Identifying SLD Students Part II

1. Identifying SLD Students Part II NYIDA March 9, 2010 Janna Osman, M.Ed. Development Director of Professional Learning Jackie Earle-Cruickshanks, M.A.,M.S., Senior Language Specialist Stern Center for Language and Learning jcruicks@sterncenter.org josman@sterncenter.org

3. Tier III Assessment and Intervention Process in an RtI Setting Hypothetical thinking is required at three sections: 1. After gathering educational history, CBM data, classroom information, and test scores ask: What are possible core cognitive weaknesses? 2. After probing possible core weaknesses and strengths What basic skill area(s) is (are) impacted by the core deficit(s)? 3. After assessing basic academic skill areas What are learning preferences and guidelines for instruction?

4. Core Deficit Definition A CORE COGNITIVE DEFICIT (OR WEAKNESS) INVOLVES A DEFICIT IN PSYCHLOGICAL PROCESSES THAT ADVERSELY IMPACT UNDERSTANDING AND EXPRESSION OR WRITTEN AND/OR SPOKEN LANGUAGE. THESE PSYCHOLOGICAL PROCESSES INCLUDE PERCEPTION, LANGUAGE, MOTOR FUNCTIONING, ATTENTION, AND COGNITIVE EFFICIENCY (COGNITIVE TEMPO)

5. Core Weaknesses Correlated with Literacy 1. Linguistic Processing Speed: word retrieval/rapid naming 2. Language Processing: phonemic awareness 3. Verbal Memory: short-term and working 4. Language Processing: syntax, vocabulary, discourse, listening comprehension, oral expression 5. Visual Processing Speed/ Fine Motor Fluency 6. Executive Function/ Attention

6.  Six Core Weaknesses Correlated with Literacy Skills Linguistic Processing Speed: word retrieval/rapid naming ? Basic Reading & Fluency Lang. Proc: Phon. Awareness ? Basic Reading/Spelling/Fluency Lang. Proc: syntax & vocab ? Reading Comp., Written Exp. oral expression/ listening comp ? Reading. Comp., Written Exp. Verbal Memory: STM & WM ? Basic Reading/ Reading Comp. Visual Processing Speed ? Reading Fluency Fine Motor Flluency ? Written Expression Executive Function ? Reading Comp., Written Exp.

7. Core Weaknesses as well as Basic Skill Areas in Language Language Processing: receptive listening comp ? Listening Comprehension syntax, vocabulary, ? Reading Comprehension discourse Expressive- oral exp ? Oral Expression syntax, vocab, discourse ? Written Expression Executive Function ? Listening Comprehension ? Reading Comprehension ? Oral Expression ? Written Expression

8. Cognitive Strengths Associated with SLD Cognitive Aspects Nonverbal, abstract reasoning Verbal reasoning Problem-solving Academic strengths Math concepts Conceptual understanding in most content areas

9. Instruction for Severe LDs Tier III students have deficits in accurate word and pseudoword reading, fluent word reading, reading comprehension, text reading fluency and written expression Fluency is usually the by-product of efficient word recognition but in Tier III, repeated fluency practice at the word and passage level is never-ending TIER III students need it all, but many must begin with intensive work in decoding and fluency at the grapheme and word levels to obtain the rudimentary, prerequisite skills they have not mastered

10. Assess Reading Prerequisites: Syllable, Rhyming, and Phonemic Awareness For students K-2 all aspects of phonemic awareness should be assessed, including fluency (formative assessments provide rich data) For students in grades 3 and up, assess rate and accuracy of phoneme blending and segmentation of pseudowords beyond the level of CVC CTOPP has good subtests on Alternate Phonemic Awareness Why use pseudowords and not real words?

11. Assess Word Retrieval and Rapid Naming Skills How quickly a student can name letters and numbers is the best predictor of reading fluency in first and second grade How quickly a student can name common colors and simple pictured objects is the best predictor of reading fluency after third grade Double deficit students have phonemic awareness problems and rapid naming deficits combined that indicate a severe LD profile Whenever possible, administer all 4 Rapid Naming subtests: letters, numbers, colors. objects

12. Language Profile of Severe LD students Phonemic awareness poor Weak phonological memory Phoneme segmentation weakest skill; blending phonemes often adequate Rapid Naming of non-academic items (colors, objects) poor * Rapid Naming + Phonological Deficits = Double Deficit

13. A Warning: Scores on phonemic awareness tests don�t tell it all� Teachers have been doing a lot of phonemic awareness training in K-2 Students have improved remarkably on these oral measures asking them to blend and segment sounds in words They usually perform better on blending- why? Students can still have phonemic awareness weaknesses that show up in their spelling Use applied spelling information to determine if this is a weak area

14. Two Seminal Core Weaknesses in SLD Impacting Basic Reading Skills in Alphabetic Languages

15. Let�s look at some student profiles Compare Jason R and Sally S�s rapid naming skills Both students have poor phonemic awareness, and good listening comprehension Their rapid naming skills are totally different Which student is apt to be assessed for TIER III? Why?

17. CTOPP Summary ScSc SS % RangeJason R. (composite)

18. CTOPP Summary ScSc SS % Range

19. CTOPP Summary ScSc SS % Range

21. More than Phonemes:Multiple Word Meanings

22. Syntactical Problems abound in SLD

24. Assessing Verbal Short�term Memory Both working and short-term memory skills are often deficient in students with LD, ADHD, and anxiety issues Repeating rote numbers or word lists in the correct order is the main assessment of short-term memory Linguistic memory for unfamiliar pseudowords (CTOPP) is also a good predictor of reading problems, but an even better predictor of oral phonological processing (and foreign language aptitude)

25. Assessing Verbal Working Memory Working memory is the ability to hold information in short term memory and manipulate it It is a prerequisite for literacy, math and writing Measures of working memory on cognitive assessments are fairly simplistic; be skeptical of good performance on WISC-IV Students often do well after 2nd grade when retaining and manipulating letter and number sequences because they are overlearned WJ-III Working Memory subtest a better indicator

26. Verbal Memory is Often Elusive

27. Executive Processes Executive function is the air traffic controller of the mind It is the ability to hold and manipulate more than one system ( or pieces of information) in working memory in order to solve a problem, or a series of problems. It is the ability to separate and discard irrelevant and work only with relevant information in the problem-solving process Writing for a purpose requires heaviest load on executive function

28. Assessing Executive Function No one test really assesses this global deficit Weaknesses impact reading comprehension, written expression: all complex tasks involving taking in information, reorganizing it, summarizing it and solving a problem with that information Like attention, executive function problems are best assessed by classroom observations The BRIEF checklist is thorough and can factor out items that commonly coexist with LD students, i.e., working memory & planning and organizing

29. What is the BRIEF? The Behavioral Rating Inventory of Executive Functioning by PAR (www.parinc.com) Areas Measuring Behavioral Regulation: Inhibition of impulsivity Shift in Strategies demanded by different tasks Sustain Emotional Control with as task complexity increases

30. BRIEF Areas (Continued) Measuring student�s Metacognition: Ability to Initiate tasks Working Memory Ability to Plan/Organize Organization of Materials Ability to Monitor his/her learning

31. ADHD and Executive Function Executive function weaknesses often coexist with ADHD LD often coexists with ADHD Students who are very slow processors in every aspect of their work often have EF deficits When a differentiated diagnosis is needed for these gray areas, other professionals need to add information. Who would they be? When might it be appropriate to ask them to step in?

32. Visual Processing Speed Assessments Most common cognitive assessments of processing speed involve visual discrimination, visual tracking, and fine motor copying speed and accuracy Visual (not verbal) processing speed is related to visual inattention Processing speed and reading fluency are not highly correlated; the tasks measuring this are mostly visually-based, and eliminate linguistic aspects Do not confuse processing speed with slow naming tasks- these are two very different skills

33. Confusion in our Educationese What do you say or ask when a teacher describes a student as A slow processor?

34. Processing Speed and Attention Students with ADHD are often visually inattentive They become overwhelmed with busy worksheets They fail to finish tasks that require a lot of visual-motor involvement, i.e., writing Most students with ADHD have significant fine motor weaknesses, impacting handwriting and correlated with dysgraphia Be sure to assess perceptual-motor processing with visual-motor copying tasks for students who struggle with the physical act of writing (VMI-6)

35. Assessing Nonverbal and Verbal Thinking Skills Deficits can only be measured in relation to cognitive strengths Students with severe reading difficulties can often solve nonverbal problems and/or verbal analogies, implying well-developed conceptual thinking They also often show strengths in higher level thinking tasks involving minimal language Measuring abstract verbal and nonverbal reasoning is a critical part of determining programmatic interventions for students with significant SLD We need to identify use their strengths and use them to address their weak processing issues

36.  Six Core Weaknesses Correlated with Literacy Linguistic Processing Speed: word retrieval/rapid naming ? Basic Reading & Fluency Lang. Proc: Phon. Awareness ? Basic Reading/Spelling/Fluency Lang. Proc: syntax & vocab ? Reading Comp., Written Exp. oral expression/ listening comp ? Reading. Comp., Written Exp. Verbal Memory: STM & WM ? Basic Reading/ Reading Comp. Visual Processing Speed ? Reading Fluency Fine Motor Fluency ? Written Expression Executive Function ? Reading Comp., Written Exp.

37. How is Your Learning Curve?

38. Assessing Literacy for Tier III: Let�s look at the matrix Phonemic Awareness (Blending and Segmentation) Word Decoding Accuracy (untimed) Word Decoding Fluency (timed) Sight Word Accuracy (untimed) Sight Word Fluency (timed) Oral Reading Fluency (passages) Listening Comprehension Reading Comprehension Syntactic Flexibility Spelling & Written Expression

39. Assessing Decoding Word Decoding Accuracy (untimed) tells you what skills the student has learned in isolation Word Decoding Accuracy (timed) tells you whether they have mastered the skill to a level of fluency in text. TOWRE is the quickest and easiest measure Decoding after 2nd grade best assessed by pseudowords, but sight words predict reading efficiency for simpler passages Both are necessary prerequisites for higher level reading tasks; information from both is very helpful How does this information apply to the TOWRE?

40. Assessing Decoding Sight word knowledge becomes well established once the majority of phonic patterns has been mastered. Students should be assessed in both timed and untimed tests (Ehri, 2000) Students who have memorized a number of sight words as visual wholes but are poor decoders will perform far better on accuracy and rate of reading sight words than pseudowords Students who perform far better on sight word tests have had insufficient instruction and/or practice in decoding. Students who perform better on decoding subtests are in the process of learning the alphabetic code, and will eventually make gains in sight word reading to the level of decoding How does this information apply to the TOWRE?

41. Precocious Decoders

42. Assessing Oral Reading Fluency Many ORF tests use only narrative text, e.g., AIMSWEB, Quick Reads Narrative text is far easier for students after 2nd grade. After 4th grade, ORF should be measured by expository text (e.g., QRI-4) Good oral readers are efficient decoders; poor decoders use other by-pass strategies. Use GORT-4 Fluency Composite, but not comprehension score Guessing from context allows for only 1/8 words to be identified after 4th grade Unfamiliar, context-laden words are often read 2-3 times a year and must be decoded quickly and accurately to access understanding

43. Reading Fluency Training

44. Assess Listening Comprehension Listening comprehension is an excellent predictor of verbal thinking skills- can be done early for a quick assessment of verbal thinking skills Qualitative analysis of errors and correct responses reveal critical information about a student�s executive functioning, verbal memory, and verbal reasoning abilities Assumptions about whether or not reading comprehension difficulties are in isolation or related to language processing weaknesses drive differentiation of instruction

45. Listening & Reading Comprehension Try to always assess listening with reading comprehension using parallel tasks If listening is poor but reading comprehension is slower and stronger, probe overall language processing and executive processes If reading comprehension is poor and listening far better, probe for SLD: phonemic awareness, rapid naming, verbal memory, executive functioning

46. Listening/ Reading Comprehension Measures WJ-III: Oral Comprehension/ Passage Comprehension subtests (parallel tasks) Durrell Analysis of Reading Difficulty: Listening Comprehension/ Oral Reading /Silent Reading subtests (provides grade equivalent scores for Grades 1-6 (parallel tasks) Two versions of any good reading inventory: one passage read to the student, one read orally by the student at each grade level. Responses on comprehension questions will yield comparison of listening and reading comprehension abilities

47.  Syntax is best assessed by oral language sampling, which is very time consuming Asking students to formulate sentences with target words is also a good assessment device Students with language processing problems struggle to repeat increasingly complex sentences Syntactic flexibility and use at the sentence level is the gateway to comprehending and using connected language, or discourse Syntactic assessment and instruction focuses on the sentence level Good subtests: CELF-4 Formulating Sentences/ Recalling Sentences

48. Complexity of Language

49. Assessing Written Expression: Spelling Spelling tests do not measure a student�s actual ability to spell well in applied writing Often poor executive function/ working memory compromise ability to spell and express thoughts at the same time Few spelling tests provide sufficient diagnostic information Consider applied spelling scores on TOWL-3 and WIAT-II writing

50. Assessing Written Expression: Written Output Some students have significant deficits in perceptual-motor skills impacting fine motor copying and letter formation Beery VMI-6 test is critical to identify fine motor weaknesses separate from visual processing Dysgraphia involves impaired transcription skills (handwriting and/or spelling) that interfere with written composition (Berninger, 2005) This diagnosis is not in the regs, but would fall under LD in written expression Which correlation is higher: dysgraphia/dyslexia or dysgraphia/ ADHD?

51. Assessing Written Expression: Written Language After third grade 80% of student writing tasks in class involve expository passages Writing tests should reflect classroom demands and not use narrative writing to assess student�s written expression after 3rd grade WIAT-II Written Language Composite is a good measure for assessing sentence combining as well as paragraph writing

52. Rationale for Testing Less Once core weaknesses are identified, then we can think more clearly about what achievement skills will be a challenge Choosing the achievement tests that give the most information about student skills does not always inform instruction Further diagnostic probing can be conducted to direct instructional strategies and programs because there is ample time