Validly and reliably assessing the skills and abilities of students with severe and low incidence disabilities is often challenging. Namely, students with significant motor, visual, hearing, or linguistic limitations are unable to be comprehensively and accurately assessed utilizing many of the widely used cognitive assessments. As such, it is likely that a significant number of children with severe physical, communicative, or sensory impairments are currently assessed in ways that may underestimate their abilities. This session provides a review of the literature examining a variety of tests of cognitive ability that can be used with students with severe and low-incidence disabilities. Recommendations for assessment practices for a range of specific low-incidence disabilities are described. In addition, specific process and procedures for ongoing progress monitoring will be outlined.

Workshop Objectives:

This session will help participants

1. list various low-incidence disabilities (LID),
2. describe the challenges of accurately assessing students with LID,
3. explain various assessment tools and strategies for assessing the cognitive ability of students with LID,
4. identify strategies for monitoring progress of students with LID, and
5. identify strategies for making adaptations when assessing students with LID.

Prerequisite Knowledge

Basic knowledge of psychoeducational assessment and progress monitoring and disability identification.

Practical Tools

Strategies for selecting and/or adapting assessment tools to evaluate students with low-incidence disabilities; strategies for monitoring progress of students with low incidence disabilities.