Simulations to Experience Learning, Attention, and Low Incidence Disabilities

From the MisUnderstood Minds website.  Activities and simulations that help one understand how these disabilities and challenges impact students.

• Attention Problems
• Reading Problems
• Writing Problems
• Math Problems

From National Center for Learning Disabilities

• Two Minutes in your Child's Shoes

Low Incidence

• Simulation of Visual Impairment
• Deafblindness Simulation
• Hearing Impairment

Other Resources

• Learning Disabilites and Challenging Behaviors: A Guide to Intervention & Classroom Management, Second Edition
• Essentials of Specific Learning Disability Identification 
• Creating Inclusive Learning Environments for Young Children: What to Do on Monday Morning
• How Difficult Can This Be? The F.A.T. City Workshop: Understanding Learning Disabilities

Math Teaching Technique

Math Teaching Technique
A teaching technique used to help students understand math by examining mistakes in a way that is confidential and engaging.

Link to Video on Teaching Channel.

Good old fashioned teaching; using assessment and feedback on errors.

Other Resources:
Curriculum-Based Assessment for Instructional Design: Using Data to Individualize Instruction (The Guilford Practical Intervention in the Schools)

Designing Effective Mathematics Instruction: A Direct Instruction Approach (4th Edition)

Focus on Outcomes

As reported from the US Department of Education:

"To improve the educational outcomes of America’s 6.5 million children and youth with disabilities, the U.S. Department of Education today announced a major shift in the way it oversees the effectiveness of states’ special education programs."

"Until now, the Department’s primary focus was to determine whether states were meeting procedural requirements such as timelines for evaluations, due process hearings and transitioning children into preschool services."  

Results-Driven Accountability (RDA) will focus on outcomes for students with disabilities.  As indicated in the article this is long overdue.  Through my experience, so much effort is placed on compliance and paperwork we don't focus on C&I efforts to improve student achievement for special education students.  I was hoping to see something related to other outcomes for student's with disabilities such as completing vocational programs that lead to employment rather than just reading and math test scores.  We are way off when it come to this.

The article also shows data related to states readiness for RDA and how students with disabilities fared on high stakes tests.


  Link to Article

Assessment of Adaptive Functioning/Behavior

What is adaptive behavior?
Adaptive behavior refers to the conceptual, social, and practical skills that people need to function independently at home, at school, and in the community.  

Examples of adaptive behavior?

• Communication and social skills (interacting and communicating with other people)
• Independent living skills (shopping, budgeting, and cleaning)
• Personal care skills (eating, dressing, and grooming)
• Employment/work skills (following directions, completing tasks, and getting to work on time)
• Practical academics (reading, computation, and telling time)

How do we assess adaptive behavior?
Information is gathered through interviews, observations, and reports completed by parents/guardians, teachers and the individual being assessed.

Why do we assess adaptive behavior?
Assessment information is used to identify needs and interventions for individuals with adaptive weaknesses and to capitalize on adaptive strengths.

Commonly used measures to assess adaptive behavior?
The following measures are normed instruments that measure adaptive skills.  Each measure has its own specific areas of adaptive areas assessed. Click on the links to review each measure's characteristics.

• ABAS-2
• ABI
• ABES Adolescent
• ABES Child
• ABS-S:2
• SIB-R
• Vineland-2

Other Resources

• The Diagnostic Adaptive Behavior Scale (AAIDD, 2013): This test measures adaptive behavioral skills. There are three main categories of these skills. This includes conceptual, social, and practical life skills. This test is very helpful for determining the intensity and types of supports needed to maximize independent functioning and quality of life. (As of March 2014, this measure does not appear to be available for use yet) Link to AAIDD 
• The SIS® evaluates practical support requirements of a person with an intellectual disability through a positive and thorough interview process.  Link to Review SIS

• Employability/Life Skills Assessment (ELSA) Criterion referenced checklist available at this link 

What other adaptive measures and resources have people found helpful?  Please share.

The Future of School Assessment: Who is Ready?

In this interesting article from District Administration, a school district in Indiana is preparing for future online assessments related to the common core standards.  Major issues for schools are proper bandwith and hardware.  "Preparing for the new online assessments is a high priority for school districts across the nation and “becoming assessment ready” is a complex and challenging task."

Raising the Bar:  Becoming Assessment Ready  Link to pdf report

• FCC calling for U.S. students to have e-textbooks by 2017
• e-books outselling print books
• States requiring an online course for graduation 
• States requiring digital instructional materials
• Exponential growth of tablets and other mobile devices
• Growth in enrollment in online schools 

Concerns:

1. Poorer Districts Keeping Pace
2. Students taking assessments in isolation - Where will the evaluator's observations go?  The BIG question of WHY did the student have trouble on the assessment is lost when students take tests online with no observation.

What other issues are people seeing or concerned about?

Link to Article

Evaluating Executive Functioning

This is a review of a new measure in my repertoire to aide in the evaluation of Executive Functioning (EF) skills in children and adolescents ages 6 - 17 from a parental perspective. Barkley Deficits in Executive Functioning Scale - Children and Adolescents (BDEFS-CA). Published by Guilford Press.  

Dr. Barkley argues that many EF skills are goal directed and occur across time so many cannot be evaluated on a test in a single point in time therefore many EF skills are best evaluated by rating scales from the people who spend the most time with the student.  

Assesses these EF Domains

• Self Management of Time
• Self Organization/Problem Solving
• Self Restraint or Inhibition
• Self Motivation
• Self Regulation of Emotion
• EF Summary
• ADHD - EF Index   (Indicator of Risk for ADHD)
• EF Symptom Count

Features:

• Developed by a legend in the field
• Good norm sample, validity and reliability
• No protocols to buy
• Easy to administer and score
• Released 2012
• Based on parent reports only
• Scores are reported in percentiles only

Sample BDEFS-CA Report  

This report was developed by me using filemaker pro 12.  It helps one score the BDEFS-CA to get raw scores.  Using the BDEFS-CA norms from the manual you enter the %ile scores and the report is created for you.    Contact me if you are interested in learning more about this tool.

Barkley Deficits in Executive Functioning Scale--Children and Adolescents (BDEFS-CA)
Handbook of Executive Functioning

Intervention for Struggling Readers

Little Susie and Little Johnnie are struggling to learn to read.  We know what works for many struggling students but we just can't seem to get it done.  "Not enough time, not enough money, programs are too complicated".  These are complaints I have heard over and over again in my career when it comes to finding or using a reading intervention that meets the proven, systematic, explicit criteria for successful reading interventions.

Again borrowing from the K.I.S.S. concept Phonic Reading Lessons is one intervention that meets all these criteria.  This program is designed to improve decoding skills for struggling readers. "Students using this program start in Phonic Reading Lessons: Skills with simple sounds, learn by multisensory methods, have frequent assessments, and in Phonic Reading Lessons: Practice learn sight words and read passages carefully calibrated to the phoneme-grapheme relationships they have learned in the program."  This part of the program is critical. Many reading "interventions" teach skills in isolation and never practice them in connected text.  A critical flaw.  30 minutes of work each day learning new decoding skill and sight words with reading practice can benefit many struggling readers.

One publisher that sells this program is Academic Therapy Publications  There is a sample lesson on this site as well.  This blogger has no financial interest or gain from this review.  I have found this program simple to use for teachers and parents alike with good results and I hope it can help others.

Program:  Phonic Reading Lessons:  Skills and Practice
Purpose:  Improve reading decoding and sight word recognition

Anyone else have experience with this program?

Online Learning and Snow Days

School districts are turning to online learning opportunities to prevent lost class time when weather closes schools.  In New Hampshire, "If 80 percent of students and staff participate online, the day will not have to be made up in June, according to the district’s website." "Ohio districts that exhaust their five annual “calamity” days can use up to three “e-learning days” during which students read through lessons and complete assignments at home.  At the end of 2013, only 95 districts out of the 614 statewide (Ohio) had submitted plans to use e-learning days to the state Department of Education. That number jumped to 246 by the beginning of February.  Students have two weeks after the e-learning day to complete any assignments, so those who don’t have internet access at home are not penalized."

Anyone have experience with this yet?  We do not have this in our district.

Link to Article

Improving Executive Functioning with Games

Thanks to a recommendation on the School Psychology listserve, I was introduced to this great game.  FLUXX!  My family including an 11 year old and soon to be 9 year old, love this game.  Playing this game is an intense workout for our executive functioning skills.  It requires planning, problem solving, deep concentration, and shifting from rule to ever changing rule.  Don't play if you are tired, you will lose badly...very badly.  It is a testament to how important alertness is to performing well with complicated tasks.  I love that I can teach my kids these skills in a fun game format.  As a school psychologist, I am intrigued watching others play this game and how people adapt to the changes.  Maybe, I will include it in my test battery or run a group for kids with EF deficits.  Work can be fun!   Fluxx Board Game

Coaching Students with Executive Skills Deficits (Guilford Practical Intervention in Schools)

Dyslexia and the Visual System

An interesting article from Georgetown University Medical Center, June 6, 2013 evaluates visual processing deficits seen in people with dyslexia.

"A new brain imaging study of dyslexia shows that visual system differences do not cause the disorder, but instead are likely a consequence."


Joint Statement—Learning Disabilities, Dyslexia, and Vision from the American Academy of Pediatrics article.



Link to Article

Essentials of Dyslexia Assessment and Intervention

School Reports: US and State Grades

Edweek's annual report:  "Tracking key education indicators and grading the states on their performance and outcomes. This year’s report also focuses on school district governance and
operations as its special theme, examining the impact of the increasingly complex fiscal, political, and technological forces that are challenging school districts and prompting efforts to cope with new pressures."

Link to 2014 Report:  District Disruption and Revival

Past Reports cover topics such as:
2013: Code of Conduct

2012: The Global Challenge

2011: Uncertain Forecast

2010: Fresh Course, Swift Current

2009: Portrait of a Population

2008: Tapping Into Teaching

2007: From Cradle to Career

2006: Quality Counts at 10: A Decade of Standards Based Education

2005: No Small Change, Targeting Money Toward Student Performance

2004: Count Me In: Special Education in an Era of Standards

Link to Article

Autism Interventions: Which are Effective?

An informative report from the disability scoop indicates "A new federally-funded review of thousands of studies finds that there are more than two dozen autism interventions worthy of being called “evidence-based.”'


"Ultimately the review, which was funded by the U.S. Department of Education, identified 27 interventions with substantial research backing ranging from cognitive behavioral intervention to exercise, modeling, scripting and use of a picture exchange communication system."

Link to Article



High-Functioning Autism/Asperger Syndrome in Schools: Assessment and Intervention (Guilford Practical Intervention in the Schools)

Common Core Standards: Say What?

Feeling overwhelmed and /or demoralized by the National Common Core Standards?  You are not alone.

According to an insightful article written by Mike Schmoker from Education Week, complexity kills.  Elements of School improvement efforts are clarity, priority and focus.  Many of the standards’ language are mystifying and  “After state standards documents were launched and hardened into law, it was discovered that it would take about 20 years to teach all the skills and topics contained in them. But their worst feature was their abstract, imprecise language, which made it hard to convert them into clear, coherent curriculum and lessons.” 

These obstacles can seriously hamper improvement efforts.

Also in the article, Schmoker outlines best lessons:

1.    Are low tech; described on half a page

2.    Has a clear objective

3.    Has an assessment aligned with that objective

4.    Has an ongoing cycle of assessments of learning at each step – ex. Teacher circulates to observe student work

5.    Has reteaching when necessary

6.    Ensures student success

A helpful resource to simplify the standards is the “Three Shifts” document on the achieve the core website.  Three Shifts link 

Link to article

Assistive Technology Guide

Teenage Mental Health and Suicide

Documentary that looks at adolescent mental health problems and approaches used to help students in need.  Link to video.

Behind the acts of violence and rage of both the Virginia Tech and Columbine shootings is a larger issue of mental illness in teens that is rarely addressed. For instance:

• The rate of teenage suicide has tripled over the last 60 years –28 teenagers a week now die by suicide.¹
• Depression and anxiety in adolescents often go unrecognized or untreated for years, and the results can be fatal – over 90 percent of adolescents who die by suicide have a diagnosable mental illness at the time of their death. 

Leave comments about what you have seen work and efforts made to keep people connected with one another and their immediate social situations.