Getting to Know Intellectual Disabilities

1. Getting to Know Intellectual Disabilities Kellie Trouten - Fall 2012

2. What is an IEP? • Individualized Education Program • Put together by a team of people with the student’s best interest in mind • Must be individualized to the student • Includes supports and accommodations • Legally mandated • Designed to help students with disabilities to improve their performance in an educational setting

3. What is an Intellectual Disability? • “A disability that results in impaired cognitive abilities and the need for assistance or supports to achieve independence and participation in the community” (Smith & Tyler, 2010) • Impaired intellectual functioning • Limitations in adaptive behaviors • Evident before age 18 • Occurs during the developmental period

4. Eligibility requirements • IQ of less than 70 • Concurrent deficit in adaptive behavior • Manifested during the developmental period • Adversely affects the student’s educational performance

5. Characteristics of Intellectual Disabilities • Difficulty attending • Focusing, span, sustaining, dividing • Selecting what to attend to • Difficulty with memory tasks • Difficulty with semantic memory • Difficulty applying episodic memory • Difficulty Generalizing Knowledge • Difficulty knowing when to use skills in different situations than they were learned (Prater, M. A. (2007))

6. Additional Characteristics of Intellectual Disabilities • Academic Deficits • Below average performance in academic areas • Limited social competence • Difficulty picking up social cues • Lack of social skills • Difficulty with motivation • More prone to discouragement • Difficulty with appropriate attribution • Attribute failure to intrinsic factors • Attribute success to extrinsic factors (Prater, M. A. (2007))

7. Presentation Accommodations for ID(How students will access information) • Material broken into smaller pieces • Ie. Giving the student five words at a time instead of all 15. • Guided notes • Helping students to know when to take notes and something to help them follow along and process the information • Simplifying instruction • Give explicit instructions on exactly what to do • Ie. Task analysis (Prater, M. A. (2007))

8. Presentation Accommodations for ID(How students will access information) • Additional assistance on tasks and assignments • Additional materials such as manipulatives or visual aids • Peer tutor or instructional assistant • Enlarged text • Enlarged text in books, hand outs, notes, etc. (Prater, M. A. (2007))

9. Response Accommodations for ID(How students demonstrate knowledge) • Differentiated manner which student demonstrates knowledge • The student may do a written report, an oral presentation, or a test • Allowance of a calculator • Depending on what is being taught to help in processing speed • Allowance of a scribe • The use of a scribe to write or type answers (Prater, M. A. (2007))

10. Setting Accommodations for ID(where the student will be instructed or assessed) • Limited participation in tasks • Assigning jobs for the student that ensures success • Specific jobs with explicit directions • Preferential Seating • Seating in a class that will help the student to better hear, see, or maintain proximity with the teacher • Testing in small groups • Assessment in a room with less than five students in a room that eliminates distraction (Prater, M. A. (2007))

11. Scheduling Accommodations for ID(when the student will be instructed or assessed) • Extended time to complete assignments • Giving students more time to complete assignments for longer processing time. • Breaks during instruction • Student may be allowed a break to stand during academic work or instruction • Provided with schedule or timeline • Student given a schedule to follow through the day to know what is coming next

12. Sources of Information • Smith, D. D., & Tyler, N. C. (2010). Introduction to Special Education (7th Edition ed.). New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc. • Prater, M. A. (2007). Teaching Strategies for Students with Mild to Moderate Disabilities. Boston: Pearson Education Inc.