Julia's Question Flashcards
(20 cards)
Headings
Assessment of Communication
Cultural Considerations
Dynamic Assessment
AAC
Other Considerations
ConclusionFujiki and Brinton (2016)
describing the student’s abilities with communication and how those abilities are or are not meeting the child’s needs is the goal for assessment.
Rowland & Schweigert, 2000
It is much more important to consider a student’s communication skills, as opposed to simply basing interventions on the student’s identified disability
Snell (2002)
assessing the communication of individuals with severe disabilities can be problematic when using conventional forms of assessment.
Many individuals with severe disabilities converse primarily by prelinguistic or nonsymbolic communication, using an idiosyncratic repertoire of gestures, vocalizations, and other behaviors. These learners may or may not be intentional in their communication with others, are difficult to understand, may make requests by engaging in problem behavior, and communicate with few conventions other than those developed in their interactions with partners
de Valenzuela & Tracey, 2007
“Instruction should begin with a good understanding of the student’s home language and culture, regardless of the individual’s level of communication development”
Chen & McCollum, 2001
Various cultures respond to both their children and disabilities in different ways. It is important that teachers are aware of these differences and take them into account during assessment
de Valenzuela & Niccolai, 2004
“Without understanding how culturally and linguistically diverse children have been socialized to use language, educators who are not from their student’ speech community may misidentify a language difference for a language disorder”
Snell, 2002
assessment must go beyond traditional static forms of evaluations and include individualized features that address each learner’s unique communication styles.
types of assessment (Snell, 2002)
naturalistic observation
ecologic-functional assessment
elicitation tasks
dynamic assessment
Dynamic assessment
particularly useful for students who use nonsymbolic communication
The focus of the assessment is on three major components (a) the communicator, (b) the
partners, and (c) the environment. Test Teach Retest model to determine abilities with and without support and interventions
ASHA, 1991
“It is noted there is no standardized battery of tests that comprise an AAC evaluation. Still, the set of principles recommended in this regard include valid assessments, capabilities, feature matching, and identifying barriers to participation”
ASHA, 1991
Along with this notion is the fact that there is no clear way based on evidence to determine which individuals would benefit from AAC.
Foley & Staples, 2007
“AAC assessment involves gathering critical information about a student’s cognitive, linguistic, motor, fine motor, and behavioral characteristics followed by a discussion of his or her current communication abilities and needs”
Johnson, et al, 1996
According to the authors, these eight factors include environments, chronological age-appropriateness, functional and appropriate activities, interactions with communication partners, preferences of the individual, requisites, and pluralism.
E - Environments
C - Chronological Age-Appropriateness
F - functional and appropriate activities
I - Interactions with Communication Partners
P - Preferences of the individual
R - Requisites
P - Pluralism
Everyone Can Find Internal Pleasure Realizing Purpose
E - Environments
C - Chronological Age-Appropriateness
F - functional and appropriate activities
I - Interactions with Communication Partners
P - Preferences of the individual
R - Requisites
P - Pluralism
Downing, 2005
“Because communication requires at least two people, it is just as important to assess the social environment as it is to assess a student’s communication skills”
Wetherby and Prizant, 1989
recommend assessing student three strategies to determine their stage of communicative intent.
1st - Interview those who know child well to determine communication behavior across people and environments.
2nd - Use checklists to identify communication behavior in natural settings.
3rd - Communication sampling to collect a representation of the student’s communication in a short period of time.
Wetherby & Prizant, 1989
For assessments to be accurate, students should be observed over a period of time, not just during a single session
Fujiki & Brinton, 2016
“Evaluations of sensory systems (e.g. hearing), general cognitive abilities, and adaptive functioning are important”
Conclusion
A good intervention starts with a good assessment.
Difficult to assess students with intensive communication needs using traditional models.
Educators must be aware of the nuances of assessing these students and constantly question their assumption about how a student can demonstrate his skills.
Teachers should be aware of alternative forms of assessment, student’s cultural background, environment and relationships.
Important to garner information not only from the student, but from those around her who have an insight into her abilities.
Once all of this information is taken as a whole, teachers will be better prepared to design and implement effective interventions to assist students in improving their communication abilities.
