Identify skills to be assessed: Indepth reading overview.
Summary of in-depth reading on “Identify skills to be assessed.”
When looking at students with severe disabilities, there is no definitive answer to the question, “What skills should be identified for assessment?” For some students, there are mandatory assessments that must be conducted. As an example, IDEA stipulates that functional behavior assessments (FBA) are (only) required for students with disabilities when the student has become involved in discipline proceedings (Knoster & McCurdy, 2002). Does this mean that assessment of behavioral skills need not be conducted for children who have not yet entered official discipline proceedings? Legally, this argument could be made, but logically and ethically, the behavioral skill areas should not be dismissed solely due to a lack of federal requirements. While the majority of children will never need an FBA, there are others who could be denied assessment because they have never entered any disciplinary proceedings; for them, an FBA could prove beneficial.
For those students who do need behavioral assessments, there are many routes (McConaughy, & Ritter, 2002). There exist many standardized behavioral rating scales which will assist in identifying behavioral skill areas lacking by the student. Additionally, teacher and student interview, standardized self reports and direct observations can be used. Best practices would postulate that a multidimensional combination of the above should be used to gain a full picture of the student’s abilities and disabilities in the area of behavior functioning.
Beyond assessing the possible skill deficits which could be a catalyst for social behavior problems, there is a seemingly unlimited range of functional skills which can be assessed. For the typical child, frequently assessed skills are traditional educational benchmarks in the common curriculums. These assessments are made via standardized and teacher testing. For children with severe deficits in usual adaptive skills, traditional assessment is not beneficial, and often, not feasible. These children need assessment in skill areas vital to everyday activities (Harrison & Boney, 2002). While one would most likely not consider measuring toileting abilities or eating skills for the typical student, these skills are important items to assess for students with severe disabilities. This is because these are the primary skill areas required for everyday living.
At a higher level than the obvious skills required for daily functioning, yet below the talents of academic proficiency is a wide range of skills viable for assessment. There are several tools or methods that are useful in identifying assessable skills (Browder, 1991). A review of records, ecological inventories, curriculum based assessments, and adaptive behavior scales can all be used to assist in identifying skills to be measured. Beyond forms and tests, however, a wealth of information is found by talking to the individual in question and his or her caregivers. Often, for those with severe disabilities, the best information on skill assessment is revealed in looking for skills that are considered important and needed to improve the student’s daily life. Working with the teacher, caregivers, and student, it is necessary to prioritize the skills the student would like to learn and look at the more important skills.
After deciding on a priority skill, a task analysis is conducted to decipher what individual activities or skills make up the completed skill. Snell (1993) describes the simple task of making a peanut butter sandwich. From start to finish, several individual skills are needed to produce the simple sandwich. The various tasks and skills required include reaching, opening jars, removing bread from storage, holding and using a butter knife, and many others. By looking at the individual skills needed to produce the final goal, we get a picture describing what we need to teach the student to complete the task. This will also give an idea as to how much new information will need to be taught in order for the student to achieve the goal. This information enables the teaching team to choose more realistic goals and tasks, leading to more positive outcomes.
References
Browder, D. M. (1991). Assessment of individuals with severe disabilities: An applied behavior approach to life skills assessment (second edition). Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.
Knoster, T. P. & McCurdy, B. (2002). Best practices in functional behavioral assessment for designing individualized student programs. In Thomas, A., & Grimes, J. (Eds.), Best practices in school psychology: Volume 2 (fourth edition). Bethesda, MD: The National Association of School Psychologists.
Harrison, P. L. & Boney, T. L. (2002). Best practices in the assessment of adaptive behavior. In Thomas, A., & Grimes, J. (Eds.), Best practices in school psychology: Volume 2 (fourth edition). Bethesda, MD: The National Association of School Psychologists.
McConaughy, S. H. & Ritter, D. R. (2002). Best practices in multidimensional assessment of emotional or behavioral disorders. In Thomas, A., & Grimes, J. (Eds.), Best practices in school psychology: Volume 2 (fourth edition). Bethesda, MD: The National Association of School Psychologists.
Snell, M. E. (1993). Instruction of students with severe disabilities (fourth edition). New York, NY: Merrill Publishing Company.
Filed under: EDC 571 Biological Bases of Behavior (I and II)
Copyright: September, 2004 - David Profitt
