Transcript Special Education Process

The Special Education
Process—Part II
National Association of
Special Education
Teachers
Special Education
Process-Part II
Evaluation, Diagnosis,
Classification, and
Placement of students
with Disabilities
Overview of the
Multidisciplinary Team
Once the CST has tried
everything possible and
the issues still exist, a
referral is made to the
team that will be
responsible for the formal
assessment.
Overview of the Multidisciplinary
Team
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This team is called the
multidisciplinary team (MDT). Since
this referral by the CST is for a formal
assessment it will require another
referral form to be filled out.
Review of Special Education
Process-Part I-Determination of a
Suspected Disability
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Step 1-Initial Referral
Step II-Gathering Available School
Records
Step III-Initial Child Study Team Meeting
Step IV-Parent Intake
Step V- Pre-Referral Strategy Plans
Step VI-Determination of a Suspected
Disability
Overview of the Multidisciplinary
Team
. A formal referral to the MDT is
nothing more than a form starting
the special education process.
 A referral for more formal
individualized evaluation and
possible special education services is
initiated by a written request by the
CST.
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Overview of the Multidisciplinary
Team
 However,
you should
understand that other people
other than the CST have the
right under due process to
initiate a formal referral for a
child with a suspected
disability.
Referral to the MDT
Depending on state regulations,
these could include:
 The child’s parent and advocate or
person in parental relationship
 A classroom teacher
 Any professional staff member of the
public or private school district
 A judicial officer- A representative of
the court
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Referral to the MDT
A student on his or her own behalf if
he/she is 18 years of age or older, or
an emancipated minor- a person
under the age of 18 years of age who
has been given “certain adult rights”
by the court.
 The Chief School Officer of the State
or his designee responsible for
welfare, education or health of
children.
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Referral to the MDT from the
School Staff
Initial Referral to the MDT From the
School Staff
 To: Chairperson of the MDT
 From: Bill Wethers
School: Harrison
High
Date:5/15/00
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Name/Title: Chairperson of the Child Study
Team
The following student is being referred to
the CSE for suspicion of a disability:
 Student Name:
Rosa Carlarzo
Sex: F
Grade:
5
Ethnicity:
Referral to the MDT from the
School Staff
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Parent/Guardian Name: Livia/Carlos
Address: 12 High Court
City:
Birchwood Glen
State:
Zip: 15789
Telephone: (914) 456-9867
Date of Birth: 3/2/90
Current Program Placement: Regular
mainstream
Teacher (Elem): Mrs. Buglia
Guidance Counselor (Secondary):
NY
Referral to the MDT from the
School Staff
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Reasons for Referral: Describe the specific reason
and/or needs that indicate the suspicion of a
disability. Specify reason why referral is
considered appropriate and necessary.
Rosa is being referred for a formal assessment as
the result of suspected learning disability. The
school has attempted a variety of pre-referral
strategies but have been unable to change Rosa’s
level of impaired performance. Rosa exhibits
severe problems in processing information,
retaining information and expressing her ideas on
paper. While she is a bright girl, and articulates
appropriately, her written expression is well
below average. Rosa also needs a great deal of
attention, encouragement and monitoring in the
classroom. She is not a self starter and tends to
avoid academic tasks.
Referral to the MDT from the
School Staff
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Describe recent attempts to remediate the pupil’s
performance prior to referral, including regular
education interventions such as remedial reading
and math, teaching modifications, behavior
modifications, speech improvement, parent
conferences, etc. and the results of those
interventions.
The referral is considered necessary at this time
because Rosa continues to do poorly in school
despite classroom modifications, parent training
and conferences, portfolio assessment,
observation, remedial reading and math
intervention, and changes in teaching strategies
and management. The results of these
intervention strategies have been unsuccessful
and have even added to Rosa’s sense of
frustration and lack of confidence.
Referral to the MDT from the
School Staff
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Do you have a signed Parent Assessment
Plan ? __X_yes___no (If yes send copy
attached)
Is there an attendance problem?
Yes__X__No____
Language Spoken at home? English
Did student repeat a grade? Yes___No__X_If
yes, when?
Is an interpreter needed?
Yes___No_X__Deaf:
Is a bilingual assessment needed?
Yes___no__X_ If yes, what language
Referral to the MDT from the
School Staff
Is student eligible to receive
ESL(English as a Second Language)
services?yes____no__X_
 If yes, how many years receiving ESL
services? __NA__ If yes, determine
how student’s educational, cultural
and experiential background were
considered to determine if these
factors are contributing to the
student’s learning or behavior
problems
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Referral to the MDT from the
School Staff
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TEST SCORES WITHIN LAST YEAR
(i.e. Standardized Achievement, Regents
Competency etc)
TEST NAME
AREA MEASURED
PERCENTILE SCORE
COMMENT
1-Wechsler Ind. Achievement Test
22
Screening
2- Wechsler Ind. Achievement Test
18
Screening
3- Wechsler Ind. Achievement Test
12
Screening
4- Wechsler Ind. Achievement Test
67
Screening
5- Wechsler Ind. Achievement Test
11
Screening
6-KBIT-Kauffman Brief Intelligence Test
67
Basic Reading
Reading Comp.
Numerical Operations
Oral Expression
Written Expression
Intelligence
Referral to the MDT from the
School Staff
Has school staff informed parent/guardian of
referral to CSE? Yes_X__No___
 By whom? School Psychologist
 What was the reaction of the parent/guardian to
the referral? Positive
 To be Completed by School Nurse-Medical Report
Summary
 Any medication? Yes___No_X__If yes, specify:
 Health Problems? Yes___No_X__If Yes Specify:
 Schorliosis Screening: Positive____Negative__X__
 Date of Last: Physical: 8/99 Vision results: Normal
Hearing Results: Normal
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Referral to the MDT from the
School Staff
Relevant Medical information: None
Nurse Teacher signature:
 Principal’s signature
 To Be Completed By The Appropriate
Administrator
 Date received:
Signature:
 Chairperson:
 Date Notice and Consent Sent to
Parent/Guardian:
 Parent Consent for Initial Evaluation Rec’d:
 Date Agreement To withdraw Referral Received:
 Projected Eligibility Meeting Date:
 If eligible, projected date of implementation of
services:
 Projected Eligibility Board of education meting
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Membership of the Multidisciplinary
Team (MDT)
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While specific state regulations may
differ on the membership of the MDT,
the members are usually drawn from
individuals and professionals within
the school and community.
Membership of the Multidisciplinary
Team (MDT)
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You should also be aware that the
law mandates that an individual who
is an expert in the field of the
suspected disability must be a
member of the MDT. For instance, in
the case of a suspected learning
disability you will be considered the
expert on the team in this area.
Membership of the Multidisciplinary
Team (MDT)
School Psychologist: The role of the school
psychologist on the MDT involves the
administration of individual intelligence
tests, projective tests, personality
inventories, and the observation of the
student in a variety of settings.
 School Nurse: The role of the school nurse
is to review all medical records, screen for
vision and hearing, consults with outside
physicians, and may refer to outside
physicians if necessary.
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Membership of the Multidisciplinary
Team (MDT)
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Classroom Teacher: Works with the local school
based Child Study Team to implement pre-referral
strategies, plans and implements, along with the
special education team, classroom strategies that
create an appropriate working environment for
the student.
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School Social Worker: The social worker’s role on
the MDT is to gather and provide information
concerning the family system. This may be
accomplished through interviews, observations,
conferences etc.
Membership of the Multidisciplinary
Team (MDT)
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Special Education Teacher: The role of this
individual includes consultation to parents and
classroom teachers about pre-referral
recommendations, administers educational and
perceptual tests, may be called upon to observe
the student in a variety of settings, may be
involved in the screening of students with
suspected disabilities, writes IEP’s including goals
and objectives and recommends intervention
strategies to teachers and parents.
Membership of the Multidisciplinary
Team (MDT)
Educational diagnostician: Administers
a series of evaluations including normreferenced and criterion referenced tests,
observes the student in a variety of
settings, makes educational
recommendations that get applied to the
IEP as goals and objectives.
 Special education supervisor:
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Membership of the Multidisciplinary
Team (MDT)
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Physical Therapist: The physical therapist is called
upon to evaluate a child who may be experiencing
problems in gross motor functioning, living and
self help skills, and vocational skills necessary for
the student to be able to function in certain
settings. This professional may be used to screen,
evaluate, provide direct services or consult with
the teacher, parent or school.
Behavioral consultant: This individual works
closely with the team in providing direct services
or consultation on issues involving behavioral and
classroom management techniques and
programs.
Membership of the Multidisciplinary
Team (MDT)
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Speech/Language clinician: This professional will
be involved in screening for speech and language
developmental problems, be asked to provide a
full evaluation on a suspected language disability,
provide direct services, and consult with staff and
parents.
Audiologist: This professional will be called upon
to evaluate a student’s hearing for possible
impairments and as a result of the findings may
refer the student for medical consultation or
treatment. The audiologist may also assist in
helping students and parents obtain equipment
i.e. hearing aids that may impact on the child’s
ability to function in school.
Membership of the MDT
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Occupational Therapist: The occupational therapist is called
upon to evaluate a child who may be experiencing problems
in fine motors skills and living and self help skills, This
professional may be used to screen, evaluate, provide direct
services, consult with the teacher, parent or school and
assist in obtaining the appropriate assistive technology or
equipment for the student.
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Guidance Counselor: This individual may be involved in
providing aptitude test information, provide counseling
services, work with the team on consolidating, changing, or
developing a student’s class schedule, and assist the Child
Study Team in developing pre-referral strategies.
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Parents: The parents plays an extremely important role on
the MDT in providing input for the IEP, working closely with
members of the team, and carry out, assist, or initiate
academic or management programs within the child’s
home.
Objectives of the MDT
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Only when the parents have been
informed of their rights, a release is
obtained, and the assessment plan is
signed, can assessment begin. The
MDT has several evaluation options
from which to choose depending
upon the specializations of the
members of the MDT.
Assessment Domains
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Psychologist: responsible for an
intellectual assessment and a
dynamic assessment
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Intellectual Assessment Options
 Wechsler Scales of Intelligence
 Stanford Binet Intelligence Test
Psychological Assessments
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1.
1.
Wechsler Scales of Intelligence
Wechsler Preschool and Primary
Scales of Intelligence-WPPSI-III for
ages 2.6-7 years of age
Wechsler Intelligence Scale for
Children-IV-WISC-IV for ages 6-1611
Psychological Assessments
3-Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-WAIS-III for
ages 16-11 on
This intelligence test is the universal
standard most often used by School
Psychologists. This version of the Wechsler
is standardized for children from age 6 to
16.
 The test is divided into two main sections.
The Verbal Scale measures how well
children are able to express themselves
verbally and how well they are able to
understand what is being said to them.
The Performance Scale measures the
nonverbal areas of being able to perceive
spatial relationships, such as putting
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Psychological Assessment
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Using test interpretation, the three
I.Q. scores and the specific pattern of
strengths and weaknesses indicate
how well the child is able to learn
and whether there are any specific
learning disabilities. This information
is then used to predict at what
academic level the child should be
functioning. In this way, diagnoses of
learning impairments are possible.
Psychological Assessment
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Stanford Binet Intelligence Scale
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This intelligence test is a standard tool of
many school psychologists. This test has
been fairly recently revised and now
provides multiple I.Q. scores instead of a
single I.Q. score, as before. In addition to
being able to measure the verbal and
nonverbal areas of a child's development,
the Binet also provides a quantitative
score, measuring the child's mathematical
reasoning, and a memory score, measuring
the child's short term memory.
Psychological Assessment
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The materials in this test are very
appealing to children. The child has
little chance to become bored with
this test since the activities are
changed frequently. The test is
somewhat cumbersome for the
psychologist to administer. For that
reason, many psychologists prefer
the Wechsler scales.
Dynamic Assessment
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Measuring Personality: Often the first
step in understanding personality is
to come up with tools that measure
it.
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The tools used by psychologists tend
to fall into two general categories:
Dynamic or Projective Tests
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Objective tests are paper and pencil
type tests that directly ask a person
to answer various questions about
their personality i.e. MMPI
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Projective tests examine personality
in a much more indirect way by
assessing a patients reaction to
certain stimuli
Dynamic or Projective Tests
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The Rorschach (or inkblot) test in which students
are asked to describe what they see when
presented with an ambiguous pattern of ink
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The Thematic Apperception Test: People are
shown ambiguous pictures and are asked to
construct a story about the events that lead up to
the picture, including detailed discussion about
what the characters in the story are doing and
thinking. The notion is that the person will project
themselves into the story and the things they tell
you about the characters are really about
themselves
Dynamic or Projective Tests
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Figure drawings
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Sentence completion tests i.e. When
I grow up I want to be a ____ When
my father comes home I____ Friends
are____
Symptoms that Might Indicate a
Need for a Psychological Evaluation
High levels of tension and anxiety
exhibited in behavior
 Aggressive behavior
 Lack of motivation or indications of
low energy levels
 Patterns of denial
 Oppositional behavior
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Psychological Symptoms
Despondency
 Inconsistent academic performance,
ranging from very low to very high
 History of inappropriate judgment
 Lack of impulse control
 Extreme and consistent attention
seeking behavior
 Pattern of provocative behavior
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Educational Evaluation
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Such an evaluation is frequently
recommended when a child's
academic skill levels (reading, math,
writing, and spelling) are unknown
or inconsistent and when his or her
learning process shows gaps (e.g.,
memory and expression).
Educational Evaluation
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This type of evaluation will:
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will determine strengths and weaknesses
in the child’s academic and processing
areas.
Educational Evaluation
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Whatever achievement battery (a
battery is a group of tests) the
special educator chooses, it should
be one that covers enough skill areas
to make an adequate diagnosis of
academic strengths and weaknesses.
Areas Covered in an Educational
Evaluation
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Reading
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Math
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Spelling
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Written Expression
Examples of Tests used in
Educational Evaluations
Wechsler Individual Achievement
Test-II (WIAT-II)
 Woodcock Johnson Achievement
Battery
 Gray Oral Reading Test (GORT)
 Key Math Test
 Test of Written Spelling (TWS)
 Test of Written Language (TOWL)
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Language Evaluations
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This recommendation usually occurs
when the child is experiencing
significant delays in speech or
language development, problems in
articulation, or problems in receptive
or expressive language.
Perceptual Evaluation
A perceptual evaluation is suggested when
the team suspects discrepancies in the
child’s ability to receive and process
information.
 The evaluation may give us this
information that is very useful when
making practical recommendations to
teachers about how to best-input
information to assist the child's ability to
learn.
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Occupational Therapy
Evaluation
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The team may consider this evaluation
when the child is exhibiting problems
involving fine motor/upper body functions.
Examples of these would include abnormal
movement patterns, sensory problems
(sensitive to sound, visual changes etc.),
and hardship with daily living activities,
organizational problems, attention span
difficulties, equipment analysis, and
interpersonal problems.
Other Evaluations
 Psychiatric
Evaluation
 Physical Therapy Evaluation
 Neurological Evaluation
 Audiological Evaluation
 Vocational Assessment
Non Standardized Forms of
Assessment
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Ecological assessment basically
involves directly observing and assessing
the child in the many environments in
which he or she routinely operates.
Non Standardized Forms of
Assessment
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Curriculum-based assessment (CBA) is one
type of direct evaluation. "Tests" of
performance in this case come directly
from the curriculum. For example, a child
may be asked to read from his or her
reading book for one minute. Information
about the accuracy and the speed of
reading can then be obtained and
compared with other students in the class,
building, or district. CBA is quick and
offers specific information about how a
student may differ from peers.
Non Standardized Forms of
Assessment
Portfolio Assessment: Perhaps the most
important type of assessment for the
classroom teacher is the portfolio
assessment.
 A portfolio is “a purposeful collection of
student works that exhibits the student’s
efforts, progress, and achievement in one
or more areas. The collection must include
student participation in selecting contents,
the criteria for selection, the criteria for
judging merit, and evidence of student
self-reflection.”
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Follow –Up Child Study Team
Meeting
 Options
 Referral
to the Committee on
Special Education
 Development of the CSE
Packet-Case Manager
 Meeting with the teacher/s
Reporting Test Results to
Parents
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Assigned members of the MDT will
hold a follow-up meeting with the
parent/s to discuss the results of the
comprehensive assessment
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At that meeting they will also answer
any questions on due process rights
and inform the parent of the
procedures of the CSE meeting that
will be held
Reporting Test Results to
Parents
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Freedom of Information Act
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Copy of CSE Packet
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Parent Booklet from NY State
Education dept.
Committee on Special Education (Also
know as the IEP Committee, or
Eligibility Committee)
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This committee is usually made up of
mandated members and assigned
members whom the board of
education deems necessary. Most
states require that certain
professionals and individuals be core
members.
Committee on Special Education
These usually include:
 an administrator or director of pupil
personnel services or director of special
education
 school psychologist
 a medical doctor (does not need to be in
attendance at every meeting but should be
present anytime medical issues are
involved i.e. health related classifications,
issues involving medication etc.), and
 a parent of a disabled child residing within
the district.
Committee on Special Education
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Other professionals may be appointed
such as a guidance counselor, social
worker, nurse teacher, and so on. The
child's teacher is usually required to
attend the meeting but at the secondary
level, where a child may have numerous
teachers, the guidance counselor usually
represents all the teachers’ views and
comments after consultation with the
child's teachers.
Responsibilities of the CSE
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1-Following appropriate procedures
and taking appropriate action on any
child referred as having a suspected
disability.
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2-Determining the suitable
classification for a child with a
suspected disability. The
classifications from which the
Eligibility Committee chooses are
Responsibilities of the CSE
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3-Reviewing, at least annually, the
status of each disabled child residing
within the district.
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4-Evaluating the adequacy of
programs, services and facilities for
the disabled children in the district.
Responsibilities of the CSE
5-Reviewing and evaluating all
relevant information that may appear
on each disabled student.
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6-Maintaining ongoing
communication in writing to parents
in regards to planning, modifying,
changing, reviewing, placing or
evaluating the program,
classification or educational plan for
a disabled child
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Responsibilities of the CSE
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7-Advising the Board of Education
as to the status and
recommendations for all disabled
children in the district.
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8-Determining the least restrictive
educational setting for any child
having been classified as having a
disability.
Annual Review
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An annual review of a disabled child's
classification and educational program by
the CSE. The purpose of this review which
includes the parent and sometimes the
student, recommends the continuation,
modification or termination of
classification, placement or IEP needs and
related services for the upcoming year.
Triennial Evaluation
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A full and comprehensive reexamination of
a disabled child held every three years.
This reexamination may include
educational, psychological, and medical or
any evaluation deemed necessary by the
CSE in order to determine the child's
continuing eligibility for special education.
Aging Out
 Aging
out is the date upon
which the disabled child will
no longer be eligible for
tuition free educational
services.
Adaptive Physical education
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specially designed physical education
program for disabled children who cannot
, as a result of their disability, benefit from
the normal school program. This program
is an individually designed program of
games, sports, and developmental
activities that are individually suited to the
needs, interests, capabilities, and
limitations of each disabled child.