chapter 9

Exceptional Lives: Special Education in Today’s Schools, 6eISBN:0135027012

© 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.All rights reserved.

Chapter 9

Understanding Students with

Intellectual Disabilities

Exceptional Lives: Special Education in Today’s Schools, 6eAnn Turnbull, Rud Turnbull, and Michael WehmeyerISBN: 0135027012

© 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.All Rights Reserved.2

At the end of this chapter you should be able to:

Identify and define the characteristics of students with intellectual disabilities.

Explain the causes of intellectual disabilities. Describe successful instructional practices for

students with intellectual disabilities Explain vocational and transition needs of

students with intellectual disabilities.

Chapter 9 Objectives



Defining Intellectual Disabilities

AAIDD definition Intellectual disabilities is a disability

characterized by significant limitations in both intellectual functioning and in adaptive behavior as expressed in conceptual, social, and practical adaptive skills.

This disability originates before age 18.



Five Assumptions Essential to the Application of the Definition (Figure 9–1)

1. Limitations in present functioning must be considered within the context of community environments typical of the individual's age peers and culture.

2. Valid assessment considers cultural and linguistic diversity as well as differences in communication, sensory, motor, and behavioral factors.

3. Within an individual, limitations often coexist with strengths.

4. An important purpose of describing limitations is to develop a profile of needed supports.

5. With appropriate personalized supports over a sustained period, the life functioning of the person with mental retardation generally will improve.



Definitions of Intensities of Support (Figure 9-2)

Intermittent: “As needed” Limited: Consistency, but time limited Extensive: Regular involvement (daily),

not time limited Pervasive: Constant, high intensity,

potential life sustaining nature



Prevalence of Intellectual Disabilities

Inconsistent rates reported U.S. Department of Education

reported 0.08% in 2006 511,041 students with intellectual

disabilities, ages 6 to 21, received special education services



Characteristics of Intellectual Disabilities

Limitations in Intellectual Functioning Measured through use of IQ tests

Memory (short-term) Generalization Motivation (outer-directedness) Limitations in Adaptive Behavior

Three domains: Conceptual Skills, Social Skills, Practical Skills

Self-determination



Determining the Causes

Causes by Timing Prenatal Perinatal Postnatal

Causes by Type Biomedical Social Behavioral Educational



Evaluating Students with Intellectual Disabilities

Determining the Presence Evaluate intellectual functioning and adaptive

skills Intellectual functioning: IQ tests Adaptive skills: Measures such as AAIDD

Diagnostic Adaptive Behavior Scale (DABS)Determining the Nature and Extent of General

and Special Education and Related Services For older students, the Transition Planning

Inventory is useful



Partnering for Special Education and Related Services

Transition Services key goals To improve collaboration and links

between systems to support student achievement of meaningful school and post-school outcomes

To promote the student’s self-determination and self-advocacy

To increase parent participation and involvement



Partnering for Special Education and Related Services

Four levels of transition teams A statement transition team that includes

secondary educators, adult service providers, adults with disabilities, and family members

A communitywide team representing all of the key agencies involved

A schoolwide team consisting of key professionals and family members

An IEP team for each student



Determining Supplementary Aids and Services

Paraprofessionals Paraprofessionals can be important More than 280,000 in U.S. Paraprofessionals add appropriate

levels of support, they may isolate students; velcroed effect

Roles and Responsibilities



Planning for Other Educational Needs

Functional Skills may include: Applied money concepts Applied time concepts Community mobility and access Grooming and self-care Leisure activities Health and safety Career education

Instruction in Inclusive Classrooms Instruction in Community Settings



Early Childhood Students

Prelinguistic milieu teaching First, follow the child's lead

Then, set the stage for communication

Finally, be strategic when using games like Pat-a-Cake and Peak-a-Boo



Early Childhood Students

Steps to prelinguistic milieu teaching Prompt the child to communicate Prompt the child to initiate Vocally imitate the child’s resultant

vocalizations Comply with the child’s requests Recode the child’s communication act Acknowledge the child’s communicative act Talk to the child



Elementary and Middle School Students

Self-determined learning model of instruction (The University of Kansas) 12 student questions Teacher objectives Educational supports Three phases:

1. What is my goal?2. What is my plan?3. What have I learned?



Secondary and Transition Students

Community Based Instruction Teaching in the natural environment Community-based Instructional

Approaches “Learn it where you’ll need to do it.” “Teach it where you want your

students to practice it.” Project TASSEL



Measuring Students’ Progress

Progress in the general curriculum Data-based monitoring: Requires

teachers regularly to collect different types of data such as:

1. Response-by-response data2. Instructional and test data3. Error data4. Anecdotal data



Progress in addressing other educational needs Ecological inventory process

Life Space Analysis Gather information about the

student’s daily environments Conduct ecological inventories Conduct a discrepancy analysis Perform an Activity Task Analysis

Measuring Students’ Progress



Making Accommodations for Assessment

Accommodations may include: Dictating responses to someone Having extended time Having test items orally read Clarifying test items

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