropriate curriculum; we do not provide opportunities for growth; and we do not see the value or need in establishing a student’s mean for communication.
Take a minute to think about presuming competence and then share with a neighbor how decisions we make about a student’s educational program and supports might be different if we presume the student is competent.  

29. laurene@umn.edu shyya001@umn.edu
Thank
you!