Referral Questions
Referral questions generated by the school’s evaluation planning
team are very important. Well crafted assessment questions that are specific,
skill-based, and related to educational performance will focus our attention
on particular areas in which we suspect the student is having difficulty.
Our assessment goal is to pinpoint learning issues and/or social/emotional
and behavioral factors that may be affecting a student’s ability
to gain a reasonable benefit from their educational program.
School teams are provided information to help them determine whether
or not a student has a disability under IDEA, as well as educational intervention
possibilities.
It is important for school teams (including parents) to be aware of the
scope of our services, prior to the assessment. A list of our services
is under “menu of services” on the Child Evaluation and Assessment
webpage. Topics the assessment team cannot address are listed below:
• It is the IEP team’s role to make disability,
eligibility, and placement determinations. We therefore
cannot answer questions about whether or not a student has a specific
disability. We also cannot offer opinions about whether or not a student
is eligible for special education services, or might need a particular
program or setting to make progress. We will give information to assist
the school team in making these decisions.
• We cannot make DSM-IV diagnoses,
so are unable to answer questions about whether or not a student meets
DSM-IV criteria for clinical depression, an anxiety disorder, attention
deficit disorder, or mental illness. If requested, the evaluation will
provide descriptive data on observable, measurable symptoms and behaviors
that may be commonly associated with these conditions.
• We do not evaluate students suspected for Autism
Spectrum Disorder (ASD). However, we do a skill-based
evaluation (e.g. cognitive, academic, communication, etc.) that can be used in conjunction with your district autism specialist's assessment results.
If you are concerned that a student might have ASD, please refer the
student for an evaluation through your district’s Columbia Regional
Services Autism Specialist. Call CRC at (503) 916-5570.
Questions our evaluation team CAN answer might look like:
If your district uses the "Pattern of Learning Strengths and Weaknesses"
model for learning disability identification, ask this question:
What is the student's pattern of strengths and weaknesses in intellectual development and/or achievement?
If your district uses a discrepancy model for learning disability
identification, ask these questions:
- What are the Student’s academic skill levels and profiles in
reading/math/written language?
- What is the student's cognitive ability profile?
- What factors appear to be contributing to the student’s lack
of progress in the area of math/reading/written language?
- Are the Student’s academic difficulties related to learning
issues, communication issues, attentional factors, or a combination
of factors?
Cognitive Functioning (Rule in/out Mental Retardation)
- What are the student’s adaptive skill levels and are they commensurate
with age-level expectations?
- What are the student's cognitive skills levels?
Speech/Language Skills
- What are the student's communication skill levels? How might they
impact his or her success in educational and social settings?
ELL Evaluations
- Does the student's skill profile reflect the typical stages and characteristics
of second language acquisition, and/or are there other factors that explain/contribute
to their lack of progress?
- What strategies would be helpful in addressing the student's needs
with respect to their level of language acquisition and acculturation?
Social Emotional/Behavior Skills
- Is there evidence that social-emotional and/or behavioral factors
may contribute to the student’s school performance difficulties
and overall adjustment?
- Is the student experiencing symptoms of anxiety, depression, or other
social/emotional issues that have an adverse impact on school performance?
- What factors might be contributing to the Student’s difficulty
with social skills at school?
- Is there a pattern of behaviors that are affecting the Student’s
ability to learn?
ADD/ADHD Screen
- For students who have already been diagnosed with ADD or ADHD: "What
is the impact of the student's diagnosed attentional disorder on their
educational program, and what types of interventions and/or supports
would assist the student's learning?"
- For students whom the school team suspects may have an attentional
disorder, but has not been diagnosed: "Are there attentional factors
observed or documented that affect the student's ability to benefit
from their education, and do these factors impact both instruction and
school performance?"
- Must also include BRIEF and Barkley rating scales with referral.
Previous Diagnosis
- In (year X), this Student was determined to meet eligibility criteria
for (X condition). What does evaluation data suggest regarding his or
her current status?
- The Student has previously been diagnosed with several disabilities.
What are the primary contributing factors to his or her current school
difficulties?
Intervention Questions:
- What instructional modification/strategies would be beneficial, based
on the student’s learning profile?
- What types of structure, monitoring, and support strategies should
be utilized in developing a behavior plan for this student?
- What types of interventions would be useful in reducing or managing
his or her social/emotional issues at school, so that he or she can
more effectively benefit from his or her education?
- What recommendations can the team offer for academic interventions?
- What recommendations can the team offer for behavioral interventions?
- How can we best support this student behaviorally and socially in
school?
- What kinds of interventions are best matched to meet this student’s
behavioral, social, and/or academic needs?
- What strategies would be helpful in addressing this student’s
language processing/communication needs in the classroom?
Questions we CANNOT answer might look like the following:
- Is the Student clinically depressed? Do they need medication?
- Does the Student have Tourette’s Syndrome (for example)?
- Does the Student have AD/HD?
- Why can’t the Student read?
- Does this Student need (Orton Gillingham, ABA, Sensory Integration
Therapy, Vision Training, Fast Forward) to benefit from their education?
- Why is the Student so mean?
- Does the Student not want to come to school because his/her parents
are enabling him/her?
- Is the Student a behavior problem because of his/her bad home life?
- Are the Student’s school difficulties due to laziness or low
motivation? How can we get the Student to work harder in school?
- The Student is flunking all his/her classes. Is this due to substance
abuse or a learning disability?
- Does the Student have a personality disorder or other mental illness?
If your team has questions about the scope of our evaluations or crafting
evaluation planning questions, please contact Lee Ann Sharman, Center
coordinator at lsharman@clackesd.k12.or.us,
or call (503) 675-4177. |
