ASSESSING CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS (For Teachers) - Leonard Final

ASSESSING CHILDREN WITH
SPECIAL NEEDS
Dinah Jean A. Tacogue

Presentor
PSYCHOLOGICAL SERVICES
& Interactive Learning Center for Children with Special Needs
What is Psychological
Assessment?
 Evaluates thinking, learning and
behavior.
 Include interviews, observation, testing
and consultation with other
professionals involved in your child’s
care.
 Includes pencil and paper tasks, puzzles,
drawing, and games.

What is Psychological
Assessment?
 Covers many skill areas, such as general
intellectual level, language, memory and
learning, problem solving, planning and
organization, fine motor skills, visual
spatial skills, and academic skills (reading,
math, spelling and writing).
 It also includes an examination of behavior

and emotions.
Assessment
“- is the process of collecting,
synthesizing, and interpreting
information to aid classroom
decision-making. It includes
information gathered about pupils,
instruction, and classroom climate.”
- Peter Airasian
Why have an assessment?
• Helpful in identifying your child’s strengths
and weaknesses and will lead to
recommendations for both academic and
behavioral intervention.
• By detecting problems, an assessment can be
used to assist in planning your child’s school
program, to identify needs for special
services in school, and to help you access
resources in your community.
Child Assessment
 Vital and growing component of high-quality
early childhood programs.
 Not only is it an important tool in
understanding and supporting young children’s
development, it is essential to document and
evaluate program effectiveness.
 For assessment to be widely used though, it
must employ methods that are feasible,
sustainable and reasonable with regards to
demands on budgets, educators and children.
WHO ARE THE CHILDREN WITH
SPECIAL NEEDS?
Children who manifest/experience

more than the usual difficulties and
problems in learning and training. The
difficulty manifested could hamper or
impede the normal physical,
mental/cognitive, social and emotional
development of these persons.
SPECIAL NEEDS?
 Autism
 Deafness
 Orthopedic impairment
 Deaf-blindness
 Other health
 Developmental delay
impairment
 Emotional disturbance
 Specific learning
 Hearing impairment
disability
 Intellectual disability  Speech or language
 Multiple disabilities impairment
Psychological Tests
o Mental Ability Test
o Diagnostic Test for Developmental Delays
o Diagnostic Test for Developmental Disorders
o Specific Test for Learning Disorders
o Diagnostic Inventory for Behavior Disorders
o Diagnostic Test for Emotional Disturbance
Assessing Children with Developmental Delay
(GDD & Mental Retardation)
5 Domains
• Cognitive
• Social
• Communication (Receptive and Expressive)
• Self-help
• Motor Skills (gross motor & fine motor)
Other than the Mental Ability Test, a test measuring

the child’s capability based on the developmental
milestone is also used.
Assessing Children with Developmental
Delay (GDD & Mental Retardation)
Symptoms of Mental Retardation
• Continued infant-like behavior
• Decreased learning ability
• Failure to meet the markers of intellectual
development
• Inability to meet educational demands at school
• Lack of curiosity
• Note: Changes to normal behaviors depend on the severity of
the condition. Mild retardation may be associated with a lack of
curiosity and quiet behavior. Severe mental retardation is
associated with infant-like behavior throughout life
Delay (GDD & Mental Retardation)
• Mild Mental Retardation:
IQ level 50-55 to approximately 70
• Moderate Mental Retardation:
IQ level 35-40 to 50-55
• Severe Mental Retardation:
IQ level 20-25 to 35-40
• Profound Mental Retardation:
IQ level below 20 or 25
• Mental Retardation, Severity Unspecified:
when there is strong presumption of Mental Retardation but
the person's intelligence is untestable by standard tests
• Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision.Copyright 2000 American Psychiatric Association
Disorders (PDD)
Pervasive Developmental Disorder Spectrum

1. Classic Autism
2. Asperger’s Disorder
3. Rett’s Disorder
4. Chronic Disintegrative
5. PDD-Not Otherwise Specified
Assessing Children with Autism
Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
Autism is a neurobehavioral syndrome affecting a still
unidentified relevant brain system(s) that produce its
characteristics symptomatology.
• Symptoms begin early and pervasively persist lifelong

albeit improvement especially with early and competent
intervention
• As infants- no interaction, no eye contact, socially aloof,
“good babies” (rarely requiring attention)
• As toddlers – continue to manifest these social deficits
together with delayed language development (expressive,
receptive and gestural) and odd behaviors and interests
Classic Autism (Kanner) is characterized by a triad of, but
not limited to:
Qualitative impairment in social interaction
Marked impairment in the use of multiple nonverbal behaviors
such as eye to eye gaze, facial expression, body postures, and
gestures to regulates to regulate social interaction.
Developmental Examples:
• A social smile in response to listening to caregiver
• Vocalizes in response to a social smile and talking
• Anticipatory reach to be picked up
Qualitative impairment in communication
Delay in, or total lack of, the development of spoken language
(not accompanied by an attempt to compensate through
alternative modes of communication such a gesture of mime)
Developmental Examples:
• Listen selectively familiar words
• Pointing/using gestures to get wants met
• Labels several familiar objects/pictures
 Restricted, repetitive and stereotyped patterns of
behavior, interests and activities
Others Symptoms
- Mental retardation to superior intelligence
- Disturbance of mood/affect
- Attention deficits
 Taste, Smell, and Touch
 Relating to People Response & Use
 Imitation
 Emotional Response
 Body Use  Fear or Nervousness
 Object Use  Verbal Communication
 Adaptation to change  Non-verbal
 Visual Response Communication
 Listening Response  Activity Level
 Level and Consistency of
Intellectual Response
Asperger’s Disorder
Show some symptoms of autism such as
difficulties in social interactions, poor eye
contact, repetitive body movements, and
an insistence on routines and rituals.
However, they have normal language

development and do not have mental
retardation.
Assessing Children with
Asperger
 Language (e.g. speaks like bookish)
 Social (e.g. avoids or limits eye contact)
 Maladaptive (e.g. does not change behavior
related with environment)
 Cognitive (e.g. has excellent rote memory)
 Sensorimotor (e.g. displays an unusual reaction
to loud noise)
Disorders (Learning Disability)
Learning disabilities refer to a variety of disorders
that affect the acquisition, retention, understanding,
organization or use of verbal and/or non-verbal
information.
Everyone has different ways of learning. These are called
learning styles or learning differences. Most kids can
learn school subjects well using their own learning
styles. But if you have had a serious difficulty for a long
time with learning language, reading, writing or math in
school and you have average or above average
intelligence you may have a Learning Disability.
Learning disabilities range in severity and invariably
interfere with the acquisition and use of one or more of
the following important skills:
 Oral language (e.g., listening, speaking, understanding)

 Reading (e.g., decoding, comprehension)
 Written language (e.g., spelling, written expression)
 Mathematics (e.g., computation, problem solving)
Actual diagnosis of learning disabilities is made

using standardized tests that compare the child’s
level of ability to what is considered normal
development for a person of that age and
intelligence.
Developmental Speech and
Language Disorders
- are often the earliest indicators of a learning disability.
- have difficulty producing speech sounds, using
spoken language to communicate, or understanding
what other people say
- depending on the problem, the specific diagnosis may
be:
• Developmental articulation disorder
• Developmental expressive language disorder
• Developmental receptive language disorder
Developmental Articulation Disorder
• Children with this disorder may have trouble controlling
their rate of speech. Or they may lag behind playmates in
learning to make speech sounds. For example, a child at
age 6 will say “wabbit” instead of “rabbit” and “thwim” for
“swim.
• Developmental articulation disorders are common. They

appear in at least 10 % of children younger than age 8.
Fortunately, articulation disorder can often be outgrown
or successfully treated with speech therapy.
Developmental Receptive
Language Disorder
 Trouble understanding certain aspects of speech. Its as if their
brains are set to a different frequency and the reception is poor.
 Doesn’t respond to his name, a preschooler who hands you a
bell when you asked for a ball or, who consistently can’t follow
simple directions.
 Their hearing is fine, but they can’t make sense of certain
sounds, words, or sentences they hear.
 They may even seem inattentive. Because using and
understanding speech are strongly related, many people with
receptive language disorders also have an expressive language
disability.
Academic Skills Disorders
Students with academic skills disorder are often years
behind their classmates in developing reading,
writing, or arithmetic skills. The diagnoses in this
category include:
• Developmental reading disorder

• Developmental writing disorder
• Developmental arithmetic disorder
Developmental Reading Disorder
- also known as dyslexia, is quite widespread.
- Symptoms are difficulty on:
• Focus attention on the printed marks and control eye
movements across the page
• Recognize the sounds associated with letters
• Understand words and grammar
• Build ideas and images
• Compare new ideas to what you already know
• Store ideas in memory
Developmental Writing Disorder
• Writing, involves several brain areas and functions. The
brain networks for vocabulary, grammar, hand
movement, and memory must all be in good working
order. So a developmental writing disorder may result
from problems in any of these areas.
• A child who is unable to distinguish the sequence of
sounds in a word, may also have problems with
spelling.
• A child with writing disability, particularly an expressive
language disorder, might be unable to compose
complete, grammatical sentences
Assessing Children with Behavioral
Disorder (ADHD / ODD)
Attention Deficit / Hyperactive Disorder

• It is a condition of the brain that makes it difficult for
children to control behavior.
• One of the most common chronic conditions of
childhood.
• Affects 4%-12% of school aged children.
• About 3 times more boys than girls are diagnosed
with ADHD.
Symptoms of ADHD
Inattention
 Has a hard time paying attention, daydreams
 Does not seem to listen
 Is easily distracted from work or play
 Does not seem to care about details, makes careless
mistakes
 Does not follow through on instructions or finish tasks
 Is disorganized
 Loses a lot of important things
 Forgets things
 Does not want to do things that require ongoing mental
effort
Symptoms of ADHD
Hyperactivity
 Is in constant motion, as if “driven by the motor”
 Cannot stay seated
 Squirms and fidgets
 Talks too much
 Runs, jumps, and climbs when this is not permitted
 Cannot play quietly
Symptoms of ADHD
Impulsivity
 Acts and speaks without thinking
 May run into the street without looking for the
traffic first
 Has trouble taking turns
 Cannot wait for things
 Calls out answer before the question is complete
 Interrupts others
Different Types of ADHD?
Inattentive Only (ADD)
- children of this form are not overly active
- because they do not disrupt the classroom or other
activities, their symptoms may not be noticed.
- among girls with ADHD, this form is most common
Hyperactive/Impulsive
- show both hyperactive and impulsive behavior but can pay
attention.
Combined Inattentive/Hyperactive/Impulsive
- show all 3 symptoms. Most common type of ADHD
Common Coexisting Conditions of ADHD
Oppositional Defiant Disorder or Conduct Disorder
Affects 35% of children with ADHD
Tend to lose their temper easily, annoy people on
purpose and are defiant and hostile toward authority
figures.
Break rules, destroy property, and violate rights of other
people.
 Much higher risk for getting into trouble with the law
than children who have only ADHD.
Common Coexisting Conditions of ADHD

Mood Disorder/Depression
 Affects 18% children with ADHD
 There is frequently a family history of these types of
disorder such as depression
 Coexisting mood disorder may put children at higher risk
for suicide especially during the teenage years.
 These disorders are more common among children with
inattentive and combines types of ADHD.
Intervention and Treatment
In most cases, treatment with ADHD should include the
following:
 A long term management plan
 Education about ADHD
 Teamwork among doctors, parents, teachers,
caregivers, other health care professionals and the
child.
 Medication
 Behavioral Therapy
 Parent Training
 Individual and family counseling
Workshop
• Divide yourselves into 5 groups.
• Read the cases and identify the special
needs of the students.
• Write down the symptoms you have
identified that characterize the defined
disability.
• Provide simple or practical steps you can
do to help these children. Give 2 per case.
Workshop
Case 1
Jennifer had no problems in preschool. In kindergarten, she
seemed to learn her letters and numbers, and could read a
dozen words on sight. Her teacher said that she was doing
well, but her parents noticed that she seemed more
disorganized and inattentive than her older sister was at the
same age. They often had to repeat instructions, and she left
half-finished drawings all over her room. In first grade,
Jennifer had mild difficulty with arithmetic, but now the
teacher was concerned that she seemed to not be listening
much of the time. Jennifer's school work was inconsistent and
often she failed to finish assignments.
Workshop
Case 2
Tom, was referred to a specialist teacher as he was struggling
in the classroom even when provided with a support program.
He found it difficult to construct CVC words and it was
suspected that a major part of his difficulties involved
Working Memory. Tom also had problems with long term
memory, in particular recalling sight words.
Workshop
Case 3
S.B. manifests low self-confidence in the way she behaves. She
is shy and withdrawn. However, she tends to be friendly with
people who are much younger or much older than her. With
people who are of her age group, she does not speak much.
Especially when in a group she does not participate. She
frequently reports being bored with her work. Feelings of
worthlessness are also there. Besides explicitly mentioning
that she is no good, there are other signs of her feeling low
about herself. Even when she does something good and she is
praised by someone, she will not believe it. She will ask
whether we are “really” praising her or are just trying to
encourage her. Sometimes she will go and confirm with another
person whether the praise was well deserved.
.
Workshop
Case 4
Nicole is 4 years and 1 month old. She experienced a regression
in her language skills between the ages of 2 and 3 years,
particularly with respect to the desire to speak. Her mother
reported that she will often avoid eye contact and does not
show an interest in approaching other children to play, although
she does respond positively to peers’ approaches. She also is
delayed in the areas of pretend play
and use of gestures and often has difficulty answering simple
questions. In addition, Nicole has overly intense areas of
interest (such as numbers, letters, and words) and will form
“attachments” to objects which she may insist on carrying with
her (e.g., an Easter basket with letters on it).
Workshop
Case 5
Gemma, a five year old girl was referred by her parents to the
child guidance clinic for hyperactivity which had started 2½
years ago. Her mother explained that she has short attention,
span, easily distracted, impulsiveness, lack inhibition and has low
frustration tolerance. She talked incessantly and was socially
uninhibited and immature.
She did poorly in school academic work, showing specific

learning disabilities, such as difficulty in learning to read. She
was a problem to her teacher. Both at school and at home she
had periodic temper outbursts. Despite her inferior scholastic
achievement, she had above average intelligence. However, she
felt inadequate and insecure and had a devaluated self-image.
Process Question
• How did you find the experience?
• Was it easy to identify the cases?
• What which case did you found easy?
• How did you come about with your
answer?
SPECIAL NEEDS?
 Autism
 Deafness
 Orthopedic impairment
 Deaf-blindness
 Other health
 Developmental delay
impairment
 Emotional disturbance
 Specific learning
 Hearing impairment
disability
 Intellectual disability  Speech or language
 Multiple disabilities impairment
Case 1
Jennifer had no problems in preschool. In kindergarten, she seemed to learn her letters and numbers, and could read a dozen words on
sight. Her teacher said that she was doing well, but her parents noticed that she seemed more disorganized and inattentive than her
older sister was at the same age. They often had to repeat instructions, and she left half-finished drawings all over her room. In first
grade, Jennifer had mild difficulty with arithmetic, but now the teacher was concerned that she seemed to not be listening much of the
time. Jennifer's school work was inconsistent and often she failed to finish assignments.
Case 2
Tom, was referred to a specialist teacher as he was struggling in the classroom even when provided with a support program. He found it
difficult to construct CVC words and it was suspected that a major part of his difficulties involved Working Memory. Tom also had
problems with long term memory, in particular recalling sight words.
Case 3
S.B. manifests low self-confidence in the way she behaves. She is shy and withdrawn. However, she tends to be friendly with people who
are much younger or much older than her. With people who are of her age group, she does not speak much. Especially when in a group
she does not participate. She frequently reports being bored with her work. Feelings of worthlessness are also there. Besides explicitly
mentioning that she is no good, there are other signs of her feeling low about herself. Even when she does something good and she is
praised by someone, she will not believe it. She will ask whether we are “really” praising her or are just trying to encourage her.
Sometimes she will go and confirm with another person whether the praise was well deserved.
Case 4
Nicole is 4 years and 1 month old. She experienced a regression in her language skills between the ages of 2 and 3 years, particularly
with respect to the desire to speak. Her mother reported that she will often avoid eye contact and does not show an interest in
approaching other children to play, although she does respond positively to peers’ approaches. She also is delayed in the areas of
pretend play
and use of gestures and often has difficulty answering simple questions. In addition, Nicole has overly intense areas of interest (such as
numbers, letters, and words) and will form “attachments” to objects which she may insist on carrying with her (e.g., an Easter basket with
letters on it).
Case 5
Gemma, a five year old girl was referred by her parents to the child guidance clinic for hyperactivity which had started 2½ years ago. Her
mother explained that she has short attention, span, easily distracted, impulsiveness, lack inhibition and has low frustration tolerance.
She talked incessantly and was socially uninhibited and immature.
She did poorly in school academic work, showing specific learning disabilities, such as difficulty in learning to read. She was a problem to
her teacher. Both at school and at home she had periodic temper outbursts. Despite her inferior scholastic achievement, she had above
average intelligence. However, she felt inadequate and insecure and had a devaluated self-image.

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ASSESSING CHILDREN WITH

Dinah Jean A. Tacogue

 It also includes an examination of behavior

Children who manifest/experience

Other than the Mental Ability Test, a test measuring

Pervasive Developmental Disorder Spectrum

• Symptoms begin early and pervasively persist lifelong

However, they have normal language

 Oral language (e.g., listening, speaking, understanding)

Actual diagnosis of learning disabilities is made

• Developmental articulation disorders are common. They

• Developmental reading disorder

Attention Deficit / Hyperactive Disorder

Common Coexisting Conditions of ADHD

She did poorly in school academic work, showing specific

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