Psych 377 People with challenges

• A medical condition or deficit that limits of otherwise interferes with an individual’s life activities.
• U.S. view

• Focuses more on the interaction of the “whole-person” and her/his environment
• 360 view
• WHO view: International Classification of Disability and Health 2001

Prohibited any (direct or indirect) discriminatory employment practices, in connection to federal employment

• Prohibited any (direct or indirect) discriminatory employment practices, in connection to federal employment
• Extend those protections to the private sector

• Special needs assessment for all ages
• Special education for children 3-5

• Attempt to clarify what conditions where covered in PL 99-457
• Mental retardation, hearing impairments (deafness), speech and language impairments, serious emotional disturbance, orthopeadic impairments, autism, traumatic brain injury, and all other health impairments or specific learning disabilities.

• Expanded PL 99-457
• To better address diversity issues and expand special needs care to inhome and naturalistic settings
• Defines a child with a disability as well as what it means to be at risk
• But, it left it up to the states to define what a disability is

• A mandate to put into place alternative assessment strategies
• The Federal govt did not specify what it means

• Joint document published by:
• American Educational Research Association
• American Psychological Association
• The National Council on Measurement in Education
• This is not a law, but it is given the same weight as a law by the courts

• Assessee capabilities
• Assessor capabilities (Training? Have they encountered this situation or challenges before?)
• Assessment purpose
• Scoring inferences (Looking for quality) (Convergent validity)

• different tests are testing different things
• equal does not mean advantage

• Ability to function has been disrupted
• Arose primarily in an industrial context (1930’s)
• Used in an increasingly-wider variety of contexts
• Considerable debate regarding:
• Degree to which it is a true disability
• Assessment accommodation required
• Educational/workplace support

• ADA prohibits discrimination against a qualified individual with a disability in all employment practices such as:
• Job application procedures
• Selection
• Termination
• Advancement
• Compensation
• Training
• Recruitment
• All other employment-related activities

• An individual with a disability who, with or without reasonable accommodation, can perform the essential functions of the employment position that such individual holds or desires
• Physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activity, and/or having a record of such an impairment, and/or being regarded as having such an impairment
• Not every impairment nor disorder in the DSM constitutes a disability

Alteration that can be made to the physical environment or the circumstances surrounding that job

Significant difficulty or expense

• Estimated 20% by age 65
• 25% by age 75
• Related to a variety of activities:
• Life activities
• Testing ability

• 1. Total impairment (i.e., total blindness)
•          1a. Light/dark identification
•          1b. Shape identification
•                    In form of a light source
• 2. Unable to read, but can identify large objects
• 3. Able to read with some assistance
•         i.e. Magnifying glass

• Test choice/Normative data comparisons
• Testing environment
• Time extensions
• Material variation
• Question format

• Auditory projective tests
• Skinner the first to come up with one

• Verbal Summator
• Auditory Apperception Test
• Sound Association Test
• Azzegeddi Test
• Emotional Factors Inventory
• Maxfield-Bucholz Social Competency Scale for Blind Preschool Children

• To snare out complexes
• The stimuli are noises

3 ambiguous sounds are played and subject is asked to come up w a story

Similar to auditory apperception test

Paragraphs are read, but still ambiguous

• Based on Vinglan social maturity scale and incorporated it into his scale
• Assesses social competence, self-help skills, and adaptive behavior

PRG Interest Inventory

• Constructed based on normative data derived from sight impair individuals and to regards to their vocational and personal interests
• It asks the assessee to respond to the items as if she was not sight impaired
• Focus on what you are really interested in and what you would be interested in if you were not disabled

Vernon (1989): Half the number of person 65+ some degree of hearing

• Lack of comprehension
• Repeated requests to have things repeated
• Intently watching speaker’s lips (for cues)

• Came to the conclusion that they are not all homogeneous in their frames of mind
• Depends when they lost their hearing especially if they lost it prior to age 3
• Before 3, they think about themselves differently (not being part of the population), have occupations where they use their hands a lot
• The ones after 3, activities and vocations that are more like the non-impaired hearing population
• There was an identifiable segregation between the groups
• You could be dealing with cultural differences

• Written instructions
• Amplifying assessor’s voice
• Using interpreter
• Test materials alterations

• Elements of the Kaufman and Wechsler tests
• Hiskey-Nebraska Test of Learning Aptitude (Hiskey 1966)
• Draw-a-Person & House-Tree-Person
• Hand test would be inappropriate

• Back in the 60’s, there was an outbreak of rubella and it led to the birth of children who were deaf and blind
• 1967: 10 regional centers established for special assessment of multiply-challenged children

• Visual & Auditory Impairment
• Direct observation of individual
• 2 weeks is recommended
• “G” and “H” scales

• “G”- people who are familiar with the child (parents, teacher)
• “H”- assessment professionals

• Visual & Auditory Impairment
• Using systematic observation
• The purpose is to classify the individual in terms of developmental levels
• Self-help skills, gross/motor-skills
• Usually conducted in naturalistic setting

• Direct observation
• Purdue Perceptual-Motor Survey
• Frostig Movement Skills Test Battery
• Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency (Bot 2)
• Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency (Bot 2)

• Motor impairment
• 6-10 yrs
• Screening measure that assesses general motor ability, fine and gross motor skills

• Motor impairment
• 6-12 yrs
• Balance strength, flexibility, fine and gross motor skills

• Motor impairment
• 4-21 yrs
• 8 sub tests
• The most frequently used but it takes a long time to administer, a lot of physical space, and a lot of training

• Motor impairment
• Hand-eye coordination, depth perception

• An assessment of “mental retardation”
• Traditionally via standardized IQ tests
• Traditional qualitative labels replaced with required level of support descriptors
• www.aaidd.org

• Standardized IQ tests
• Adaptive Behavior Assessment System (200)

• Cognitive impairment
• Assesses and describes adaptive behavior as well as their functioning in 10 areas
• 360 model based
• The degree which she can effectively care for herself and interact with others
• 5-89 yrs

• Cognitive impairment
• we don't rely on them exclusively anymore

• Examines biological, psychological, social, cultural, and environmental variables
• All inclusive

We have to be cultural differences-sensitive assessment