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DEFINITION OF INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY

IDEA: “Significantly subaverage general intellectual functioning existing concurrently with deficits in adaptive behavior and manifested during the developmental period that adversely affects a child’s educational performance.”

Atkins v. Virginia

IDEA Definition

3 key criteria:

First: “significant subaverage intellectual functioning” must exist. Significant= IQ score is 2 or more standard deviations below the mean on standardized intelligence test. More later…

Second: intellectual functioning is not sole criteria, must also have deficits in adaptive behavior—life skills

Third: deficits must have appeared during developmental period of child’s life—not a result of traumatic brain injury, head injury as an adult.

Classification by IQ Score

AAIDD’s Definition

“Intellectual disability is a disability characterized by significant limitations both in intellectual functioning and in adaptive behavior as expressed in conceptual, social, and practical adaptive skills. This disability originates before the age of 18.”

Changes in Perspectives about ID

Changes in expectations for people with disabilities

Functional descriptions of disabilities

Chronologically age appropriate activities

Consumer-driven services and supports

Support networks that provide individualized supports

Assumptions in Defining and Identifying ID (AAIDD)

Levels of Support: from Supports Intensity Scale (AAIDD, 2002)

Intermittent: as needed; episodic—for a period of transition (job loss, medical crisis)

Limited: time limited, but not intermittent—transition to living in group home

Extensive: usually ongoing, daily involvement, long term support and long term home living support

Pervasive: possibly lifelong, high intensity, across environments, may be life-sustaining

Identification and Assessment: IQ Testing

Limitations of IQ Scores

Concept of intelligence is hypothetical construct.

IQ tests measure only performance on items on test, at one point in time.

IQ scores can change significantly.

IQ testing is not an exact science.

IQ can be culturally biased.

Limitations of IQ Scores

IQ scores can never be used a sole basis for providing or not providing special education services.

Results of IQ tests should never be used for identifying objectives or designing instruction.

Assessing Adaptive Behavior

Adaptive behavior: “the collection of conceptual, social and practical skills that have been learned by people in order to function in their everyday lives” (AAIDD, 2015).

Critical in determining level of support

Completed by someone familiar with the individual

Characteristics

Mild ID

Difficulty with academics

Social and communication skills close to age-appropriate.

Likely to become independent or semi-independent adults.

Characteristics

Moderate ID

Likely to show significant delays in preschool years.

More likely than those with mild ID to have health and behavior problems.

Severe ID

Identified at birth

Additional disabilities and/or health problems.

Characteristics

Cognitive functioning:

Learning rate: slower

Memory: difficulty with short-term and working memory

Once skills are committed to long-term memory, retention as good as others without ID

Characteristics

Attention: may have attentional problems related to relevant features of learning task

Generalization and maintenance of learning: trouble using skills in different situations

Motivation: Outer-directed, learned helplessness

Characteristics

Adaptive behavior:

Self-care and daily living: dressing, eating and hygiene; self-management

Social relationships: appropriate social and interpersonal skills

Behavioral excesses and challenging behavior

Positive attributes

Meet Mary Warm

Prevalence

About 0.78 - 1.27% of the general population

6.7% of students (ages 3 – 21) receiving special education (USDOE, 2014)

Causes

Biomedical Causes

2/3rd of severe forms have specific biological etiology.

Most common biomedical causes of ID are Down syndrome and fragile X syndrome. See Table 4.2 for full descriptions.

Causes

Environmental Causes

Psychosocial disadvantage

Intellectual disability of cultural/familial origin

Etiological Risk Factors

Prenatal (before birth)

Focus on:

Prader-Willi Syndrome

Weight gain between 1 - 6 years of age

Distinctive facial features

Global developmental delay before age 6; mild to moderate intellectual disability or learning problems in older children

Hyperphagia/food foraging/obsession with food

Focus on:

Fragile X Syndrome

Males and females can be carriers or have the full mutation

Full mutation = distinct facial characteristics

Educational problems range from ADHD, LD, anxiety to ID

Focus on:

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder

Ranges from:

Fetal alcohol effect (FAE)

Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS)

Alcohol-related Neurodevelopmental Disorder (ARND)

Etiological Risk Factors

Perinatal (during birth)

Etiological Risk Factors

Postnatal (after birth)

Juniper Gardens Children’s Project

Prevention

Rubella vaccine

Parental screening/diagnostic tests for genetic influences

Newborn screening

Education and training

Early intervention

Educational Approaches: Curriculum Goals

Academic Curriculum:

Meaningful academics

High expectations in general education curriculum for students with mild intellectual disabilities

Use actual materials to teach

Use lots of drill and practice

Curriculum Goals

Instructional Methods

Task analysis--breaking tasks into simpler sub-tasks

Active student response--observable response to instructional antecedent

Systematic feedback--Change focus and timing as learning progresses (see Figure 4.6)

Instructional Methodology

Transfer of stimulus control

Generalization and maintenance

Naturally occurring contingencies

Program common stimuli

Community based instruction

Direct and frequent measurement

Spotlight on assistive technology

Last Word: Statement on Sexuality

People with intellectual disabilities and/or developmental disabilities, like all people, have inherent sexual rights. These rights and needs must be affirmed, defended, and respected.

Educational Placement Alternatives:

General education class 17%

Resource room 27%

Separate class 49%

Separate schools or residential facilities, including institutions 7%

Acceptance and Membership

Meet Jill Egle

Can We Talk, Ben Stiller?

Misconceptions

MYTH:

Once diagnosed, a person remains within this classification for the rest of his/her life.

FACT:

Level of mental functioning does not necessarily remain stable, particularly for mild.

Misconceptions

MYTH:

If an individual achieves a low score on an IQ test, this means that his or her adaptive skills are also subnormal.

FACT:

Possible for an individual to have a low tested IQ and still have adequate adaptive skills; depends on training.

Misconceptions

MYTH:

Children with Down syndrome are always happy and pleasant to have around.

FACT:

The idea that they are significantly more so than other children is exaggerated.

Misconceptions

MYTH:

Most children with intellectual disabilities look different from other children.

FACT:

The vast majority of children who have intellectual disabilities look like children without disabilities.