1. Assessing Learners with Special Needs: An Applied Approach, 6e © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Chapter 10: Special Considerations of Assessment in Early Childhood and Transition

2. Assessing Learners with Special Needs: An Applied Approach, 6e Overton © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 2 Public Law 99-457 Established Birth – 5 services for infants and toddlers with disabilities Created the IFSP—Individualized Family Service Plan—includes the related needs of the family of the child with disabilities Assessment—areas include physical challenges, developmental motor skills, functional communication skills, behaviors in specific situations, and developmental competence.

3. Assessing Learners with Special Needs: An Applied Approach, 6e Overton © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 3 Family-centered programs— program in which the assessment and goals are driven by the family’s needs and priorities. Family focused programs—programs in which the family’s needs are considered but goals and plans are reached through mutual agreement between the family and educational professionals.

4. Assessing Learners with Special Needs: An Applied Approach, 6e Overton © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 4 Eligibility for Services Developmental delays—when an infant or child experiences delay in physical, cognitive, communicative, social, emotional, or adaptive development. At risk for developmental delay— when a child is believed to be at risk for delay in one or more areas if interventions are not provided.

5. Assessing Learners with Special Needs: An Applied Approach, 6e Overton © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 5 Biological risk factors—health factors, such as birth trauma, that place a child at risk for developmental disabilities. Environmental risk factors— environmental influences, such as the mother’s young age, that place a child at risk for developmental disabilities.

6. Assessing Learners with Special Needs: An Applied Approach, 6e Overton © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 6 Assessment of Infants Assessment of infants is complex. In order to determine if an infant has special needs, much information must be obtained by talking with the parents and caretakers of the infant. Other information is obtained by observation of the infant to determine if development is progressing as expected.

7. Assessing Learners with Special Needs: An Applied Approach, 6e Overton © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 7 Assessment of infants includes determining the infant’s everyday patterns in the areas of: regulation, cognitive development, social development, physiological development, motor development, and emerging speech and language development.

8. Assessing Learners with Special Needs: An Applied Approach, 6e Overton © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 8 Assessment of infants includes an evaluation of the family’s capacity for meeting the infant’s developmental needs. As part of the assessment, the family’s needs for caretaking, including available resources, must be determined.

9. Assessing Learners with Special Needs: An Applied Approach, 6e Overton © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 9 For example, when referrals are made to outside agencies, the family’s ability to visit those other agencies should be considered. Assessment of infants often includes data and reports from outside sources. For example, reports from family physicians may be necessary in order to determine and meet the needs of the developing infant with physical disabilities or health related problems.

10. Assessing Learners with Special Needs: An Applied Approach, 6e Overton © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 10 Methods of Assessing Toddlers In order to evaluate toddlers a variety of methods may be employed. These include: developmental rating scales completed by the parents, standardized norm-referenced scales of development and cognition, informal and formal methods of assessing social interactions, play evaluations, and arena assessment.

11. Assessing Learners with Special Needs: An Applied Approach, 6e Overton © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 11 Commonly Used Assessments Mullen Scales of Early Learning: AGS Edition The Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence, 3 rd Edition AGS Early Screening Profiles Kaufman Survey of Early Academic and Language Skills (K-SEALS) Developmental Indicators for the Assessment of Learning-Third Edition (DIAL-3)

12. Assessing Learners with Special Needs: An Applied Approach, 6e Overton © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 12 Play evaluations—observational informal assessment in a natural play environment. Arena assessment—technique that places the child and facilitator in the center of the team members for evaluation. Interactive strategies—strategies used by the examiner that encourage the child to use communication to solve problems.

13. Assessing Learners with Special Needs: An Applied Approach, 6e Overton © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 13 Observations—an informal assessment method of activities, language, and interactions in various settings. Situational questionnaires— questionnaires that assess the child’s behavior in various situations. Ecobehavioral interviews— interviews of parents and teachers that assess behavior in different settings and routines.

14. Assessing Learners with Special Needs: An Applied Approach, 6e Overton © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 14 Early Childhood Pre-Reading Skills Phonemic awareness— Comprehension of individual sounds that make up words. Phonemic synthesis—The blending of isolated sounds into a whole word. Phonemic analysis—The breaking up of a word into isolated syllables.

15. Assessing Learners with Special Needs: An Applied Approach, 6e Overton © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 15 Phonemic synthesis: /k/ /a/ /k/ = cake Phonemic analysis: cake = /k/ /a/ /k/

16. Assessing Learners with Special Needs: An Applied Approach, 6e Overton © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 16 Assessing Children Referred for Autism Spectrum Disorders Autism Spectrum Disorders—a grouping of pervasive disorders that are characterized by significant difficulties in capacity for social reciprocity, communication delays, and repetitive behavior patterns. Assessment involves observations and data collection from a variety of sources and environments, and should be developmentally appropriate.

17. Assessing Learners with Special Needs: An Applied Approach, 6e Overton © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 17 Commonly Used Assessments Gilliam Autism Rating Scale-2 (GARS-2) Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) The Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) The Autism Diagnostic Interview- Revised (ADI-R)

18. Assessing Learners with Special Needs: An Applied Approach, 6e Overton © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 18 Assistive Technology and Assessment Assistive technology—any assistive device that enables persons with disabilities to function better in their environments. Assistive technology evaluation— an assessment to determine what devices are needed to promote successful functioning within the school educational environment.

19. Assessing Learners with Special Needs: An Applied Approach, 6e Overton © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 19 Transition and Postsecondary Considerations Transition planning—Planning required to meet the student’s needs following high school. Transition planning may include planning for vocational training and employment, independent living, and continuing education in a college or other educational setting.

20. Assessing Learners with Special Needs: An Applied Approach, 6e Overton © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 20 Transition and Postsecondary Assessment Assessment for transition and postsecondary needs may include: cognitive and adaptive behavioral assessment, assessment of transition needs, assessment of academic skills, and assessment of functional behavior.

21. Assessing Learners with Special Needs: An Applied Approach, 6e Overton © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 21 The results of the assessment for transition and postsecondary needs are then used to identify the resources and agencies that will become part of the student’s education and employment following high school.

22. Assessing Learners with Special Needs: An Applied Approach, 6e Overton © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 22 Supported employment—employing a person with a disability with persons without disabilities. A job coach and other supports are typical. Self-determination—a combination of skills, knowledge, and beliefs that enable a person to engage in goal directed, self-regulated, autonomous behavior.

23. Assessing Learners with Special Needs: An Applied Approach, 6e Overton © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 23 Transition Planning Inventory: Updated Version (TPI-UV) Assessing functional academics Kaufman Functional Assessment Skills Test (K-FAST)

24. Assessing Learners with Special Needs: An Applied Approach, 6e Overton © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 24 The results of the assessment for transition and postsecondary needs may also be used to determine the type of living environment in which the student can best function. This may include independent living, supported living, or partially supported living.