Title, Edition ISBN © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Exceptional Children: An Introduction to Special Education, 9th Edition ISBN X © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Chapter 4 Intellectual Disabilities

© 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 2 Exceptional Children: An Introduction to Special Education, 9th Edition Heward ISBN X © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 2 Definitions of Mental Retardation IDEA definition Significantly sub-average intellectual functioning Deficits in adaptive behavior - age-appropriate behaviors necessary for people to live independently and to function safely and appropriately in daily life. Manifested during the developmental period, which adversely affects a child’s educational performance

© 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 3 Exceptional Children: An Introduction to Special Education, 9th Edition Heward ISBN X © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 3 Definitions of Mental Retardation Three criteria for a diagnosis Significant sub-average intellectual functioning - a score of two or more standard deviations below the mean on standardized intelligence tests – 70 or less on an IQ test An individual must be well below average in both intellectual functioning and adaptive behavior The deficits in intellectual functioning and adaptive behavior must occur during the developmental period to help distinguish mental retardation from other disabilities

© 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 4 Exceptional Children: An Introduction to Special Education, 9th Edition Heward ISBN X © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 4 Definitions of Mental Retardation (cont.) AAIDD 2002 definition Intellectual disability is a disability characterized by significant limitations in both intellectual functioning and in adaptive behavior as expressed in conceptual, social, and practical adaptive skills. This disability originates before age 18. Four assumptions essential to understanding and appropriately applying the definition Limitations in present functioning must be considered within the context of community environments typical of the individual’s age peers and culture. Valid assessment considers cultural and linguistic diversity as well as differences in communication, sensory, motor, and behavioral factors. Within the individual, limitations often coexist with strengths. With appropriate personalized supports over a sustained period, the life functioning of the person with intellectual disability generally will improve.

© 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 5 Exceptional Children: An Introduction to Special Education, 9th Edition Heward ISBN X © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 5 Identification and Assessment Assessing Intellectual Functioning Standardized tests are used to assess intelligence A diagnosis of MR requires an IQ score at least 2 standard deviations below the mean (70 or less) Important considerations of IQ tests: IQ is a hypothetical construct – cannot be observed, such as intelligence, attitudes, processes, and experiences. IQ tests measure how a child performs at one point in time IQ tests can be culturally biased IQ scores can change significantly especially in range IQ testing is not an exact science Results are not useful for targeting educational objectives Results should never be used as the sole basis for making decisions regarding special education services

© 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 6 Exceptional Children: An Introduction to Special Education, 9th Edition Heward ISBN X © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 6 Assessing Adaptive Behavior Adaptive behavior is the collection of conceptual, social, and practical skills that have been learned by people in order to function in their everyday lives Measurement of adaptive behavior has proven difficult because of the relative nature of social adjustment and competence AAMR Adaptive Behavior Scale Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales Scales of Independent Behavior Measure independent functioning, daily living skills, levels of inappropriate behavior, etc.

© 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 7 Exceptional Children: An Introduction to Special Education, 9th Edition Heward ISBN X © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 7 Characteristics of Students with MR Mild MR Usually not identified until school age Most students master many academic skills Most able to learn job skills well enough to support themselves independently or semi-independently Moderate MR Most show significant delays in development during the preschool years As they grow older the discrepancies in age-related adaptive and intellectual skills widens – VITAL House Severe MR Usually identified at birth Most have significant central nervous system damage Likely to have health care problems that require intensive supports

© 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 8 Exceptional Children: An Introduction to Special Education, 9th Edition Heward ISBN X © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 8 Characteristics of Students with MR (cont.) Cognitive Functioning Memory Problems retaining information in short-term memory May forget directions presented a few minutes prior Require more time to recall Cannot handle large amounts of information at one time If learned and committed to long-term memory, they have the ability to retain the information Strategies such as rehearsing and organizing information into related sets are effective.

© 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 9 Exceptional Children: An Introduction to Special Education, 9th Edition Heward ISBN X © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 9 Characteristics of Students with MR (cont.) Cognitive Functioning Learning rate Below that of typical developing children Frequently used measure of learning rate – trials to criterion – typical child may require 2-3 trials with feedback to discriminate between to geometric forms – a child with MR may need trials Attention Slower to attend to relevant features of a task May focus on distracting irrelevant stimuli Difficulty sustaining attention As student show success attending to simplified tasks complexity can be increased

© 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 10 Exceptional Children: An Introduction to Special Education, 9th Edition Heward ISBN X © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 10 Characteristics of Students with MR (cont.) Cognitive Functioning Generalization and Maintenance of Learned Skills Have difficulty relating newly learned information to different situations One of the most challenging and important areas of contemporary research is identifying strategies is promoting the generalization and maintenance of learning by individuals with MR Motivation Demonstrate a lack of interest They expect to fail based on past experiences – learned helplessness To minimize failure, they set low expectations Acquire - outer directedness – a problem solving approach due to distrust of their abilities as they tend to rely on others

© 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 11 Exceptional Children: An Introduction to Special Education, 9th Edition Heward ISBN X © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 11 Characteristics of Students with MR (cont.) Adaptive Behavior Self-care and daily living skills Require intensive supports to learn dressing, eating, and hygiene Many prompts and simplified routines are necessary Social development Sustaining friendships is a significant challenge Poor communications skills, the inability to recognize the emotional state of others, and inappropriate behaviors can lead to social isolation Teaching appropriate social and interpersonal skills to students with intellectual disabilities is one of the most important functions of special education

© 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 12 Exceptional Children: An Introduction to Special Education, 9th Edition Heward ISBN X © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 12 Characteristics of Students with MR (cont.) Adaptive Behavior Behavioral excesses and challenging behavior More likely to exhibit problem behaviors Limited self-control, aggression, and self- injury are more often observed in children with MR Mental illness and problem behavior in individuals with MR is 2-3 times higher than the general population

© 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 13 Exceptional Children: An Introduction to Special Education, 9th Edition Heward ISBN X © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 13 Prevalence and Causes Prevalence Nationally, during the 2005–2006 school year, approximately 0.81% of the total school population received special education services in the MR category Of those receiving special education services 9.6% of the total school-age population were MR Causes More than 350 causes of MR have been identified

© 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 14 Exceptional Children: An Introduction to Special Education, 9th Edition Heward ISBN X © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 14 Biological Causes 35% of the cases have a genetic cause - 1/3 from external trauma or toxins (drugs/alcohol) – nearly 1/3 are unknown Prenatal (before birth) Genetic – chromosomal disorders – Down’s Syndrome & Fragile X Syndrome Maternal illness Parental age Perinatal (during or shortly after birth) Prematurity Birth injury Postnatal (after birth) Brain injury Malnutrition Seizure disorders

© 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 15 Exceptional Children: An Introduction to Special Education, 9th Edition Heward ISBN X © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 15 Environmental Causes Minimal opportunities to develop early language Child abuse and neglect Chronic social or sensory deprivation

© 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 16 Exceptional Children: An Introduction to Special Education, 9th Edition Heward ISBN X © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 16 Prevention The biggest single preventive strike against MR was the development of the rubella vaccine in 1962 – (German measles contracted during pregnancy) Toxic exposure through maternal substance abuse and environmental pollutants are two major causes of preventable MR that can be combated with education and training Advances in medical science have enabled doctors to identify certain genetic influences (ultrasound) Although early identification and intensive educational services to high-risk infants show promise, there is still no widely used technique to decrease the incidence of MR caused by psychosocial disadvantage

© 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 17 Exceptional Children: An Introduction to Special Education, 9th Edition Heward ISBN X © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 17 Educational Approaches Curriculum Goals Functional curriculum A functional curriculum will maximize a student’s independence, self-direction, and enjoyment in school, home, community, and work environments Life skills Skills that will help the student transition into adult life in the community Self-determination Self-determined learners set goals, plan and implement a course of action, evaluate their performance, and make adjustments in what they are doing to reach their goals

© 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 18 Exceptional Children: An Introduction to Special Education, 9th Edition Heward ISBN X © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 18 Instructional Methods Instruction must be explicit and systematic Task analysis – break down larger tasks into mini- tasks– sequence the mini-tasks – analyze performance of the small steps Active student response – provide instruction with high levels of student participation Systematic feedback – positive reinforcement for good performance – error correction for incorrect responses – most effective when it is immediate, frequent, and positive

© 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 19 Exceptional Children: An Introduction to Special Education, 9th Edition Heward ISBN X © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 19 Instructional Methods Transfer of stimulus control from prompts to task – Providing prompts (verbal directions, pictures, physical) to make a correct response probable. In time the prompts are gradually and systematically withdrawn – students learn to use natural cues Generalization and maintenance – use what they have learned across settings and time – reinforce skill in the natural environment – community based instruction (teaching in the actual setting) Direct and frequent measurement of student performance – verify the effects of instruction by measuring performance directly and frequently Directly – objectively record performance of a skill in the natural environment Frequently – should occur on a regular basis

© 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 20 Exceptional Children: An Introduction to Special Education, 9th Edition Heward ISBN X © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 20 Educational Placement Alternatives During the 2005–2006 school year, 14.1% of students with mental retardation were educated in the general education classroom 29.1% were served in resource room programs 50.2% were served in separate classes 6.7% of students with mental retardation are educated in separate schools, residential facilities, or home/hospital environments