Intelligence & Adaptive Behavior
When discussing intelligence and adaptive behaviors, it would be good to understand a definition of each of these. According to www.merriam-webster.com intelligence is "1 a (1) : the ability to learn or understand or to deal with new or trying situations : the skilled use of reason (2) : the ability to apply knowledge to manipulate one's environment or to think abstractly as measured by objective criteria (as tests)."
Just using the definitions above, I would say that one's adaptive behavior is greatly affected byone's intelligence, or ability to learn or deal with new situations. If one does not have the ability to learn or handle different situations, then it may be difficult at times to have appropriate adaptive behavior in which you would have to rely on your intelligence to adjust your behavior at different times. Please check out the website, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK207535/. IIt is Chapter 5 of a book called Mental Retardation: Determining Eligibility for Social Security Benefits, copyright 2002. The title of the Chapter is The Relationship of Intelligence and Adaptive Behavior. This site goes on to discuss in detail the classification criteria for intellectual functioning as well as adaptive behavior, then further on in the chapter it states this:
"The relationship between measures of adaptive behavior and intellectual functioning is highly variable and has multiple influences. Correlations between adaptive and intellectual functioning have varied in published studies from near zero (no relationship) to nearly 1.0 (perfect relationship). The strength of this relationship is important because it influences diagnostic decisions significantly."
It then goes on to discuss the variables that influence correlations which include scale content, competencies versus perceptions, sample variance, ceiling and floor problems, and level of mental retardation. Rather than regurgitating the information, I would highly suggest you look at this website. It is complete with thorough explanations of scores and cut-off scores, as well as tables that can help you understand the information.
I think it is important to note that the classification of mental retardation is no longer in use, that terminology has been changed to intellectual disability, and that is how you will see it on an MDT form.
Formal & Informal Adaptive Behavior Assessments
The information from http://www.assessmentpsychology.com/adaptivebehavior.htm is helpful to refer to for this section of information. There are several formal adaptive behavior assessments. They include:
Scales of Independent Behavior (SIB-R)
Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale (Vineland ABS)
AAMR Adaptive Behavior Scale (AAMR ABS)
Inventory for Client and Agency Planning (ICAP)
The following is a chart found on http://www.assessmentpsychology.com/adaptivebehavior.htm. This chart describes the materials used for each assessment. To find out more specifics, as far as what exactly is tested by each assessment, please click on link above. Once to the site, scroll down until you find the chart below. Right after that chart, there is a chart for each assessment describing its content.
| Materials | ||
|---|---|---|
| SIB-R | Full Scale | Manual: 287 pp. Response Booklet: 26 pp. Optional Interview Easel: 172 pp. Planning Worksheet: 2pp. (in response booklet) Software (Scoring & Reporting; PC/Mac) |
| Short Form | Response Booklet: 8 pp. Response Booklet adapted for people who are blind Planning Worksheet: 2pp. Shares Full Scale Manual, Interview Easel, and software. | |
| Early Development Form | Response Booklet: 8 pp. Planning Worksheet: 2pp. Shares Full Scale Manual, Interview Easel, and software. | |
| Vineland ABS | Interview Expanded Form | Manual: 321 pp. Item Booklet: 16 pp. Score Summary & Profile Booklet: 12pp. Program Planning Report: 8 pp. Report to Parents: 4pp. (also in Spanish) Software (Apple II/PC) |
| Interview Survey Form | Manual: 301 pp. Record Booklet: 12 pp. (also in Spanish) Report to Parents: 4pp. (also in Spanish) Software (Apple II/PC) | |
| Classroom Edition | Manual: 175 pp. Questionnaire Booklet: 16 pp. Report to Parents: 4pp. (also in Spanish) Software (PC) | |
| AAMR ABS 2nd Ed. | School Edition | Manual: 118 pp. Examination Booklet: 16pp. Profile/Scoring Form: 4 pp. Software (Scoring & Reporting; Apple/Mac/PC) |
| Residential & Community Edition | Manual: 76 pp. Examination Booklet: 16pp. Profile/Scoring Form: 4 pp. Software (Scoring & Reporting; Apple/Mac/PC) | |
| ICAP | Manual: 155 pp. Response Booklet: 16 pp. (also in Spanish) Software (Scoring & Database; PC) | |
Informal assessment include asking the student, parent, teachers, friends, or anyone else that has knowledge of the student in various settings to fill out an informal survey asking questions about how they get a long in a particular setting. This link, http://www.calhounschools.org/cms/lib03/GA01920487/Centricity/Domain/43/Informal%20Assessment%20of%20Adaptive%20Behavior.pdf, will take you to a PDF document created by Calhoun Schools in Georgia. It is an example of what you could use for an informal assessment.
I think that it is important when interviewing individuals about a student that you get a wide array of people. If you just get the parents information you might not catch that when the student is at a sports practice, there always seems to be an issue. Students act differently in various settings. It is important to get most, if not all, of the student's settings covered.
Eligibility Criteria for Cognitive Disability
When researching this part of the assignment, I went to http://www.unl.edu/asdnetwork/documents/guidelines_resources/verificationguidelines2008.pdf, which is a PDF, entitled Verification Guidelines for Children with Disabilities. In this document you can find the verification criteria for all 13 categories that a student could be possibly verified under when qualifying for special education. If you go to page 95 of the actual document (or page 99 according to the pdf page) you will find the eligibility requirements when it comes to a cognitive disability. On page 96, it begins discussing the verification requirements. After that it goes on through page 105 of the document (109 according to pdf page), and discusses definitions, frequently asked questions, and discusses procedures to determine adverse affects on developmental/educational performance.
This is a fantastic document and I encourage you to check it out and keep it bookmarked, or better yet, print it out, and keep with you to refer to regarding all 13 stated categories of verification.
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