Special Education ProgramEligibility Checklist

TABLE OF CONTENTS

How to Read Assessments ………………………………………………………..……………….. 2-4

Eligibility Checklist: 0-3 ………………………………………………………………………………. 5

Eligibility Checklist: 3-5, Developmental Delay (LAUSD only) ……….………….... 6

Eligibility Checklist: Other Health Impairment……………………………………………… 7-8

Eligibility Checklist: Emotional Disturbance ……………………………………………….… 9-11

Eligibility Checklist: Speech or Language Impairment ………………………………..….. 12-13

Eligibility Checklist: Specific Learning Disability ………………………………………….... 14-18

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How to Read AssessmentsLearning how to read and understand assessments is very important to special education

advocacy. Assessments measure many different types of educationally relevant information such as cognitive ability (memory and learning), academic achievement, language abilities, behaviors, etc. The results of these assessments are given in different types of standardized scores. The information below will help you understand how to read and interpret these scores. Standardized scores are extremely important measures because they are objective and normed across a representative sample of children in the United States. They give you definitive proof of how a child is doing and are more reliable than the subjective information you may gather from teachers and parents. Please refer to the figure on page four while reviewing this section.

1) Standard Scores (SS)

Standard scores are the most reliable and common type of scores used in special education. The distribution of scores is shown on a bell curve. For most tests which give the results in standard scores, the average score, or mean, is 100 with a standard deviation of plus (+) or minus (-) 15. A SS falls within the average range if it is + or – one standard deviation from the mean, meaning it falls between 85 and 115. (Note: a score of 86 is on the low side of the average range but still falls within the average range). A SS between -1 and -2 standard deviations, or between 70-84, is below average and shows that the child has a deficiency. A SS between -2 and -3 standard deviations, or between 55-69, shows that the child is scoring in the markedly below average range and is an area of extreme deficit.

2) Scaled Scores (ss)

Scaled scores (ss) are used in conjunction with standard scores and are often used to describe the results of subtests. Within extensive assessments, there are sometimes specific skills tested with their results given as subtest scores. For example, in the area of reading, there might be subtests in the areas of reading decoding, reading comprehension and reading fluency. Scaled scores have a mean of 10 and a standard deviation of +/- 3. Scaled scores work similarly to standard scores. For example, the average range is 7-13. The below average range (-1 to -2 standard deviations below the mean) is 4-6. The markedly below average range (-2 to -3 standard deviations below the mean) is 1-3.

3) Percentiles (%)

Bell curves can also be used to indicate the percentile in which the child falls. A SS of 70 means the child is in the 2nd percentile, performing worse than 98 out of 100 children. A child falls within the average range if they are between the 16th percentile (SS 85) and the 84th percentile (SS 115). Anything below the 16% is below average and can be considered an area of deficit.

4) Age equivalents (AE)

A child’s current age (CA) is measured by year and month. For example, if a child is twelve years and six months old, he is 12.6 years old. When a child is given standardized assessments, a score is often given in age equivalency (AE). If a student has an AE of 10.5, the student is performing at the level of a student that is ten years and five months old.

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For children above the age of five, an AE that is one or more years below a student’s CA is a potential area of deficit. For example, if the student with a CA of 12.6 has a AE of 10.5 in Reading Comprehension, then there is a delay of 2.1 years, showing a deficit in this area.

5) Grade Equivalents (GE)

A child’s current grade (CG) is measured by year and month. This differs from age measurement, though, because it is measured by a ten month school year. For example if a child is in the fifth grade and it is February, that child’s CG is 5.5 (normally, the first month of the school year is September). When a child is given standardized assessments, a score is often given in grade equivalency (GE). If a student has a GE of 3.9, the student is performing at the level of a student that is in the third grade during the ninth month.

A GE that is one or more years below a student’s CG is a potential area of deficit. For example, if the student’s CG is 5.5 and scores a GE of 3.9 in mathematics, then there is a delay of 1.6 years, showing a deficit in this area.

6) T-scores

There is a different unit of measure used to quantify behavior rating scales—the T-score. Looking at the Bell curve, the mean for T-scores is 50 with a standard deviation of +/- 10. T-scores are qualitatively different from the other scores because they are not fully standardized. A behavior rating scale asks a rater (teacher, parent, and/or student) to rate certain behaviors of the student. These ratings are done on a continuum. For example, a teacher would rate a student’s aggressive behavior as something that never occurs, sometimes occurs, or always occurs. Ratings are always subjective to the rater. These T-scores can be considered partially standardized because scores from across the nation are gathered and normed for both disabled and non-disabled youth. Behaviors typically rated are attention, hyperactivity, depression, impulsivity, etc.

On most assessments, we look at the incidence of negative behaviors; thus, scores are higher when the behavior occurs more frequently. Higher scores indicate areas of concern. For example, when rating the negative behavior of aggression, a T-score of 60-69 is at-risk and a score of 70 or above is clinically significant. Behavior rating scales also measure the incidence of positive coping or adaptive behaviors. These are behaviors that we want our children to display, thus lower scores indicate areas of concern. For example, when rating the positive behavior of social skills, a T-score of 31-40 is at-risk and a score of 30 or below is clinically significant.

7) % delay

For children ages 0-3, we always calculate the % delay when given an age equivalent (AE). This helps us because eligibility for Early Start programs hinges on a % delay of either 33% or 50% depending on the child’s age (see below). In order to calculate, you use the following formula: (Child’s age – child’s age equivalent)/child’s age = % delay. Example: Child is 12 months old. Child’s AE in motor development is 8 months. So . . . (12-8)/12 = 4/12 = 33% delay.

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The Bell Curve

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-3 -2 -1 Mean +1 +2 +3

Standard Deviations

55 70 85 100 115 130 145

Standard Scores

1 4 7 10 13 16 19

Scaled Scores

1st% 2nd % 16th % 50th 84th 98th % 99th %

Percentiles

20 30 40 50 60 70 80

T Scores

Clinically At-Risk At Risk Clinically Significant Significant

Eligibility Checklist: 0-3

1) Applicable Law: IDEA: 20 U.S.C. § 1431, 5 C.C.R. § 3030, 5 C.C.R. § 52020, 5 C.C.R. § 52022

2) Background Information: Children from birth to their third birthday, if determined to be eligible for early intervention services, are entitled to receive services through California’s Early Start program, provided primarily through regional centers. (Note: if the child has a low-incidence disability such as hearing, vision or orthopedic impairment, they will receive services through the Local Educational Agency (LEA), i.e. your local school district). To determine whether a child is eligible for early intervention services, refer to the checklist below.

3) Eligibility Criteria: For a child to be eligible for Early Start services, they have to qualify under ONE of the following two areas: Developmental Delay or Established Risk.

Developmental Delay: A child has a developmental delay if there is a significant difference between their level of current performance and the level of performance expected for their age in one or more of the areas below:

□ Cognitive development□ Physical development: including fine and gross motor, vision, and hearing□ Communication development□ Social or emotional development□ Adaptive development

(To learn more about these areas of development, see Special Education Manual page #).

What does significant difference mean?o If the child is under 24 months, the child must be 33% delayed in at least one area.o If the child is between 24-36 months, the child must be 50% delayed in one area, or

33% delayed in at least two areas. Developmental Delay is determined based on the results of standardized assessments.

Established Risk: A child has an established risk condition if they are diagnosed with a physical or mental condition of known etiology that has a high probability of resulting in developmental delay, including: □ Chromosomal disorders such as Down Syndrome or Prader-Willi Syndrome□ Neurological disorders: Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Epilepsy, Hyprocephalus, Spina Bifida, Tuberous

Sclerosis□ Inborn errors of metabolism□ Vision, hearing, or orthopedic impairments (these are called low incidence disabilities and are

served by local school districts)

4) Common Assessments: Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ) & Parents’ Evaluation of Developmental Status (PEDS):

Developmental screening tools designed to identify children exhibiting delays in need of referral for more intensive diagnosis or evaluation.

Bayley Scales of Infant Development: Measures the mental, motor, and behavioral progress of infants from one to forty two months of age.

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Eligibility Checklist: 3-5, Developmental Delay (LAUSD Only)

1) Applicable Law: 34 C.F.R. § 300.111(b), Cal. Educ. Code § 56441.11

2) Background Information: Why does only LAUSD use Developmental Delay? IDEA part B defines developmental delay as a potential eligibility category under 34 C.F.R 300.8(b), however, it is an optional one. Each state may decide whether or not to use Developmental Delay as an eligibility category for children between the ages of 3 and 9 years (34 C.F.R § 300.111 (b)). California has decided not to use this eligibility category. LAUSD, however, applied for special permission to use this category for children between the ages of 3 and 5, and was granted permission.

3) Eligibility Criteria: A child must meet one of the below requirements

Functioning at or below 50% of his or her chronological age level in any ONE of the following areas:□ Gross or fine motor development;□ Receptive or expressive language development;□ Social or emotional development;□ Cognitive development; or□ Visual development.

Functioning between 51% and 75% of his or her chronological age level in any TWO of the skill areas listed above.

Has a disabling medical condition or congenital syndrome which the IEP team determines has a high predictability of requiring intensive special education and services. (Note: See “Established Risk” category above (page 5) for examples).

4) Common Assessments: LAUSD Preschool Team Assessment (PTA): Provides measures of cognition, pre-academics,

language, and motor skills. Cognitive: Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scales of Intelligence (WPPSI): An intelligence test

for children from 2.6 to 7.3 which measures both verbal and nonverbal/performance. Behavior: Behavior Assessment System for Children (BASC): Used to measure aggression,

hyperactivity, and other behaviors including positive/adaptive behaviors such as social skills. Speech and Language:

o Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test – Third Edition (PPVT-III): Measures receptive vocabulary and screens verbal ability.

o Preschool Language Scale – Fourth Edition (PLS-4): Measures auditory/receptive and expressive language and also includes an articulation screener.

Motoro Peabody Developmental Motor Scales (PDMS): Evaluates the development of children’s

fine and gross motor skills. o Visual-Motor Integration (VMI): Measures how well children can integrate what they are

seeing with what their hands are doing.

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Eligibility Checklist: Other Health Impairment (OHI)

1) Applicable Law: Cal. Educ. Code § 56339(a), 5 C.C.R. § 3030(f)

2) Eligibility Criteria: A student must meet all three of the requirements below

OHI is defined as limited strength, vitality or alertness, due to chronic or acute health problems, including but not limited to a heart condition, cancer, leukemia, rheumatic fever, chronic kidney disease, cystic fibrosis, severe asthma, epilepsy, lead poisoning, diabetes, tuberculosis and other communicable infectious diseases, and hematological disorders such as sickle cell anemia and hemophilia. These disabilities cannot be temporary in nature.

**Helpful Hint: ADHD is considered a chronic or acute health problem under OHI.

The health impairment must adversely affect the student’s educational performance.

**Helpful Hint: Jack and Jill both have ADHD. Jack’s ADHD is being managed by medication; he is calm in the classroom and is able to work on his own without constant monitoring. Despite her medication, Jill has trouble managing her behavior (she inappropriately speaks out in class, has difficulty starting and completing her work, and talks excessively). Jack therefore is not OHI eligible, but Jill may be.

The degree of the student’s health impairment necessitates special education and related services which cannot be provided solely through modification of the regular school program.

PRACTICE TIP: Is an ADHD Diagnosis Required? In guidance from the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), they state that a formal ADHD diagnosis is not required, under the law, in order to determine that a student is eligible under OHI. The letter goes on to say that if a school district requires a medical evaluation and formal ADHD diagnosis, that evaluation must be done at no cost to the child or parent. (34 IDELR 35; 18 IDELR 963). This means that the school district must fund this evaluation via normal assessment procedures including providing a referral, assessment plan, and completing the assessment within the normal 60 day timeline.

3) Common Assessments:

Connors’ Rating Scales: This behavior rating scale can be completed by parents, teachers and/or students. It measures attention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity.

Behavior Assessment System for Children (BASC): This tool evaluates the behavior of children such as inattention and hyperactivity, among other things.

PRACTICE TIP: Review incident reports, teacher’s notes, report cards, cumulative notes and disciplinary actions to find evidence of ADHD symptoms. This information may provide strong evidence of how a student’s attention disorder is negatively affecting their classroom performance. Some examples include:

o Inattentiona. Avoids or does not pay close attention to school work or other activitiesb. Easily distractedc. Trouble following directions/forgetful

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d. Doesn’t appear to listen when spoken toe. Disorganized/looses school supplies and homework

o Hyperactivity Fidgets hands and feet or squirms Leaves seat in a situation where being seated is an expectation Talks excessively Often on the go, or ‘driven by a motor’

o Impulsivity Difficulty waiting their turn Blurts out answers before question is completed Interrupts or intrudes in inappropriate situations

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Eligibility Checklist: Emotional Disturbance (ED)

1) Applicable Law: 5 C.C.R. 3030 (i)

2) Eligibility Criteria: To be eligible under the category of emotional disturbance, a student must exhibit at least ONE of the five following characteristics over a prolonged period of time, to a marked degree, and it must negatively affect the student’s educational performance. Review the student’s education records, including discipline reports, for evidence of the below characteristics.

(1) An inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers AND teachers.

This characteristic does not refer to the student who has a conflict with one teacher or with certain peers; it is a pervasive inability to develop appropriate relationships with others across settings and situations.

Examples:

o Physical or verbal aggression towards others

o Delayed social skills

o Consistently defiant towards authority

o Withdrawal from all social interactions, few/no friends

Possible Diagnosis:

o Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD): characteristics include a pattern of negativistic, hostile, and defiant behavior (loses temper, argues with adults, defies adults’ requests, touchy/easily annoyed by others or angry/resentful).

(2) Inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under normal circumstances exhibited in several situations.

Inappropriate behaviors include but are not limited to physical aggression, hurting self/others, destroying property, auditory or visual hallucinations, or low frustration tolerance

Inappropriate feelings include but are not limited to rapid changes in mood and emotional overreactions

Possible Diagnosis include Bipolar Disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and Conduct Disorder

(3) A general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression.

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Possible Diagnoses include Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Depression. Symptoms include but are not limited to irritable mood, diminished interest or pleasure in daily activities, significant changes in weight/appetite, insomnia, feelings of worthlessness, diminished ability to think or concentrate, recurrent thoughts of death or suicidal ideation.

(4) A tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school problems.

Symptoms with no demonstrable medical causes, linked to psychological factors or conflict. The student cannot be intentionally producing the symptoms.

Examples:

o Psychosomatic symptoms: headaches or gastrointestinal problems

o Incapacitating feelings of anxiety (i.e. hyperventilating, dizziness)

o Persistent and irrational fear

Possible Diagnosis: Anxiety Disorder: symptoms include but are not limited to excessive worry, restlessness, easily fatigued, difficulty concentrating, irritability, or sleep disturbance.

(5) An inability to learn which cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory, or health factors.

Assessments must rule out other reasons for the suspected disability such as OHI or SLD Should be accompanied by serious mental health diagnosis such as schizophrenia

Category is rarely used

**Helpful Hint: Distinguishing Emotional Disturbance from Social Maladjustment: Social maladjustment is an exclusionary category which is used by school districts to disqualify students from being ED eligible. Social maladjustment is not defined anywhere in the law, legislative history or intent or even education related literature prior to its inclusion in the law. Below are some guidelines you can use to craft an argument:

Even if a student could be found to be SM, if they independently meet the ED qualifications, they do qualify as ED

ED persists over time while SM is temporary and situational

ED requires long standing and rigorous interventions while SM can be resolved with short term counseling

ED is characterized by acting uncontrollably and unpredictably while SM is believed to be driven by the student’s intent to participate in bad behaviors

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For further information on this issue, please consult the following resources and cases:

Torrance Unified Sch. Dist. V. E.M., 51 IDELR 11 at 10 (Cal. SEA Aug. 21, 2008)

Merrell, K. Deconstructing a Definition: Social Maladjustment versus Emotional Disturbance and Moving the EBD Field Forward, 41 8 Psychol. In Sch., 899, 901 (Nov. 2004)

THREE COMPULSORY CRITERIA: the characteristic(s) are present:

Over a long period of time: The length of time required to establish a long period of time is not defined in the law. Six months is generally an appropriate standard; the longer it can be evidenced over time, the greater likelihood of satisfying this prong.

AND

To a marked degree: Compare student to appropriate peer group; the problem must be more severe in intensity than the normally expected range of behavior for students of the same age, gender and culture. The characteristic(s) must be persistent across environments. For example: school and home, classroom and playground.

AND

It adversely affects educational performance: Look for evidence that despite general education interventions, educational deficiencies persist over time. Examples include grades, standardized test scores, classroom performance, attendance, social skills and affect.

PRACTICE TIP: Review incident reports, teacher’s notes, grade reports, cumulative notes, teacher/parent observations and disciplinary actions to look for information which demonstrates that the emotional disturbance is negatively affecting the student’s educational performance.

3) Common Assessment: Behavior Assessment System for Children (BASC): Behavior rating scale which can be completed by parents, teachers, and/or the student. This tool evaluates the behavior and self-perceptions of children and measures maladaptive behaviors such as inattention, hyperactivity, aggression, depression, anxiety, and social skills.

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Eligibility Checklist: Speech or Language Impairment (SLI)

1) Applicable Law: Cal. Educ. Code § 56333, 5 C.C.R. § 3030(c)

2) Background Information: Language can be divided into two categories: expressive and receptive

Expressive language: the ability to express, through use of words, sentences, gestures, etc. one’s thoughts, feelings, wants, and needs

Receptive language: receiving communication from others, correctly understanding meaning

3) Common Terms: Syntax: correct use of words when speaking Semantics: proper use of words in sentences, ability to string words together correctly Morphology: word structure, phrasing, and verb tenses Phonology: correct use of speech sounds/patterns, known as phonemes Pragmatics: relates to social skills, including use of appropriate reciprocal conversation Fluency: rate and intonation of speech, ex. stuttering

4) Eligibility Criteria: Difficulty understanding and/or using spoken language which adversely affects the student’s educational performance and cannot be corrected without special education services. The student must exhibit at least ONE of the following characteristics:

LANGUAGE DISORDER: must meet either of the following:

Method One:o On two separate standardized tests, a student must score at least 1.5 standard

deviations below the mean (22.5 standard score points), or below the 7th percentile, for his/her chronological age or developmental level in one or more of the following areas: morphology, syntax, semantics, phonology or pragmatics

Method Two:

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o On one standardized test, a student must score at least 1.5 standard deviations below the mean (22.5 standard score points), or below the 7th percentile, for his/her chronological age or developmental level in one or more of the following areas: morphology, syntax, semantics, phonology or pragmatics AND

o Displays inappropriate or inadequate usage of expressive or receptive language as measured by a language sample with a minimum of fifty utterances/words.

ARTICULATION DISORDER: marked by reduced intelligibility or inability to use the speech mechanism that significantly interferes with communication and attracts adverse attention.

□ Significant interference occurs when the student’s production of single or multiple speech sounds on a standardized articulation test is below expected levels for their chronological age or developmental level

Example: A twelve year old student that says “Wabbit” instead of “Rabbit,” may have an articulation disorder, but a five year old who does the same thing may not be eligible because that delay is developmentally appropriate.

ABNORMAL VOICE is characterized by persistent defective voice quality, pitch and/or loudness.

FLUENCY DISORDER: when the flow of verbal expression including rate and rhythm adversely affects communication between the student and the listener.

□ Inappropriate rate or rhythm of speech (stuttering), excessive repetition, pauses, or other breaks in the flow of speech.

5) Common Assessments:

Comprehensive Assessment of Spoken Language (“CASL”) Comprehensive Evaluation of Language Functioning (“CELF”)

**Helpful Hint: A suspected speech and language disability must be assessed by a speech and language pathologist. A language test with only one standard score is insufficient. Tests with multiple subtests are more comprehensive.

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Eligibility Checklist: Specific Learning Disability (SLD)

1) Applicable Law: Cal. Educ. Code §§ 56336-8, 5 C.C.R. § 3030 (j)

2) Background Information: Students with SLD have trouble learning in at least one academic area and are not performing up to their potential. This deficiency is caused by a processing disorder. One common processing disorder is visual processing, in which the student sees normally but has trouble understanding what they see. For example, a student with dyslexia will see some letters backwards (ie. Instead of ‘dog’ the student will see ‘bog). The student’s eye is seeing correctly but their brain is reversing the letter.

There Are Two Methods For Determining SLD Eligibility:

1. Response to Intervention (RTI): A child is found to have a learning disability if they do not respond positively to learning programs designed and proven to be effective in teaching students how to read, write, etc.

**Helpful Hint: Very few school districts in Los Angeles County use RTI to determine SLD eligibility.

2. Severe Discrepancy Model: There is a severe discrepancy between the child’s cognitive ability and academic achievement in math, reading and/or written language AND the severe discrepancy is caused by a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes.

3) Eligibility Criteria under Severe Discrepancy Model:

A. Where a child is performing cognitively

B. Where they are performing academically

C. Whether there is a severe discrepancy between these two

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D. Whether this discrepancy is caused by a processing disorder

DETERMINE COGNITIVE ABILITY

□ What is Cognitive Ability? A child’s ability to learn, including memory and critical reasoning. Cognitive potential is used to analyze where a student would be

functioning absent their disability. Cognitive ability is measured through standardized assessment tools.

PRACTICE TIP: IQ testing for African American students: In Larry P. v. Riles, 793 F.2d 969 (9th Cir. 1984), the court held that African-American students were being administered culturally insensitive IQ tests that disproportionately concluded that African-American students were mentally retarded, when they were not. In response, the California Department of Education (CDE) issued at memorandum on August 20, 1997, stating that no test measuring IQ should be used for the purposes of assessing African American students’ eligibility for special education. Accordingly, these students are given quasi-IQ tests, which purport to measure “cognition” instead of IQ. In reality, most of the same tests are still used but have been updated to include culturally appropriate norms. In other words, many IQ tests are still used, they’ve just been renamed as tests of “cognition.”

□ Common Assessment Tools

o Cognitive Assessment System (CAS)

o Test of Nonverbal Intelligence (TONI)

o Wide Range Assessment of Memory and Learning (WRAML)

DETERMINE ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT

□ Academic achievement is determined by measuring skills in reading, writing and math on standardized assessments. Although it is important to look at achievement in

sub areas (for example in reading, you should look at decoding, comprehension and fluency), for eligibility purposes, the following academic achievement

areas must be analyzed:

o Oral expression,

o Listening comprehension

o Written expression

o Basic reading skill

o Reading comprehension

o Mathematical calculation

o Mathematical reasoning

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□ Common Assessment Tools

o Woodcock Johnson (WJ-III)

o Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement (KTEA)

FINDING A SEVERE DISCREPANCY: Finding a severe discrepancy involves comparing a child’s cognitive ability to their academic achievement and finding that their achievement is not on par with how they should be performing, given their ability level. The IEP team decides whether or not a severe discrepancy exists. In making this decision all relevant material must be taken into account. No single score or test shall be used as the sole criterion for determining eligibility.

There are two ways that the IEP team can determine that a severe discrepancy exists:

□ A severe discrepancy exists if there is a 22.5 point standard score difference between their measure of cognitive ability and any one of the academic achievement

areas listed above. In the below example, there is a 25 point discrepancy between the student’s cognitive ability SS 115 and her reading comprehension SS 90. Therefore, this is a student who has a “severe discrepancy between their cognitive ability and academic achievement in the area of reading comprehension.”

Cognitive Ability: SS 115 _ Academic Achievement: Reading Comprehension SS 90

_______________________________________________Discrepancy = 25 points

□ If standardized tests do not reveal a severe discrepancy, the IEP team may decide that one exists anyways by looking at actual classroom performance, such as: grades, test performance, teacher observations and work samples. See 5 C.C.R. § 3030(j)(4).

FIND A PROCESSING DISORDER

□ Types of Processing Disorders: Once you have found a severe discrepancy, you must also find that the discrepancy is due to one or more of the following processing disorders. To find a processing disorder, we look for areas of weakness pursuant to standardized test

results. While the analysis is similar to finding a severe discrepancy, the law does not define a specific point differential between ability level and area of processing.

Typically, if the student has average cognitive ability, any processing score below the average range (any standard score below 85) could be considered an area of processing deficit.

Areas of Processing Disorders include:

o Visual Processing o Auditory Processing o Attention Disorders o Sensory-Motor Processing

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Visual Processing Disorders: affects the brain’s ability to process and make sense ofinformation coming from a person’s eyes. Note that it does not involve a person’s ability to physically see.

□ Example: Visual Figure Ground is the ability to perceive and locate an object within a busy field without getting confused by the background. This skill keeps children

from getting lost in the details. The most famous example of this is, “Where’s Waldo?”

□ Symptoms or indicators include:o Skipping words, letters, or lines when reading or writingo Reversals of letter or numbers when reading or writingo Problems copying from the board or overhead projectoro High tension when reading/writingo Headaches, eye fatigue that worsens during dayo Inconsistent spacing of words/letters when writing

□ Use of Therapy: Vision therapy is an important part of an educational program for a student with a visual processing disorder. Vision therapy is a series of special eye exercises and treatment procedures prescribed, created, and administered by

doctors of optometry. Vision therapy treats problems which cannot be corrected by glasses. During therapy, children learn to gain control of their eye muscle coordination

and build eye teaming skills necessary for success in school. While vision therapy doesn’t teach a child how to read, it does make it easier for a child to learn how to read.

□ Common Assessment Tool: Test of Visual-Perceptual Skills (TVPS)

Auditory Processing Disorders: limit the ability to understand spoken language, such as instruction in the classroom. Although the ear can hear the sounds, the brain has an impaired ability to differentiate, recognize, or understand sounds and auditory information. Note that it does not include people who are deaf or hard of hearing.

□ Example: Auditory Figure Ground is the ability to understand spoken language when there is background noise, such as in a classroom environment or on a busy

street. For example, imagine you are walking down a busy street, having a conversation with a friend. Someone with an auditory processing disorder may be unable to differentiate between what they are saying and surrounding noises, such as traffic or a barking dog.

□ Symptoms or indicators include:o Problems following directions or repeating information just heardo Problems paying attention in classo Delay in response time

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□ Use of Therapy: Auditory therapy can be used to remediate auditory processing deficits and can be very successful if used on younger children. Auditory therapies

include: the Basic Auditory Training program; Fast ForWord; Earobics; Tomatis Method; Brain Gym; Edu Kinesthetics; Auditory Integration Training; and speech and language therapy. Alternative classroom modifications can include: FM devices and preferential seating near the source of instruction.

□ Common Assessment Toolso Test of Auditory Processing Skills (TAPS)o Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing (CTOPP)

Attention Processing Disorders: if a student is having problems paying attention in class, this may be causing a discrepancy between academic achievement and cognitive potential. Although assessed the same way as in OHI, an attention processing disorder in SLD also requires the severe discrepancy, while OHI does not. See OHI pgs. 7-8, for a list of symptoms and common assessment tools. Note that you do not need a diagnosis of ADHD to be eligible. However, the attention disorder must adversely affect the student’s educational performance, i.e., by causing the discrepancy between cognitive ability and academic achievement.

Sensory-Motor Processing: includes visual-motor integration, fine motor skills, and sensory processing.

□ Visual-Motor Integration (VMI): measures the interaction between fine motor skills and visual processing. For example: In order for a student to copy notes from the

board, the student must be able to (1) see the board (2) process what they are seeing and (3) use fine motor skills to write notes.

□ Fine Motor Skills: refers to use of the small muscles in the body that are required to complete some type of physical task. For example, the most common fine motor

deficit is in the small muscles of the hand necessary for writing.

□ Symptoms or indicators include:o Problems forming numbers and letters while writingo Problems writing on the lineso Gripping the pencil too hardo Pressing too hard on the paper when writing o Hand and arm fatigue while writing o Problems dressing, especially with buttons and zipperso Problems feeding, including holding utensils properly o Problems tying shoes

□ Sensory Processing: refers to the method the nervous system uses to receive, organize and understand sensory input. It enables people to figure out how to respond to environmental demands based on sensory information (such as: auditory and visual input) and cues within the person’s body (such as touch).

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□ Symptoms or indicators include:

o Oversensitive/sensory defensivenesso Under sensitive/sensory seeking behaviorso Complaints about how clothing feels, does not like tags left in their clothing

or needs certain textures/materialso Picky eaters: only likes to eat one specific foodo Oversensitivity or undersensitivity to sounds: will frequently cover ears at

loud noiseso Impulsive or distractibleo Persistently walks on toes to avoid sensory input from the bottom of the feet

□ Use of Therapy: Sensory processing therapy normally works best with elementary age children given that therapy is provided in a gym/playground type situation, called “Clinic OT.” Therapy generally looks like play with a lot of movement on different types of gym equipment.

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