Validation of Evidence-based Assessment Strategies to Promote Achievement in Children who are Deafblind

1. Validation of Evidence-based Assessment Strategies to Promote Achievement in Children who are Deafblind

2. Personnel and Sites • Oregon Health & Science University (Dr. Charity Rowland, Philip Schweigert) • California State University –Northridge (Dr. Deborah Chen) • University of Texas at Dallas (Dr. Robert Stillman) • St. Lukes/Roosevelt Hospital & Columbia University (Dr. Harvey Mar) • National Family Association for Deaf-blind (Sheri Stanger, President)

3. Advisory Board • Jamie Pope (Executive Director, American Association of the Deaf-Blind) • Susan Edelman (practitioner) • Janette Perrachio, parent

4. Major Goal: to validate assessment strategies that will • Promote high quality assessment of children who are deafblind • Generate appropriate educational goals related to communication, social and cognitive development • Suggest appropriate instructional strategies • Promote a strong connection between assessment and the achievement of specific educational outcomes

5. Areas of Focus • 2-8 year old children who are nonspeaking • Communication and cognitive development

6. Objective 1. Identify Assessment Instruments to be Validated (Year 1) • Conduct review of assessments • Develop parent and professional surveys • Recruit respondents • Administer surveys • Analyze data • Select instruments to validate

7. Objective 2. Conduct validation studies on selected instruments (Years 2-3) • Recruit participants • Assess participants twice a year for 2 years • Collect reliability data • Collect educational data on participants • Analyze data • Select instruments for replication studies

8. Objective 3. Conduct replication studies on validated instruments (Year 4) • Recruit evaluators and participants • Provide evaluator training • Assess participants • Collect satisfaction data from evaluators and educational data on participants • Analyze data

9. Translate research findings into final products for practitioners (Year 5) • Develop data summary from validation and replication studies • Develop matrix illustrating goodness of fit between assessment instruments, child characteristics and assessment purposes • Develop assessment guide for practitioners • Disseminate products

10. Results to Date

11. Nationwide Survey • Parent surveys returned: 62 • Professional surveys returned: 95 • States represented: 30

12. Assessments most often recommended by professionals • Oregon Project • Callier-Azusa • HELP • INSITE • Carolina • Communication Matrix • Battelle • Vineland • Brigance • Infused Skills Assessment • LAP/ELAP

13. What a Parent Wants from an Assessment • To have everyone who is connected to their child work together toward the child’s and the family’s best interests. • To have their involvement and input requested and used. • To have the evaluators either be familiar with the child or take the time to create a rapport before testing them. Ideally, the evaluation would occur under normal circumstances, or perhaps in several typical settings, taking the time needed for a good evaluation. • To have tests appropriate to their child’s condition.

14. What a Parent Wants from an Assessment • To be educated on the assessments, and to have the results of assessments explained. • To consider the child’s whole self, not just the bits and pieces that are quantifiable through an assessment. • To emphasize what the child can do over what the child can’t do. • To be informed about their child’s development, and involved and supported in setting goals and implementing them. • To see their child progress.

15. Criteria for “Short List” • High ratings on survey questions • Designed for assessment of 2-8 year olds • Includes sections on cognitive and/or social-communication skills • Readily available • Other instruments developed specifically for population also included

16. “Short List” • Callier-Azusa* • Carolina Developmental Profile • HELP-Hawaii Early Learning Profile • Infused Skills Assessment • INSITE* • Oregon Project • Vineland • Communication Matrix • Dimensions of Communication* • Home Talk* • School Inventory of Problem Solving Skills*

17. Expert Queries • 1. Additional instruments from the “long list” that should be included on the “short list” • 2. Any OTHER instrument you would recommend for assessing target population • 3. Any instrument on the “short list” that should be excluded from further study

18. Poll of State Projects Survey Monkey online survey listing each instrument followed by these 3 questions:  • Are you familiar with this instrument? (Yes, No) • Is instrument used widely in your state to assess 2-8 year old children who are deafblind? (Yes, No, Not sure)  • Would you recommend this instrument for assessing children who are deafblind? (Yes, No)

19. Results of State Project Poll

20. Current Activities

21. California 11 children in process of being assessed (by own teachers) two times using: • Communication Matrix • School Inventory of Problem Solving Skills • Home Talk IEP/IFSPs will also be collected on these children

22. Oregon • Three children in process of being assessed (by project staff) two times using all instruments on “Short List” • IEP/IFSPs will also be collected on these children

23. Iowa To assess approximately 10 children in Fall 2006 and Spring 2007 using: • Infused Skills • Communication Matrix • School/Home Inventory of Problem Solving Skills IEP/IFSPs will also be collected on these children

24. New York • Collected data from parents and professionals about their use of various instruments on short-list • Additional questionnaires distributed to professionals who work with young children

25. Texas • Analyzed interviews and written comments on questionnaires obtained from parents and professionals. • Presented project results at the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association annual meeting, San Diego & Texas Regional Education Service Centers • Completed paper including project results to be published in Seminars in Speech and Language Disorders

26. NFADB • Sent out 200 postcards to NFADB parents of children who are deafblind. • Thus far, 18 have indicated that they have a child who has been assessed using one of instruments on the “Short List”. They will provide copies of those assessments, evaluations of instruments and copies of IEP/IFSPs.

27. Nationwide • Recruited for parents and professionals who are familiar with instruments on the “Short List” for which we got few evaluations from original survey. • Thus far, 8 professionals and 11 parents have responded and provided evaluations of instruments for which we needed additional evaluations.

28. Next Steps • Design validation studies • Recruit children to be assessed • Recruit assessors

29. Now recruiting • Professionals who would like to assess children 2 times using some of the instruments from the “Short List”… • The project will pay an honorarium of for each of the 2 sets of data. • If interested yourself, or if you would like to recommend someone, please complete our form today!

30. Thanks! • To projects and individuals who have distributed surveys for us • To parents and professionals who have completed surveys and provided other data