Current Assessment Trends and Instructional Advances Toward Children With ASD

1. Current Assessment Trends and Instructional Advances Toward Children With ASD Rapides Parish School District Dr. Gary L. Jones- Superintendent Debbie Morrison-Director Connie Chenevert- Acting Director Karen Williams- Pupil Appraisal Manager

2. Diagnosis: Multi-Comprehensive • Begins with three categories: a. Communication b. Social c. Restricted & Repetitive Behavior • Louisiana Skill Competencies: 1.1K, 3.1K, 4.1K, 5.1K

3. Diagnosis: Multi-comprehensive • Within these three categories, there are a variety of features: a. Number (Quantitative) b. Level of severity (Qualitative) c. Combination of symptoms

4. Comprehensive Approach • Use a Multi-Disciplinary Team • Multiple Areas of Functioning • Collect/Observe a Variety of Settings (Customary Environments) • Provide a Single Coherent View • Louisiana Skill Competencies- 2.1K, 2.2.3S

5. Comprehensive Approach • Provide implementation for Adaptive & Learning. • Communicate: Schools & Outside Providers • Difference between DSM-IV & Bulletin 1508 is Qualitative and Quantitative • Louisiana Skill Competencies 1.1K, 1.2.1S

6. Assessment Should Include: • Cognitive Abilities: there may be coexisting conditions/associated features that may include, but are not limited to cognitive delays…….. If you can assess cognitive abilities formally, they should be…….. a. Carefully selected b. Address language skills c. Clear & precise instructions d. Social Demands e. Timed Tasks (attention to tasks) f. Motor Involvement • Louisiana Skill Competencies- 1.4K

7. Assessment • Depending on the level of difficulty, measure may optimize or diminish performance. However, RTI should help you to determine assessment. • Should differentiate between those children who are primarily mentally disabled as opposed to those that are primarily autistic. • Louisiana Competencies- 2.1K

8. Assessment of Language & Communication • Look at formal parts, as well as Language Expression and Comprehension • Atypical Feature: Echolalia, pronoun reversal, scripted language • Really Look AT: • Prosody (inflection, volume, register) • Nonverbal Forms (gestures, eye contact) • Use of Language (Social & Reciprocal) • Non-Literal Language • Louisiana Competencies- 2.1.6S

9. Other Assessment Areas: Adaptive Behavior : • Looks at person’s social skills, independent living skills, self-sufficiency • Vineland Adaptive /Behavior Scales (2nd Ed.) Looks at communication, daily living, socialization, motor, maladaptive behavior • Louisiana Competencies- 4.1K

10. Other Assessment Areas • Sensory & Motor Areas: Assess using a variety of resources (Occupational and Physical therapist) • Specialized Medical Evaluations (Geneticists, Neurologist) • Neuropsychological, Academics, Vocational (Psych, EDs, Vocational Specialist, Teachers, etc.) • Louisiana Competencies- 1.4.3S, 2.1.5S, 2.1.6S

11. Trends in Assessment: • Developmental History: (clinical interviews, record reviews, video recordings, etc.) • Cognitive Development /Behavioral (do not interpret IQ in isolation; should address skill or performance deficits) • Diagnostic Assessment (Academic &Developmental Levels) • Speech, Language, Communication (expressive, receptive, pragmatic, functional) • Sensory (educational impact in sensory areas and need for intervention and/or accommodations) • Motor (fine motor and gross motor impacted due to disability itself i.e., tactile defensive, performance or acquisition, vestibular, position of body in space )

12. ASSESSMENT Parent Component • Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (M-CHAT) • Autism Diagnostic Interviews Revised (ADI-R) • Semi-structured • Investigator-based • Interview for caregivers • Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ) • Formerly known as Autism Screening Questionnaire • Looks at communication & social functioning • Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) • measures severity of ASD, looks at social awareness, information processing, reciprocal communication, social anxiety/avoidance, autistic preoccupations/traits

13. ASSESSMENT • Child Observation & Rating Scale: (CARS) • direct observation • Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) • semi-structured interview • good reliability and validity

14. ASSESSMENT • Teacher Report: Autism Behavior Checklist-ABC • Measures impairment on a quantitative scale rather than a yes or no decision • Looks at social awareness • Social cognition • Social communication • Social motivation • And autistic mannerisms • GARS; SRS; GADS • Louisiana Competencies- 2.1K, 2.1.2S

15. ASSESSMENT • ADOS: 4 Modules * • Based on communication • Items coded on 4 point severity range • Unstructured Play assessment • Social Interaction • Play • Gesture • Requests • Eye Contact • Joint Attention • Stereotypical Behaviors (Observed & Coded) • Sensory Sensitivities • Aberrant Behaviors (deviating from normal) *Can be video recorded if permission is given I

16. ASSESSMENT • PEP -3 Psychoeducational Profile, 3rd Edition • Assesses the uneven learning strengths & weaknesses of children suspected of ASD • Charts uneven & idiosyncratic development • Emerging Skills • Autistic Behavioral Characteristics

17. Important Assessment Tips • Varied Levels of Functioning • Varied Profiles of Functioning • Performance may vary according to demands • Presentation may change over time • Presentation may change across settings • Good assessment is comprehensive -needs to look at abilities & disabilities -collection of people across contexts -multiple areas of functioning *Goal is to be able to make their world predictable, so the assessment should be refined, detailed, & descriptive!