Understanding Learning Disability Documentation Ivey West WAPED Conference April 2017 west.ivey@gmail.com

12 Tips for Evaluators: Writing Quality Diagnostic Reports ** Documentation should be typed or printed on letterhead, dated, signed and be legible, including your name, title and professional credentials. Documentation should be recent. Documentation should be no more than five years old for LD and ADHD and 12 months for psychiatric disabilities. Documentation should include the reason for referral. **https://www.ets.org/disabilities/evaluators/tips/ Copyright © 2017 by Educational Testing Service. All rights reserved .

Quality Diagnostic Reports (more) Documentation should include a listing of all the tests that were used to establish the disability and to support the accommodation requests. Evaluation measures selected for the assessment battery should be reliable, valid and age appropriate. 5. Documentation should include developmental, educational and medical histories. The diagnostic report should have a clear statement of the disability. **https://www.ets.org/disabilities/evaluators/tips/ Copyright © 2017 by Educational Testing Service.

Quality Diagnostic Reports (continued) 7. The report must include a "rule-out" statement. 8. The report should use appropriate measures of achievement. 9. Test results should be clearly stated with all subtests noted. 10. The clinical summary should recap the high points, rule out alternative explanations and summarize how the findings support any "substantial limitation" to a major life activity. **https://www.ets.org/disabilities/evaluators/tips/ Copyright © 2017 by Educational Testing Service.

Quality Diagnostic Reports (continued) 11. Support for the requested accommodations must be tied to specific test results. Support for extended testing time should be specifically addressed by the evaluator. **https://www.ets.org/disabilities/evaluators/tips/ Copyright © 2017 by Educational Testing Service.

Preferred Standardized Tests Tests of Intellectual Functioning Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-III) ages 6 to 16 Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale IV (WAIS-IV) ages 16 and up Woodcock-Johnson IV Tests of Cognitive Ability ages 3 to 90 (WJ-III still in use) Kaufman Adolescent and Adult Intelligence Test ages 11 to 85  

Preferred Tests (continued) Achievement Tests Woodcock-Johnson IV Tests of Achievement (WJ-III in use) Wechsler Individual Achievement Test III (WIAT-III) (4 to 50) Gray Oral Reading Test (GORT-5th Ed) (ages 6 to 23-11) Nelson-Denny Reading Test (Form G or H) high school & college age Test of Written Language (TOWL-4) (ages 9 to 17-11) Test of Adolescent and Adult Language (TOAL-4) (ages 12 to 24-11)  

Preferred Tests (continued) Standardized Tests of Attention Brown Attention Deficit Disorder Scale (BADD) ages 3 to adult Conners Adult ADHD Rating Scale-Self Report (CAARS) Long Form ages 18 and up Test of Variable Attention (TOVA) ages 4 to 80 Wender Utah Rating Scale (for adults)

Less frequently used tests Intellectual Functioning: Standford-Binet 5 (SB5) ages 5 to 85 Tests of Non-Verbal Intelligence (TONI-4) ages 6 to 89. Directions in many languages. Achievement: Woodcock-Reading Mastery Tests-Revised ages 4 to 89. Comprehensive Tests of Phonological Processing (CTOPP) ages 4 to 24 Test of Language Development (TOLD I) ages 8 to 17:11

Interpreting the Scores Broad and “cluster” scores provide overall scales. Look at the individual subtest scores. Group them yourself if the report writer has not done that. Look for patterns and exceptions to those patterns. Read to see if the evaluator has addressed the exceptions.

The DSM-IV Definition of a Specific Learning Disorder Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, pages 66-74. American Psychiatric Association, 2013. “Difficulties learning and using academic skills, as indicated by the presence of at least one of the following symptoms that have persisted for at least 6 months, despite the provision of interventions that target those difficulties:” [followed by six symptoms and multiple subheadings] 315.00 With impairment in reading 315.2 With impairment in written expression 315.1 With impairment in mathematics Specify current severity: Mild, Moderate, Severe

Formal Discrepancy Model ? (See WA SPI Table in Appendix A) Superintendent of Public Instruction provides the table for districts to use if they wish. Pro’s—Takes subjective decision making out of the process. Con’s—Takes subjective decision making out of the process.

Sample “W” Female, age 30 years, 1 month Public school education. BS in Biology from UPS First diagnosed as SLD in 3rd grade. Early intervention and steady pattern of extra tutoring. School-long history of extra time on exams, including SAT’s and ACT’s. Needs to have assessment updated for GMAT’s.

Sample “W” WAIS-IV Verbal comprehension (VCI) 116 or 86th percentile Perceptual Reasoning (PRI) 131 or 98th percentile Working Memory (WMI) 117 or 87th percentile Processing Speed (PSI) 111 or 77th percentile Full Scale (FSIQ) 125 or 95th percentile

Sample “W” WAIS-IV subtest scores Verbal Comprehension Similarities 91st percentile Vocabulary 75th percentile Information 84th percentile Perceptual Reasoning Subtests Block Design 91st percentile Matrix Reasoning 95th percentile Visual Puzzles 99th percentile Figure Weights 75th percentile

Sample “W” WAIS-IV subtest scores Working Memory Subtests Digit Span 75th percentile Arithmetic 91st percentile Letter-No. Sequencing 50th percentile Processing speeding Symbol Search 63rd percentile Coding 84th percentile

Sample “W” Achievement Subtest Scores Woodcock-Johnson III Reading subtests (not timed) Letter-Word ID SS 106 67th percentile Passage Comp. SS 111 78th percentile Word Attack SS 103 58th percentile Reading Vocabulary SS 106 68th percentile Nelson Denny Reading (timed) Vocabulary 39th percentile Comprehension 17th percentile Rate 2nd percentile

Sample W, Achievement Subtest Scores Woodcock-Johnson III Writing Skills Spelling SS 104 62nd percentile Editing SS 105 62nd percentile Punctuation & Caps SS 115 84th percentile Woodcock-Johnson III Oral Language Skills Picture Vocabulary SS 107 68th percentile Oral Comp. SS 117 87th percentile Story Recall SS 106 65th percentile

Sample W, Fluency (Speed) Subtest Scores WJ-III Reading SS 97 41st percentile Math SS 99 47th percentile Writing SS 113 81st percentile Nelson Denny Reading Rate 2nd percentile