Assessing Communication and Learning

in Young Children
Who are Deafblind
or Who Have
Multiple
Disabilities

Edited by
Charity Rowland, Ph.D.
Acknowledgements

This project is deeply indebted to the many individuals, projects and organizations which
contributed to our efforts. This was a truly collaborative endeavor. Since many individuals
participated anonymously, it is impossible to acknowledge most of our contributors by
name. We are especially thankful to:

• Family members who completed surveys, conducted assessments on their children

and reviewed earlier versions of this guide

• Professionals who completed surveys, conducted assessments, contacted family

members and provided expert opinions

• Personnel of the state deafblind technical assistance projects who distributed surveys,
contacted family members, completed surveys, conducted assessments and reviewed
earlier versions of this guide

• Charles Freeman and Anne Smith, Program Officers at the U.S. Department of
Education

• Graduate students in Communication Disorders at the University of Texas at Dallas

who conducted interviews, provided translations and investigated the assessment
process and the properties of assessment instruments

© 2009 by Design to Learn Projects, Oregon Health & Science University

This product was developed with the support of the U.S. Department of Education Office
of Special Education Programs (OSEP) Award No. H324D030001. Opinions expressed
herein are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official position of
the U.S. Department of Education.
Table of Contents

Who Should Read this Guide? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Phase I: Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Assessment Planning Checklist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Phase II: Gathering Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Phase III: Interpreting and Applying Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Skills and Implications Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Assessing Maria, a Young Child Who is Deafblind . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Appendix A: Notes to Practitioners and Family Members . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Appendix B: Instruments Used to Assess Children Who are Deafblind . . . . . 41
Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Who Should Read This Guide?

This guide is intended for all professionals who are responsible for assessing
and developing interventions for young children who are deafblind. The
contents should also be helpful for families of these children who seek to become
actively involved in educational planning. Some families may use the informa-
tion to better understand their important role in the assessment process, while
other families may want to share this guide with professionals who have been
asked to evaluate their children. The strategies and materials described here
are applicable to many children who have multiple disabilities as well as to
children who are deafblind.

Project Investigators

• Deborah Chen, Ph.D., California State University-Northridge

• Harvey Mar, Ph.D., Columbia University
• Charity Rowland, Ph.D., Oregon Health & Science University
• Robert Stillman, Ph.D., University of Texas at Dallas
• National Family Association for Deaf-Blind

NOTE: For ease of the reader we have alternated the use of “he” or “she” and
“him” or “her” when referring to the child.


 What is the purpose of an educational assessment?
There are four main purposes of educational assessment for
children who are identified as having a disability:
• to determine eligibility for special education and other
services
• to develop an educational program that fits the child’s
strengths, areas of needs, and learning style
• to design appropriate interventions to enhance the child’s
learning experiences
• to evaluate the effectiveness of the educational program in
facilitating the child’s progress


 Introduction
We received a grant from the U.S. Department of Education learning. The ability to convey information allows the child
to investigate best practices for assessing communication to influence other people and their actions. The ability
and learning skills in young children (2-8 years of age) who to receive and interpret information allows the child to
are deafblind and who have additional impairments. We learn from other people, who offer meaning to the ever-
collected data in the form of focused interviews, assess- changing events in the child’s environment. We emphasize
ment results, surveys of assessment practices, and ratings the assessment of communication because educational
of assessment tools from family members and profession- progress, acceptance by peers, and meaningful participa-
als nationwide. This guide summarizes a practical tion in the home and community all require the ability to
approach to assessment informed by the data we collected communicate effectively. However, communication and
and based on current recommended practices in early cognition are tightly intertwined. Understanding the world
childhood special education. Complete data on our five- and one’s relationship to it, the essence of cognition, is not
year project may be found at www.ohsu.edu/oidd/D2L/ easily separated from the child’s communicative abilities.
com_pro/db_assess_ab.cfm. Thus, the strategies we describe for the assessment of com-
munication hold also for the assessment of cognition and
There is no single definition of assessment. In one sense, learning.
assessment is a tool, a means to an end, perhaps to qualify
a child for special services or to document a child’s Assessing communicative abilities in children who are
acquisition of skills. However, assessment is also a process deafblind or who have multiple disabilities is a challenge,
of gathering information about a child’s skills and needs even for experienced professionals. Vision and hearing
from many sources and across many contexts for the losses limit methods of communication which rely on these
purpose of enhancing the child’s education. Assessment is modalities. For some children, motor impairments may
also the starting point of the child’s education. For better reduce the range of communicative behaviors or restrict
or worse, assessment results can influence educational communication to subtle actions that are easily over-
decisions about a child for years to come. Finally, assess- looked. Because there are so many issues in assessing these
ments are used to evaluate a child’s progress and the children, the task is best approached with the mindset that
effectiveness of his educational program. Thus, accurate, you are engaged in a process of discovery: discovering how
comprehensive, and applicable results are essential for the to observe, elicit, and identify communication in a child
child’s educational and personal success. This guide is our whose abilities and limitations are truly unique; discover-
effort to help professionals and family members to better ing how to acquire relevant information from teachers,
understand the assessment of children who are deafblind parents, and others who know the child well; and discov-
or who have multiple disabilities. ering how to transform assessment information into an
individualized educational plan. We believe that accurate
Communication—a Foundation for Learning assessment of communication will lead to realistic educa-
We will focus our discussion on communication and the tional goals and appropriate learning experiences, not only
intersection of communication and cognition as it affects a for communication, but across developmental domains.
child’s learning. Communication—the ability to convey
information to others and the ability to receive and
interpret information from others—is fundamental to


 How This Guide Is Organized
In this guide we describe assessment as a three-phase
effort that involves professionals and family members
working together as a team. The three chapters that follow
describe these phases:
• Getting Started
• Gathering Information
• Interpreting and Applying Results

In the final chapter we present a vignette describing the

assessment of a young girl named Maria who is deafblind.
The vignette includes specific examples of the strategies
described in the previous chapters. Appendix A includes
special notes for speech-language pathologists, special
educators, psychologists and family members who are
involved in assessing children who are deafblind. Appendix
B provides descriptions of twelve instruments that are
commonly used to assess children who are deafblind.
Finally, we provide a list of resources related to the assess-
ment of children who have multiple disabilities.


 Phase I: Getting Started
procedures in which the use of formal measures can be
A high quality assessment of a child who is deafblind applied in as little time as an hour or two. Assessment time
will require extra planning, more coordination with other will vary depending upon several factors, including the
educational team members, and more time overall as com- complexity of the identified issues, the time “allotted” for
pared to other assessments you may conduct. Planning for the assessment, the child’s schedule, the availability of team
an assessment involves considering the family’s role in the members, and the assessment measures and methods used.
process, the role of all professionals involved in the child’s
education, and the methods you will use to evaluate the Many professionals in special education have little or no
child’s competencies. Careful planning will help all team experience working with children who are deafblind or who
members to share an understanding of the educational have multiple disabilities. They may lack the confidence
needs and challenges of the child. to assess children with complex needs who are nonverbal
or pre-symbolic communicators. However, through an
The assessment process we discuss here may be very dif- interdisciplinary team approach and family-professional
ferent from the one you use to assess typically developing collaboration, a professional can organize a high quality
children. No doubt, you will need to deviate from standard assessment process by using the following tips.

Tips for the Professional Toolkit

• Draw on your knowledge, skills, and experiences in assessing other young children with
disabilities.
• Identify what you need to know about the particular child and develop key questions to guide your
information gathering.
• Seek and share information with relevant specializations (e.g., visual impairment, hearing loss, and
severe disabilities), disciplines (e.g., occupational or physical therapy, speech-language pathology,
and psychology) and resources (e.g., the State Deafblind Technical Assistance Project).
• Adopt an attitude of inquiry to gather information, analyze observations, and reflect on what you’ve
learned about the child.
• Welcome the opportunity to challenge yourself professionally by increasing your expertise in con-
ducting assessments and interpreting the child’s unique behaviors.
• Recognize that through this process of discovery you will not only learn about the child but also
about your own professional competencies.


Adopting an “Authentic” Approach to Assessment What Families Want in an Assessment
Authentic assessment involves obtaining information about • The assessment team should really try to
children in their everyday environments and routine “connect” with our child.
activities that is useful for planning instruction. Traditional • The assessment team should get input from our
or formal testing of children who are deafblind or have family and from the classroom.
multiple disabilities is not likely to give you much more • The assessment should suggest how to set
information than confirmation that the child doesn’t educational goals.
perform well on standardized tests. The standard “testing”
• The assessment should rely on tools that are
approach (e.g., office setting, small table, no distractions,
appropriate for our children.
administration of formal tasks) will rarely provide mean-
ingful or reliable information. In addition, the child may • Assessments should reveal our child’s strengths
not warm up to you quickly and it may be difficult to and suggest how to build on them.
directly elicit communication. It is best to learn about the
competencies and interests of children in the context of
normal routines and environments, such as in the class- Each child is a member of a unique family system charac-
room, during transitions, in therapies or small-group terized by its composition, culture, language, experiences,
activities, with family members, etc. Adopting an authentic and socioeconomic level. Some families may have clear
assessment approach means that we understand that concerns about the assessment process and may ask very
children’s interests and preferences, as well as contexts, can specific questions about it. Other families may not feel it
influence their behaviors; therefore, our assessment should appropriate to have much input or may not believe that
examine their competencies across the range of “real world” they have important information to share. You may have to
settings in which the child participates. The major tasks explain that family members have unique perspectives and
that contribute to planning an authentic assessment are valuable information about their child. For instance, many
described below. At the end of this chapter we provide a children behave differently at home and at school. Further-
checklist to help you keep track of these planning tasks. more, parents may interpret a child’s behavior differently
from how professionals interpret it. Sharing that informa-
Identify the Assessment Team tion will lead not only to a more accurate assessment, but to
interventions that address the child’s skill development at
We recommend an interdisciplinary team approach involv- home as well as at school. Below is a list of suggestions you
ing family members, teachers, therapists, psychologists and may provide to family members to help them prepare for
other professionals, as appropriate for the individual child. and contribute to their child’s assessment.
Team members may have different concerns or questions
depending on their background, perspectives, and experi-
ence with children who are deafblind or who have complex How Families May Prepare for
needs. Remember that intervenors or instructional as- an Assessment
sistants often spend the most time with the child and can ✓ Prepare your own questions and identify your
provide especially detailed information and insight about a goals and concerns in advance.
child’s competencies. Additionally, every state (in the U.S.) ✓ Prepare a list of your child’s special skills and
has a Deafblind Technical Assistance Project that provides interests.
consultation regarding the education of children identified ✓ Discuss what instruments will be used to assess
as deafblind. You may view a list of state projects at your child and who will administer them.
http://nationaldb.org/ppStateDBProjects.php. ✓ Provide the evaluator with possible times to
observe your child at home or in other familiar
Arrange for Family Involvement settings.
Families have their own perspectives on the assessment ✓ Prior to the assessment, complete any parent
process. When we asked parents of young children who are questionnaires or assessments so that the
deafblind what was important to them about assessments, evaluator can better understand your child’s
this is what they said: abilities.


Select Appropriate Assessment Instruments surprising, given the complexity and severity of the child’s
impairments and hardly provides new information to
Assessment instruments are helpful for organizing one’s
parents or professionals. Even age-equivalency scores must
data-gathering efforts and summarizing a child’s skills,
interests, and challenges. They also provide a means to ob- be considered suspect, since a child of 4 years who has mul-
jectively measure change in skills over time. The problem tiple disabilities and who scores at a 3-month level certainly
has more and different life experiences than an infant. Tests
is that few instruments are designed specifically to assess
yielding IQ scores can be particularly troubling. An IQ
children who are deafblind or have multiple disabilities.
score does not accurately describe the cognitive abilities or
This means that you will need to evaluate the instruments
potential of a child who is deafblind. Such tests are highly
available to you for their applicability for the child you plan
to assess. You will quickly find that there are no perfect dependent on verbal and perceptual skills and seem almost
instruments. That is one reason why the use of assessment designed to assure poor performance from children who
are deafblind. While state and local regulations may re-
instruments is only one element of an assessment. How-
quire that standardized measures be administered, they are
ever, you may find that some instruments work well with
unlikely to provide information useful in program planning
certain children, or that using parts of several different
instruments gives you the most useful information. We or in predicting outcomes for children who are deafblind or
who have multiple disabilities.
have reviewed instruments commonly used for children
who are deafblind in Appendix B. Below are some Conduct Informal Observations in Multiple Settings
questions to consider when selecting an instrument.
There is much to be learned from observing the child
Sometimes, standardized assessment measures are re- interacting with familiar people in familiar environments
quired. These may serve a useful role in qualifying a child that naturally stimulate communicative behavior. The
for special services. But they are inappropriate as educa- general goal of observation is to obtain samples of the
tional measures, since children who are deafblind are not child’s actions and reactions, capabilities, participation,
included in the population on which these measures are and challenges in typical learning and social situations.
normed. If a child is below the 1st percentile on a mea- Observations are conducted to focus on specific areas of
sure, it only means that the child is below nearly all typi- interest (e.g., social interaction with peers, participation in
cally developing children on that skill. That should not be classroom learning activities, ability to express needs and

Considerations for Selecting an Assessment Instrument

• Do the items describe behaviors a child with vision and hearing losses and/or motor impairments could be
expected to show?
• Are there sufficient items at the early developmental levels to clearly identify a child’s current skills and measure
progress in small steps?
• Are the items appropriate to the child’s chronological age, or do they describe behaviors one would only expect
to see in infants and toddlers?
• Are there sufficient examples to clarify the items and to determine how a particular skill might be observed in a
child who is deafblind?
• Does the assessment require information derived from observations in natural settings?
• Do the results provide applicable information for program planning or are they primarily numerical scores?
• Does the instrument provide ideas about the “next step” for the child?
• Are the results in a format that can be easily communicated to and understood by families?
• Does the instrument require the user to possess specialized training or professional credentials?
• Is there a parent version that a family member could complete, or a way for parents to provide their input and
perspectives?


interests, and exploration skills). It is preferable to conduct occupational and physical therapists, and speech-language
multiple observations in different settings over time, even if pathologists who specialize in augmentative and alterna-
the observations are brief. In this way, you can gather infor- tive communication will often have crucial information to
mation about how contexts (e.g., peers, tasks, and physical contribute to the assessment process. You may decide that
environments) influence a child’s behavior. For instance, a it is appropriate to request an evaluation from one or more
child’s greeting behaviors may be easily observed at home of these specialists to develop in-depth information on
when big sister returns from school. At snack time, you sensory, motor, or other skills that affect communication.
might be able to observe how the child rejects something
when she is offered a food choice that she really dislikes.
When your own availability to observe is limited, solicit
information from professionals and family members who
spend the most time with the child.

Conduct Structured Observations

Much of the information that is required to complete an
assessment tool can be derived from unstructured obser-
vations of the child’s typical behaviors, or from interviews
with familiar persons. But to complete some assessment
instruments you may need to set up more structured
situations to elicit specific behaviors. Or, you may suspect
that under different conditions the child may demonstrate Parents often ask: What is involved in
behaviors that are not well-supported in the typical set- the assessment process?
tings. For instance, if the child has a one-to-one assistant
in the classroom, it may not be clear whether he can gain Educational assessments usually involve
the attention of someone from a distance, since he is always a combination of different ways to gather
being attended to. In this case, you might want to set up information about the child, including:
a situation where the assistant withholds attention and is (a) interviews with the child’s family and
far enough away that the child needs to make a real effort other people who know the child well,
to gain her attention. You may discover that a child has (b) observations of the child in familiar
some skills that you have never observed before when the activities and situations, and
environment is engineered to make it necessary and worth- (c) structured interactions to elicit selected
while for her to use them. Structured observations that skills or behaviors.
involve attempts to elicit specific types of behavior are very Professionals may use a variety of proce-
useful for filling in the gaps in information left by informal dures and tools to obtain and record this
observations in unstructured settings. information, such as a commonly used
assessment tool.
Request Evaluations by Specialists
Any child who is deafblind has both vision and hearing
losses, but generally some hearing and/or vision is avail-
able. Children with severe and multiple disabilities also
are at high risk for sensory impairments. Obviously, the
choice of receptive and expressive communication systems
depends to a large degree on a child’s vision and hearing
capabilities. Motor skills also play a critical role in the abil-
ity to communicate and must be considered in choosing
a communication system. Experts in vision and hearing,

10
 Assessment Planning Checklist
Identify Assessment Team Members and Their Roles
Name Role

Arrange for Family Involvement

Family’s Primary Concerns Tasks for the Family

Select Appropriate Assessment Instruments

Instrument Who will Administer

Conduct Informal Observations

Contexts/Materials/Targeted Skills/Data Observer/Date

Conduct Structured Observations

Contexts/Materials/Targeted Skills/Data Observer/Date

Request Evaluations by Specialists

Specialist Type of Evaluation

This form may be reproduced or downloaded for editing from www.ohsu.edu/oidd/D2L/com_pro/db_assess_ab.cfm

11
12
 Phase II: Gathering Information
The assessment process is basically a way to answer ques- Communication includes not only expressive communica-
tions about the child’s competencies in order to decide how tion (ways the child communicates to other people) but
to address his educational needs. Our focus is on commu- also receptive communication (ways other people com-
nication goals, but communication goals are derived from municate that the child understands). The child who is
a wide range of assessment information, not just commu- deafblind or who has multiple disabilities may use different
nication assessments. Of course, we need to know about types of behavior for expressive versus receptive communi-
the child’s current communication skills; but to develop cation. That is, it may be necessary to provide information
our intervention strategies, we also need an estimate of his to a child in a mode that is different from the one that the
motor and sensory abilities, preferences, temperament, and child uses to express herself. For instance, a child might
cognitive and social development. We need to know the have enough sight to understand sign language for recep-
activities, places, people, even time-of-day where the child tive communication, but not have the motor capacity to
seems to function best, and the contexts which seem to produce signs to express herself. This same child might
present difficulties for the child. use eye gaze to fixate on picture symbols for expressive
communication. Another child without sight might have
Begin the process by generating a list of critical issues and enough hearing to understand simple spoken phrases
unique concerns that need to be addressed. What do you (receptive), but be unable to speak himself (expressive). He
need to know? What do the child’s teachers, therapists, and might use 3-dimensional symbols (selected through touch)
family members want to know? Write down your questions for expressive communication. The table on the next page
so that you get the most useful information from team shows major expressive communication modes (catego-
members. Questions should be specific, not general. For rized according to the motor output modes needed to
example, instead of asking the teacher to “Describe how the produce them) and major receptive communication modes
child interacts with other children,” ask questions such as: (categorized according to the sensory input modes needed
“How does he react when other children come up to him?” to perceive them).

“Does he return a greeting?” Receptive Communication. Receptive abilities include

two components: the sensory modality through which
“Does he seem to differentiate one child from another?” the communication is received and the ability to compre-
hend the content of the message. Communications may
Your questions will cover communication skills, communi-
be received through visual, auditory, and tactile modes or
cation-related sensory and motor skills, and child attributes
a combination of these modalities. Assessment of recep-
that affect communication and learning. These areas are
tive communication abilities can be a challenge because
discussed below.
we must rely on the child’s responses to know whether
Communication and Social Interaction Skills the communication was received and understood. Before
assuming a child understands signs or speech, be sure to
Whether you are a psychologist, speech-language patholo- check whether the child might be responding to contextual
gist, educational evaluator, vision teacher, or other profes- cues like the visual presence of a toy when you ask if he
sional, it is important to assess the child’s communication wants to play with it, or anticipating what comes next in a
and social interaction skills, since these are the foundation familiar routine when you request an action.
for all other learning. Don’t assume that “communication”
is the territory of someone else.
13
 Expressive Communication Modes Receptive Communication Modes

Oral/Motor Output Visual Input

Facial expressions
Vocalizations (cry, coo, babble, gurgle, grunt, laugh, Gestures
whine, scream) Manual sign language
Vowel sounds, consonant-vowel pairs, word-like jargon Object symbols
Spoken words Picture symbols
Printed words

Motor/Gestural Output Auditory Input

Body movements (head, limb, postural change, change

in body tone)
Environmental sounds
Facial expressions
Intonation/register of speech
Gestures
Spoken words
Eye gaze
Manual signs
Augmentative/Alternative Output
(requires motor/gestural selection behavior as well as Tactile Input
comprehension of symbolic system)
Tactile symbols Handling/touch/movement
Picture symbols
Specific touch cues
Object symbols
Object symbols
Written words
Tactile (hand-in-hand) signs
“High-tech” communication devices using one of above
symbolic systems Brailled words

Expressive Communication. Because many children who are deafblind do not use conventional forms of expressive com-
munication such as speech, manual signs, or gestures, we need to look carefully for other indicators of the child’s efforts to
communicate. These may include affective responses (e.g., change in muscle tone, facial grimacing, or smiling in response
to an event), direct behaviors (e.g., reaching out for a toy of interest, pushing away a toy, or reaching to be picked up), vocal-
izations (e.g., grunts, or open-vowel sounds), object symbols (e.g., picking up a bell to indicate ‘music’ ), picture symbols,
and electronic communication devices. When you assess a child who is deafblind, observe and document his expressive
communication behaviors. Consider whether the behaviors are pre-symbolic (e.g., gestures, vocalizations) or symbolic
(e.g., words, signs, picture or object symbols). Describe the communication “functions,” or how these behaviors are used by
the child or interpreted by others (e.g., to greet someone, to request something, to ask for “more”, to indicate “yes”). Some
children may primarily communicate expressions of distress, discomfort, anger, fear and other negative emotions through
behaviors such as screaming, thrashing, or biting. These behaviors are sometimes interpreted as “acting out”, when in fact
they are deliberate attempts to communicate; in some cases these are attempts to express pain.

14
At first glance, a child with the most severe challenges may seem to have few, if any, communicative behaviors. Sometimes
you will have to look very closely to realize that this is not the case. One way to organize your observations of a child who is
very difficult to read is with a “head-to-toe inventory.” Take an inventory of the child’s movements and reactions from head
to toe, considering which movements appear to be voluntary and, of these, which ones might have communicative intent.
Think of the movements the child can perform with his head. Are any being used intentionally to communicate? If not, are
they under volitional control and, therefore, might they have the potential to be communicative? How about the child’s eyes,
mouth, arms, hands, trunk, etc.? Sometimes by focusing on individual movements or parts of the body, one can discover
subtle behaviors that are actual or potential forms of communication. Videos can be very helpful in confirming and inter-
preting subtle or inconsistent communication behaviors.
Social Interaction. Social interaction ranges from merely tolerating the proximity of another person to actively communi-
cating back and forth. The willingness of children who are deafblind or who have multiple disabilities to engage with other
people varies widely. Some children may withdraw almost completely from interaction with other people, while others may
be extremely sociable. Some interact comfortably with adults who know them well, but not with strangers or peers.
Here are some sample questions you might ask about the child’s expressive and receptive communication and social
interaction skills:

Expressive Communication
How does this child make his/ her needs and wants known (body movements, gestures, facial expressions, vocalizations,
words, sign language, picture symbols, object symbols, etc.)?

Does this child’s expressive behavior appear to be intentional? Is it directed toward a goal? Does it appear that the child
anticipates a response to the communication?

How frequently does this child communicate?

What specific messages or communicative functions does this child express (protests, requests, greetings, etc.)?

Under what circumstances is this child most communicative (with whom? when? where?)?

Does this child need prompting or support to communicate clearly or consistently? What type of support?
Receptive Communication
What types of communicative behavior does this child understand (spoken words, manual signs, gestures, facial
expressions, vocal intonation, picture symbols, object symbols, etc.)?

What messages or communicative functions does this child appear to understand (directives, greetings, requests, etc.)?
Is prompting and support needed for the child to respond to a communication?

Who communicates effectively with this child? Are there particular activities in which the child seems most likely
to respond?
Social Interaction
Does this child enjoy interacting with adults? If yes, under what circumstances?

Does this child enjoy interacting with peers? If yes, under what circumstances?

15
Sensory and Motor Skills Related to Communication the child to get the most information from them.
Hearing. All children who are deafblind have some degree Motor Skills. Many children who are deafblind or who
of hearing loss. With hearing aids and other assistive have multiple disabilities experience fine motor or gross
devices, some children may be able to comprehend speech, motor impairments, although some children have no motor
or at least derive some information from vocal intona- challenges at all. Where fine motor limitations are present,
tion or environmental sounds. All children with multiple it is important to determine whether they impact the use
disabilities should receive audiological testing to evaluate of expressive communication systems. Some movement is
their hearing. Every opportunity should be taken to help required to produce any communication. Gestures, facial
the child benefit from auditory information, whether it is expressions, and body movements require gross motor and
spoken words, environmental sounds, or feedback from the fine motor skills. Switches and high-tech communication
child’s own vocalizations. devices must be activated somehow, perhaps by a minimal
response such as pushing a large switch. In the case of
Vision. All children who are deafblind have some degree
severe physical involvement, head turning or eye gaze may
of vision loss. With vision aids, some children will be able
be the only movement available for expressive communica-
to take in more information about their environment and
tion. In any case, where significant physical impairment is
may even understand visual forms of communication such
present, it is important to have occupational and physical
as manual signs, picture symbols, or even written language.
therapy evaluations to assess the impact of motor challeng-
All children with multiple disabilities should have their
vision tested. A thorough evaluation, including a functional es on communication and to help determine the systems
and accommodations needed to enhance the child’s ability
vision assessment, is needed if you are considering the use
to communicate.
of visually based symbols for either receptive or expressive
communication. First, you must be sure that the child can Here are some sample questions you might ask about the
perceive and discriminate between visual stimuli. Second, child’s sensory and motor skills related to communication:
you must know how to present visual stimuli and position

Hearing
Is this child able to perceive speech, vocalizations or environmental sounds?

Would this child benefit from hearing aids, amplification or noise reduction devices (such as an FM system)?
Vision
Is this child able to perceive, discriminate between, and understand visually-based symbols for expressive communica-
tion? If not, is a tactile expressive system indicated (e.g., object symbols, Braille)?

Is this child able to perceive visually-based symbols for receptive communication (e.g., picture symbols, sign language,
print)? If not, is tactile input required (e.g., tactile signs, object symbols)?

What accommodations are needed to help this child perceive visually-based communication (positioning of child and
partner, illumination, position and spacing of stimuli or symbols, size and color of symbols, etc.)?
Motor/Fine Motor Skills
Does this child have the fine motor skills needed to use gestures or manual signs, to indicate choices or to activate
expressive communication devices?

What accommodations need to be made to allow physical access to expressive and receptive communication systems?

16
Child Attributes tions, reports from family members, and the experiences of
classroom staff.
Preferences and Interests. Understanding a child’s
interests and preferences is key to the assessment of his
Here are some sample questions you might ask about the
competencies; furthermore, understanding what motivates
child’s attributes that may affect the development of com-
a child can make or break an instructional program. Many
munication goals and instructional strategies:

Preferences
What people, things, and activities does this child
prefer?

What people, things, and activities does this child

dislike?

Is this child mostly engaged by objects or by people?

Where and when is this child at his/her best?

children who are born with vision and hearing losses or
multiple disabilities adopt a passive attitude to learning, To what extent does this child tolerate direct assistance,
since it is so difficult for them to understand what is going such as hand-over-hand or hand-under-hand support?
on around them. Only highly preferred activities, materials,
and people may motivate them to take the risk to explore What is this child’s primary mode of exploring new
new skills. Strong interests and preferences will bring out things (tactile, visual, oral)?
the “best” in the child, giving you a better idea of underly- Temperament
ing competencies as well as promising instructional con-
texts and materials. For example, communication behaviors Is this child easily excited or passive and quiet?
might be quite different if the child is observed during a
favorite activity while seated next to a preferred classmate. Does this child show sustained attention to tasks or
A child might communicate more in a music activity than quickly lose interest?
in other, less-preferred, group routines or have increased
motivation to explore objects having interesting physical Is this child calm or irritable?
qualities, such as toys that light up or vibrate.
Is this child sociable or shy?

Temperament. A large part of understanding a child and Does this child accept or reject changes in routines,
how to engineer a successful learning environment materials, people, and situations?
depends on the child’s general temperament. Is she happy
or moody, friendly or shy? Is she easy or difficult to engage?
Can she tolerate transitions and quickly adjust to new
people and places? When does she “shut down”? Arousal Summary
and attention are critical for learning, so we need to know In the traditional assessment based on formal tests, the
whether the child is easily excited or fatigued. Can she performance of a child with significant disabilities is often
attend to a task for an extended period or does she quickly described in terms of the degree of delay or deviation from
lose interest? If she is irritable, we might discover that the “norm.” For example, a developmental age, an index
certain positions make her uncomfortable or that loud score, or a percentage of delay might be reported, placing
noises or sudden changes frighten her. Does she mainly the emphasis on the child’s shortcomings. Sometimes this
engage with other people or with objects? The answers to kind of documentation is necessary to qualify a child for
such questions may be obtained through the use of instru- special education services. However, information which
ments assessing temperament and from your own observa- focuses on the child’s weaknesses alone, or what he can’t do,
17
 is neither useful for program planning nor for understand-
ing the child’s true abilities. We need to discover what the
child can do and build on those skills through intervention.
As you assess the child, the team members will highlight
and qualitatively describe the child’s strengths. Strengths
are useful skills that the child consistently exhibits. Every
child has strengths, such as: tolerance for new activities,
ability to discriminate between people’s voices, musical
talent, interest in tactile exploration, social responses when
others approach, or imaginative play. A child’s strengths
in the areas reviewed above serve as building blocks for
further development and skill acquisition.

Parents often ask: Who will assess my child

and are they qualified?
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act requires that qualified
personnel conduct assessments. Although many professionals involved in
assessment may lack experience in assessing a child who is deafblind,
they should have certification and expertise in their specific discipline.
Further, an educational assessment of a child who has significant and
multiple disabilities should include an interdisciplinary team approach
that involves the family and professionals from relevant disciplines
(e.g., visual impairment, hearing loss, speech and language,
occupational and physical therapy, etc.) as needed.

18
Phase III: Interpreting and Applying Results
Effective instructional programs come from our best efforts at integrating what we know about
the child’s abilities, the external and internal factors which influence the child’s performance,
and the child’s history of developmental and educational progress. We also need to acknowl-
edge the constraints of time and personnel which inevitably make our best efforts an
approximation of the ideal. At the very least, our assessment report should:
• Clearly address the interests and concerns of families and service providers.
• Provide a blueprint for service providers and families to implement educational
programs and achieve educational goals.
• Describe the child’s competencies in communication and social interaction.
• Suggest intervention approaches that are likely to enhance the child’s learning
experiences.
• Spell out the roles of families and service providers in the child’s development.
• Provide objective data for evaluating progress and program effectiveness.
• Be culturally sensitive and free of professional jargon.

Current Skills and Educational Implications

Through the assessment activities outlined in the last two chapters, you will gather a great deal
of information from a wide variety of sources. Now you need to put the pieces together in order
to understand the child and how he learns. You will need to integrate the assessment informa-
tion and consider its implications for instruction related to communication skills. Since team
members operate from different vantage points, it is natural that they may draw differing
conclusions from their observations and evaluations. Some observers will note skills that
others have not seen; some will interpret behaviors differently from others; and there may be
contradictions between staff/parent observations and results from the assessment instruments.
But, differences between observers can focus helpful discussion to identify emerging skills,
environmental influences, effective activities, and opportunities for generalization of skills.
You may use the form on the next two pages to summarize current skills and their educational
implications, based on your discussions with the assessment team. A sample completed form
appears in the last chapter.

19
 Skills and Implications
Current Skill Set Conclusions/Implications
Social/Communication Skill Set
Expressive Communication
(What existing expressive communication behaviors should be
supported and what new ones should be targeted?)

Receptive Communication
(What communications does the child understand and how can we
most effectively communicate with this child?)

Social Interaction
(What social interactions maximize the child’s opportunities for
communication with adults and peers?)

20 This form may be reproduced or downloaded for editing from www.ohsu.edu/oidd/D2L/com_pro/db_assess_ab.cfm.

 Skills and Implications
Current Skill Set Conclusions/Implications
Sensory and Motor Skills Related to Communication
Hearing
(What adaptations are needed to support the use of hearing for
expressive and receptive communication?)

Vision
(What adaptations are needed to support the use of vision for ex-
pressive and receptive communication?)

Motor/Fine Motor Skills

(What adaptations are needed to support the motor behaviors
needed for expressive and receptive communication?)

Child Attributes
Preferences
(What activities, materials, and people encourage this child’s
communication?)

Temperament
(What pace, degree of novelty, and length of engagement best fit this
child’s temperament?)

This form may be reproduced or downloaded for editing from www.ohsu.edu/oidd/D2L/com_pro/db_assess_ab.cfm. 21

Developing Educational Goals from Desired Outcomes
In the end, the assessment process should yield specific educational goals related to desired communication outcomes.
Expectations may involve some of the following generic outcomes related to communication and social interaction:

Sample Communication Outcomes

Expressive Communication

• Communicate more frequently using existing communication behaviors

• Communicate more independently (with less assistance)
• Use new (more conventional or sophisticated) forms of communication
• Express new messages/communicative functions (e.g., request “more”, ask questions)
• Communicate about a broader range of topics
• Communicate with more people and across different settings and activities
• Initiate communication
Receptive Communication

• Respond to communication from others with less cueing/assistance

• Understand new (more conventional or sophisticated) forms of communication
• Understand new messages/communicative functions (e.g., requests for information, greetings)
Social Interaction

• Interact comfortably with adults

• Interact comfortably with peers
• Initiate social interactions

The generic outcomes above cover the basic elements of expressive and receptive communication and social interaction.
The assessment team may decide to prioritize one or more of these generic outcomes or they may develop others. The next
step is to develop educational goals that will support the selected outcomes and specify strategies for achieving those goals.
Goals may target both the child’s behavior and features of the physical and social environments that support the child’s
learning. Generally, individual school districts and programs have their own required forms for documenting educational
goals in detail. Sample outcomes, educational goals and strategies are provided in the next chapter.

Instructional Considerations
Keep in mind that not all of the information collected during an assessment fits easily into forms and IEP/IFSP goals. Once
the assessment team has decided on communication-related outcomes and goals, discussion may turn to more subjective
impressions regarding appropriate contexts and strategies for instruction. The wealth of information collected during the
assessment process can provide insight into a variety of factors that may have a profound effect on instruction related to
communication skills. For instance, the positioning of the child and the position of materials in relationship to the child
may enhance or suppress attention, vision and hearing. Environmental factors such as lighting level, ambient noise and
distractions may be especially salient for children with sensory losses. Assessment results may also suggest some rules of
thumb that affect instruction. For instance, it is important to keep in mind that communication goals can be integrated into
any routine, even when other functional goals also are targeted. Additionally, it is important to resist the temptation to
provide mostly one-to-one activities that include only the child and an educational assistant; such experiences do not
provide opportunities for social participation and communication with peers.

22
Documenting the Child’s Progress Sometimes, it may appear as though the child has
“regressed” in certain skills. It might be reported, for
Another important objective of your assessment is to
example, that a child’s use of signs and vocalizations to
document the progress that the child has made over time.
communicate has decreased over the past few months,
It is difficult to track progress accurately when information
or that she is less interested in playing with other chil-
comes only from narrative reports or informal, anecdotal
dren. In fact, almost all children go through such periods
information. Assessment instruments can help you to for-
of “regression” from time to time, and the reasons (e.g.,
malize your observations so that they can be systematically
illness, changes of routine, poorly designed instructional
compared from one administration to another. However,
programs) are not always evident. The role of the evalua-
many existing assessment tools are not sensitive enough to
tor is to gather information about what specific behavioral
pick up the qualitative changes that a child who is deaf-
changes have been observed, by whom, and in what situ-
blind or has multiple disabilities might exhibit. Indeed,
ations and contexts. Such information will be valuable to
the assessment instruments reviewed in Appendix B vary
help monitor the child’s progress over the short and long
widely in terms of their sensitivity to the development of
term, guide the team to develop interventions to reinforce
children who are deafblind or who have multiple disabili-
previously learned skills, and/or help make decisions as
ties. In the typical assessment, a child either “passes” or
to the need for additional consultations (e.g., medical or
“fails” a particular item (i.e., either demonstrates or does
audiological).
not demonstrate a skill). Progress is evident when, after a
period of time, the child demonstrates that he has acquired
completely new skills (e.g., “passed” more of the assess-
ment items). But progress need not be all or none. In fact, Parents often ask: How will the
for the young child with multiple disabilities, progress assessment results be used and will
can—and often must—be described in qualitative terms. they help my child?
Below are some qualitative indicators that may be helpful The original purpose of the assessment
to describe progress in children who develop in subtle ways should determine the use of the results and
or in very small steps: the benefit to the child. For example, was the
purpose of the assessment: to determine
Qualitative Indicators of Progress eligibility for various services; to develop,
modify, or evaluate the child’s educational
• Increased consistency of response program; or to monitor the child’s progress?
• Increased independence of response/ Families should receive a written copy of the
decreased assistance required assessment report, have the opportunity to
• Increased frequency of response discuss the report with the team, and be in-
• Increased duration of response formed about how the results will be used to
• Increased clarity of response benefit their child.
• Faster response time
• Partial participation in one step of a
routine
• Ability to participate in an activity for
longer periods of time
• Sustained attention to a task
• Increased stamina
• Improved strength or accuracy of a motor
response

23
 See How It’s Done: an Illustration
The next chapter describes the assessment of a young
girl named Maria, who is deafblind. This vignette shows
how to apply the assessment strategies that we have
described. Certainly, Maria represents only one example
of a child who is deafblind. She illustrates a specific set of
characteristics that are very different from those of many
other young children who are deafblind: indeed, there is
no “typical” child who is deafblind. The purpose of this
vignette is to illustrate how this assessment process may be
applied to any child.

Parents often ask: What can I do if I disagree

with the assessment results?
As the child’s advocate, a family member has the right
to question an assessment report. It is important for
family members to discuss concerns, ask for clarifica-
tion, and address issues with the evaluation team. They
have a right to find out how assessment information
was gathered, which tools were used and to ask
whether these tools were appropriate for their
child’s abilities and learning needs.

24
 Assessing Maria, a Young Child who is Deafblind

Maria “How is this going to work?” As an experienced early

Maria is a quiet four-year-old who smiles a lot. She has childhood special educator, Ellyn enjoyed co-teaching with
multiple and complex needs, including a severe bilateral Gina in a full inclusion class at the preschool. There were
hearing loss, no vision in the left eye, a severely restricted 6 children with disabilities in their class of 20 preschool-
visual field in the right eye, and significant developmen- ers, with two educational assistants. The children with
tal delays. Maria walks with minimal assistance, but she IEPs demonstrated a wide range of strengths and learn-
requires physical guidance to interact with people, objects ing needs. Ellyn relied on her expertise in early childhood
and the environment. It is not clear whether Maria un- special education and visual impairments to support the
derstands any manual signs, although she has produced a children’s participation and learning in the preschool
couple of sign approximations (MORE and DAD) inconsis- environment. In her previous teaching position, Ellyn
tently within appropriate contexts. Maria began attending had worked with another preschooler who was deafblind.
preschool three weeks ago, and she is still getting used to However, this child was not at all like Maria. He was totally
her new school routine. blind, had a moderate hearing loss and used some speech,
but was very irritable and cried a lot.
Phase I: Getting Started
Ellyn knew that there were school district policies and
Maria’s Assessment Team legal requirements regarding assessment. She also tried
Maria’s parents had asked for an assessment to focus on the to implement the recommended practices on assessment
development of Maria’s communication and social interac- developed by the Division for Early Childhood (http://
tion skills. Maria’s parents were eager to be involved in this www.dec-sped.org/index.aspx/About_DEC/Recommend-
process, as they believed that Maria used some skills at ed_Practices). Ellyn wished there were some guidelines
home that she didn’t use at school. specifically for assessing children like Maria. She was very
perplexed by some of Maria’s behaviors, since she had
Maria’s interdisciplinary team was composed of: her two never worked with a child like her. She remembered that
teachers, Ellyn and Gina; a school psychologist; her speech- developing and testing hypotheses would provide insights
language pathologist; her one-to-one educational assistant; about the meaning of a child’s behaviors. Still, Ellyn wor-
consultants in occupational therapy, visual impairment ried about the time and resources required for the assess-
and deafness; and Maria’s parents. The consultant from ment process.
the State Deafblind Project also planned to provide support
to the team. Most of the team members were still getting Gina, Maria’s general education teacher, was concerned
to know Maria. Although each planned to conduct his or about whether the staff would be able to address Maria’s
her own assessment, they also planned to make some joint learning needs while supporting all the other children in
observations and meet to share findings, observations, and the class. She wondered why they needed to spend all this
recommendations. Maria’s teachers also decided to request time and effort on an assessment for a child who already
the services of an audiologist to evaluate whether an ampli- had an IEP.
fication system would help Maria at school. “What assessments will I use?” As a speech-language
pathologist in the school district’s early childhood special
Concerns of the Assessment Team
education services, Steve had assessed preschoolers who
“How will she learn to communicate?” Maria’s parents had autism, deafness and severe physical disabilities; but he
expressed strong concerns about Maria’s social develop- had not assessed a child who was deafblind and nonverbal.
ment in their first meeting with Maria’s teachers at the Steve thought about his other experiences with children
preschool. Mr. and Mrs. Montoya were very concerned who had multiple disabilities. There was a child on his
about Maria’s receptive and expressive communication and caseload who was deaf and had cerebral palsy. Steve worked
her interactions with other children. with the teacher certified in deafness, the physical thera-
pist, and the occupational therapist to select an appropri-
25
ate switch-activated device for this child. He considered Involving Maria’s Family
consulting these colleagues about Maria. Steve also had as- Ellyn asked the Montoyas what they expected from the
sessed older children who were deafblind because of Usher assessment and what questions they had about Maria’s
syndrome, but these students were fluent in American Sign communication development and learning style. She
Language. He wondered how to assess Maria, given her encouraged them to jot down their questions. Together they
developmental skills. Further, he only visited Maria’s pre-
settled on a date for a home visit to observe Maria in her
school two hours a week. Like other itinerant consultants, most familiar environment and to discuss the Montoyas’
Steve had a large caseload and limited time to spend with questions.
each child. He wondered how he would find the time to as-
sess Maria and what tools he should use. The tools that he Major Questions Developed By the Team
had used with preschoolers who were deaf involved many
The goal of Maria’s educational assessment was to identify
visually-based items (e.g., pictures, manual signs) and
her communication and social skills, review areas of prog-
probably would not be appropriate for Maria.
ress and concern, and determine necessary interventions
The school psychologist, Frank, had not assessed a child to promote desired outcomes. Assessment results would
with dual sensory impairments before. He wondered how be used to answer the team’s questions, establish educa-
to conform to district requirements for providing test tional goals and plan learning opportunities for Maria.
scores using standardized instruments. He also wondered After discussing the upcoming evaluation with all of the
how to develop information that would be educationally team members, Ellyn decided that the following questions
useful for the assessment team. represented their primary concerns about Maria’s commu-
nication skills:
“How will I be involved?” The consultants in visual
impairment and deafness and the occupational therapist Major Questions of Maria’s
wondered what their roles would be in the process. They Assessment Team
each visited Maria’s preschool one hour a week to consult • How can we increase Maria’s communication
with Maria’s teachers and one-to-one assistant. They had skills?
worked together on educational teams for other children • How can Maria learn to interact with other
who were deafblind. children?
• To what extent can Maria use her vision and
hearing to learn new skills?
• How can we encourage Maria to actively par-
ticipate in routines and activities at home
and at school?

Instruments Selected for Maria’s Assessment

A few weeks before the assessment meeting was scheduled,
Ellyn explained to Maria’s parents that the team would be
collecting information for several days at school. Michael,
the state Deafblind Consultant, had recommended two
tools to use in Maria’s assessment: the Communication
Matrix and Home Talk (reviewed in Appendix B). Steve was
Maria’s one-to-one educational assistant, Helen, was pleased to get a copy of the professional version of the
responsible for supporting Maria’s participation in daily Communication Matrix. Ellyn asked the Montoyas whether
activities. Helen had very specific duties related to Maria’s they would complete a copy of Home Talk and the parent
needs in the classroom and she didn’t want to get “stuck” version of the Communication Matrix if she sent them
with other duties. She checked with her supervisor, who home. She explained to them why the information was
said that she would have valuable insight to contribute to important and how it would be used.
Maria’s assessment.
26
Frank, the psychologist, interviewed Maria’s parents early questions about Maria’s preferences, general temperament
in the process to get a sense of Maria’s interests, special and sensory and fine motor skills.
skills, and communication behaviors and to learn their
perspective on educational priorities for Maria. In ad- Phase II: Gathering Information
dition to reviewing the Home Talk assessment protocol Maria’s teachers, parents, related services staff and the
that Maria’s parents agreed to complete, Frank decided to audiologist all made observations and completed specific
use the current edition of the Vineland Adaptive Behavior assessment instruments jointly and independently. When
Scales (reviewed in Appendix B) to gather information the team got together with the Montoyas for the assessment
from Mr. and Mrs. Montoya. This assessment tool provides meeting, they had valuable information gleaned from all of
a checklist of skills in various areas of Communication, these sources. Ellyn summarized the information for each
Daily Living Skills, Socialization and Motor Skills. Frank of the major skill sets related to communication.
recognized that items on the Vineland were not especially
sensitive to the development and learning modalities of Expressive communication (how Maria lets other
children who are deafblind. Furthermore, the scores are people know what she wants). During recess, Ellyn
not very meaningful because they are based (“normed”) discovered that Maria smiled a lot when pushed on the
on the development of children without sensory impair- swing, so she decided to pause and wait to see what Maria
ments. However, the school district required psychological would do if she stopped pushing the swing. Maria kicked
assessments to include a recognized measure of social and her legs and moved her head up and down until Ellyn
adaptive functioning that provided standardized scores. gave her another push. Mr. and Mrs. Montoya reported
Frank thought that the Vineland could be useful to organize that Maria had signed DAD a few times when she seemed
data about Maria’s functional skills, and perhaps point to as if she wanted attention; for example, when she wanted
broad areas of relative strength or weakness, even though to be picked up. They also said that she would reach for a
it would not describe the breadth and quality of skills that favorite toy that lights up or push her mother’s hand toward
Maria had achieved. the toy. When offered certain toys that she didn’t like (such
as blocks), Maria would reject them by dropping them or
Arranging Informal and Structured Observations pushing them away. She showed that she wanted attention
The team decided that in order to understand how to en- or was upset by making a grunting sound, kicking her feet,
hance Maria’s communication skills, they needed to obtain or grasping her hands together and shaking them. Maria’s
an adequate sample of her behaviors in several contexts— parents also noted that Maria made different vocalizations
such as at home with family members, in school with peers, when she was in discomfort or distress.
and during other activities of high interest. Each member Frank reported that Maria’s standard score in the Com-
of Maria’s team agreed to observe and note Maria’s recep- munication Domain of the Vineland Adaptive Behavior
tive and expressive communication behaviors during brief, Scales was below the 1st percentile. On Part 3 of Home
specific times when Maria had opportunities for social Talk, “People Skills,” Maria scored 22 out of a possible 40
interaction over the next week. For example, the class- in Basic Expression (55%). Steve reported that Maria was
room staff would make brief observations during various operating primarily on Level III (nonconventional pre-
routines (e.g., snack time, transitions between activities, symbolic communication) of the Communication Matrix.
recess, and circle time). In this way they would make mul- He reported that Maria used the following behaviors to
tiple observations across different people and situations express herself: to indicate that she didn’t want something
and discover how Maria indicated her interests and needs Maria would move her body, turn her head away, use arm
in familiar settings and well-established routines. These and leg movements, facial expressions and push an object
observations would provide important information about or person away. To make a request, Maria would guide an
her communication and social skills. The occupational adult’s hand to something of interest. She used that behav-
therapist, and the vision consultant decided to observe ior to request more of an action (e.g., being bounced on the
Maria during “Discovery Center” time at the preschool, rocking horse), to request a new action (e.g., to go outside),
when Helen would encourage Maria’s play and exploration to request more of an object (e.g., a vibrating toy), and to
of new and familiar toys, sounds, and objects. They decided make choices (e.g., between two toys). She had just begun
to use these more structured activities to answer to request a new object by reaching toward it and vocalizing

27
(e.g., for a flashlight that another child had). Maria did not ization Domain of the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales
exhibit any behaviors that could be used to ask questions, was below the 1st percentile. On Part 3 of Home Talk,
label objects or people or make comments. “People Skills,” Maria scored 8 out of a possible 20 on Social
Interaction (40%). Steve reported that the Communica-
Receptive Communication (how Maria responds to tion Matrix showed that Maria expressed interest in other
other people who interact with her). Ellyn noticed that people through facial expressions and requested attention
Maria seemed to anticipate the daily preschool routine by fussing and reaching out to touch a person on the hands
after being in the class for three weeks; for example, she or face.
paused by the cubbies when entering the room in the
morning and waited for Helen to touch her shoulder as a Hearing. A few times, when she was wearing her hearing
prompt to remove her backpack and put it in her cubby. aids, it seemed as if Maria responded to music by swaying
Maria needed physical prompts to take a musical instru- back and forth. When Gina read a story, Maria seemed
ment that was offered to her and to make arm movements restless because she kicked her feet and grasped her hands
to the action songs. A couple of times, Maria responded to together and shook them, but did not get up. The consultant
the sign FINISHED, used at table activities, by standing up in deafness said that Maria’s responses indicated that her
without physical prompts. Maria’s parents reported that she hearing aids were helping, and the audiologist’s report
responded to simple requests within context when accom- suggested that an FM system might be useful at school.
panied by physical prompts, such as “sit down” (patting
her hip) or “give that to me” (tapping her hand). She would
smile when sitting beside her parents or when they picked
her up. They also noticed that Maria turned towards Mr.
Montoya when he called her name before picking her up.
The vision specialist observed that Maria’s vision loss made
the use of manual signs or picture symbols unrealistic for
receptive communication. Maria was described as very
dependent on routine; but it was difficult to inform her of
what was going to happen next so that she could antici-
pate events. The possibility of using a calendar or tangible
schedule system with object symbols representing the ma-
jor activities of her day was discussed as a way to provide
Maria information about forthcoming events (http://www.
tsbvi.edu/publications/calendar.htm). Vision. Ellyn noted that Maria moved her head close to
toys (within 9 inches) so that she could use her right eye.
Frank reported that Maria’s standard score in Receptive The consultant in visual impairment indicated that these
Communication on the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales observations were similar to hers and that Maria seemed
was below the 1st percentile. On Part 3 of Home Talk, interested in looking at very large, bright pictures and toys
“People Skills,” Maria scored 12 out of a possible 25 on with lights. She also indicated that if Maria sat upright,
Responding (48%). this posture might encourage better use of her functional
Social Interaction. At circle time, Gina observed that vision. She expressed concern about Maria’s capacity to see
Maria sat quietly for most activities and seemed interested and discriminate between manual signs or picture
in other children, orienting toward and reaching out to symbols. Finally, the consultant indicated that she could
touch children who sat beside her. Ellyn asked a classmate work with teachers on experience stories and make appro-
to help Maria walk across the bridge on the play structure; priate tactile adaptations to materials (e.g., use of textured
she noticed that Maria looked at the little girl who took her materials and familiar objects) that would be more likely to
by the hand and followed along. The Montoyas observed engage Maria’s interest in short stories.
that Maria loved to interact with them at home and also Motor Skills. The occupational therapist reported that
with certain family friends who visited. Maria’s motor challenges presented relatively minor ob-
Frank reported that Maria’s standard score in the Social- stacles to her communication skills. Her gross motor skills

28
had been improving and she could almost walk by herself. occupational therapist noticed that when Maria was on her
Her fine motor skills were somewhat awkward and weak, back, it was hard to gain her attention. She seemed more
but she was able to grasp and manipulate objects of attentive when she was sitting up well-supported in a chair.
different sizes and shapes and she seemed to get much of Maria needed and tolerated frequent physical prompts
her information through touch. The occupational thera- (such as light taps on her arm) to turn on the faucet, use
pist also noted that movement was important to Maria’s soap, rub her hands back and forth, turn off the faucet, find
communication development. She had noticed that when a paper towel, dry her hands, and put the paper towel in the
she placed her hands under Maria’s and banged a drum, trash. Similar prompts were needed for Maria to find her
Maria would smile and push her hands to have the action lunch bag in her cubby, carry it to the lunch table, sit down,
repeated. remove the food, and clean up afterwards. The Montoyas
noted that quick, unpredictable movements seemed to
Preferences. In center activities, Ellyn noted that Maria did frighten Maria. Overall, Maria seemed to be rather passive
not put her hands in finger paints or other gooey materials. and prompt-dependent and she rarely initiated actions.
Maria refused to use or manipulate certain materials (e.g.,
paper, crayons, scissors and glue), but she used her fingers
to explore toys that had moving parts, and she pressed
knobs to make lights turn on. Helen reported that Maria
liked keeping her hands under the water when washing
her hands. Helen noticed that at lunchtime Maria preferred
crackers and other salty, crunchy snacks to sandwiches.
This preference was discussed with the occupational thera-
pist. The Montoyas observed that Maria would laugh when
Dad would swing her side to side by holding her under
her arms. Sometimes she seemed to get overexcited and
would arch backward and flap her hands rapidly during a
this swinging game. They made the following list of Maria’s
likes and dislikes:
Phase III: Interpreting and Applying Results
Based on their discussion of assessment results, Maria’s
Maria likes:
parents and the members of her assessment and educa-
• splashing in water
tional program team felt that they had obtained a repre-
• toys that light up or vibrate
sentative sample of Maria’s social, communication and
• sharing snacks with her sister
learning skills. The team spent a long time discussing the
• swinging and rough and tumble play
implications of the information they had collected in terms
• eating crackers and chips
of Maria’s communication skills. A summary of Maria’s
• dropping toys into her toy box
current skills and their educational implications appears on
the next two pages.
Maria doesn’t like:
• waiting a long time for something she
wants
• being moved abruptly (e.g., being picked
up without warning)
• touching sticky substances, such as
pudding
• being ignored

Temperament. Ellyn described Maria as cooperative and

easygoing for the most part. However, Helen and the
29
 Skills and Implications
Current Skill Set Conclusions/Implications
Social/Communication Skill Set
Expressive Communication
• Communication is clearly intentional. (What existing expressive communication behaviors should be
• Communicative behaviors: smiles, body movements, head supported and what new ones should be targeted?)
movements, grunts, gestures (reach, push away, push Mom’s
• Support/increase use of current gestures in different
hand), may sign DAD.
contexts.
• Communicative intents: gains attention, protests, requests,
• Provide opportunities to make choices between alterna-
social interaction.
tives.
• Often needs prompting (physical assistance).
• Probe use of object symbols.
• Initiates communication infrequently.
• Communicates a lot with Dad and with Helen at snack and
on playground.

Receptive Communication
• Currently responds to some touch cues, gestures, physical (What communications does the child understand and how can we
prompts. most effectively communicate with this child?)
• May recognize her spoken name.
• Support/increase responsiveness to touch cues, gestures,
• May respond to FINISH sign.
signs, and spoken name.
• Understands greetings, directives, requests for her attention.
• Probe ability to discriminate/understand object symbols
• She is most responsive to Mom, Dad, and Helen.
as potential receptive system to allow her to anticipate
events.
• Consider use of object calendar system.
• Pair spoken words with touch cues and actions when
possible.

Social Interaction
• Enjoys familiar adults, especially if rough housing and in (What social interactions maximize the child’s opportunities for
familiar routines. communication with adults and peers?)
• Orients to, shows interest in peers during group activities at
• Target structured group activities at school to encourage
school, but little actual interaction.
peer interaction and differentiation of peers.

30 This form may be reproduced or downloaded for editing from www.ohsu.edu/oidd/D2L/com_pro/db_assess_ab.cfm.

 Skills and Implications
Current Skill Set Conclusions/Implications
Sensory and Motor Skills Related to Communication
Hearing
• Currently uses hearing aids. (What adaptations are needed to support the use of hearing for
• Responds to vocal intonation and music. expressive and receptive communication?)
• Response to spoken name is uncertain.
• Support use of hearing aids.
• Try FM system at school.

Vision
• Primarily relies on touch, rather than vision to (What adaptations are needed to support the use of vision for
explore items. expressive and receptive communication?)

• Probe tactile means of communication.

• Present visual stimuli/symbols within 9” of right eye,
with good lighting.
• Use high visual contrast and textured materials.

Motor/Fine Motor Skills

• Motor skills are adequate for gestures. (What adaptations are needed to support the motor behaviors
needed for expressive and receptive communication?)

• Supported sitting position (not lying down) for best use

of vision and attention

Child Attributes
Preferences
• Dislikes: sudden unexpected movement, sticky things, toys (What activities, materials, and people encourage this child’s
without sensory displays. communication?)
• Explores new things mostly through touch.
• Target vestibular activities, water play, snacks, toys with
• Likes both objects and people.
light/vibration, rough housing, and crunchy/salty foods.

Temperament
• Calm, cooperative, sociable. (What pace, degree of novelty, length of engagement best fit this
• Performs best in familiar routines with consistent attention. child’s temperament?)
• Cooperates with physical assistance.
• Stress short activities with consistent adult attention,
slow pace, and clear routine.

This form may be reproduced or downloaded for editing from www.ohsu.edu/oidd/D2L/com_pro/db_assess_ab.cfm. 31

Educational Goals for Maria Social Interaction
Ultimately, Maria’s assessment team agreed on five out- Outcome 5: Increase ability to interact comfortably with
comes and goals related to communication and social peers.
interaction. Although they used district-required forms
to compose official IEP goals and specific, measurable Goal 5: Maria will have increased opportunities to
objectives, they summarized desired outcomes and goals as interact with peers during regular classroom routines.
follows:
Suggestions: Include Maria in all group activities at
Expressive Communication school; provide consistent structure for simple interac-
tions with peers; sit Maria next to favorite peers; where
Outcome 1: Communicate more frequently and appropriate, involve peers instead of (or in addition to)
independently using current behaviors. one-to-one assistant.
Goal 1: Maria will increase independent use of
Instructional Considerations for Maria
gestures.
Having decided on communication-related goals for Maria,
Suggestions: Provide frequent opportunities to make her assessment team turned to a discussion of their more
choices in snack, circle, play; promote the use of ges- subjective impressions regarding appropriate contexts for
tures to make choices/requests; fade physical assis- instruction. Their major concerns related to positioning
tance; record frequency of independent responses. and visual attention, optimizing classroom participation,
Outcome 2: Use new symbolic forms of integrating communication goals into functional activities
communication. and avoiding stressful circumstances.

Goal 2: Maria will use object symbols to make simple

choices.
Suggestions: Use familiar objects associated with
preferred items and activities as symbols. Probe abil-
ity to choose correct one (out of two) associated with
preferred snacks and toys.
Receptive Communication
Outcome 3: Increase responsiveness to current
communication forms.
Goal 3: The consistency of Maria’s awareness of and
reactions to auditory input will increase.
Suggestions: Provide FM system; track responsiveness
to spoken cues.
Outcome 4: Understand new forms of communication. Positioning. Her teachers, occupational therapist, and con-
sultant in visual impairment had noticed that when Maria
Goal 4: Maria will demonstrate understanding of was on her back, it was hard to gain her attention, but when
object symbols for major activities. sitting well-supported in a chair she seemed particularly
Suggestions: Provide daily schedule system with one tuned in, especially if people and items were on her right
familiar object to represent each major activity in side. That suggested that if they wanted to engage her when
school schedule. Present before each new activity. she was lying down while being dressed or changed, they
should be especially dynamic in providing sensory input.

32
They also thought floor games were unlikely to work as well was assigned to the various team members. Strategies
as table-top games, even if Maria appeared happy and con- for monitoring the success of instructional programs
tent in a game of “row-your-boat.” On the other hand, when were developed. Decisions were made about what type of
she was sitting upright, she might be much better able to performance data to collect and how often to collect it. The
learn new signs, gestures, or symbols. Appropriate position- team was now poised to move quickly to resolve problems
ing was also a consideration for keeping her hearing aids in if Maria’s performance showed that she was not acquiring
her ears. new skills; by the same token, they would be ready to “up
the ante” to promote further progress when her perfor-
Integrating communication goals with other function- mance showed that she was learning. Having begun with an
al goals. Mealtime had been proposed as a good context authentic assessment involving an interdisciplinary team of
for learning because Maria liked to eat certain foods and family and professionals, Maria’s prospects for a meaning-
was highly motivated to request them. Positioning issues ful and appropriate education were good.
could also be addressed at mealtimes. If Helen, who helped
Maria at mealtimes, focused mainly on how much Maria
ate or how well she held the spoon, she would miss a golden
opportunity to help Maria’s communication skills. In ad-
dition to learning how to pour, scoop and stir, Maria was
likely to acquire new expressive and receptive communica-
tion skills during mealtimes.
Optimizing participation. Because the team wanted
Maria to participate more fully with her classmates and in
family activities, they wanted to create opportunities for
her to experience a variety of people and places. To date,
Maria had been engaged mostly in one-to-one activities
with Helen in her new preschool. The team recognized that
in the future she should participate in more play activities
involving at least one other peer with whom she could be
actively encouraged to interact.
Avoiding stressful situations. It had been noted that
quick, unpredictable movements seemed to distress and
startle Maria, which interfered with learning. The team
pointed out that it was important to recognize how Ma-
ria signaled that she was over-stimulated or distressed.
They would use this information to be more responsive to
Maria’s needs and to provide ample warning of upcoming
activities and movements. An object calendar system would
help in this regard.

Next Steps
The team had assessed Maria, identified desired commu-
nication outcomes, developed educational goals related
to them, and provided some specifics about appropriate
instruction. They also had pinpointed some factors that
would have a strong influence on Maria’s instruction. This
was a good starting point, but a number of tasks remained.
Responsibility for implementing the educational goals

33
34
Appendix A

On the following pages are notes directed to special educators, psychologists,

speech-language pathologists and family members. These notes explain the
relevance of this guide for members of these target audiences.

35
 A Note to Special Educators
As the child’s primary teacher or an educational consultant collaborating with the primary service
provider, we play a critical role in assessing a child with multiple disabilities or deafblindness.
Whatever our professional responsibilities or certification specialization (e.g., visual impairment,
hearing loss, severe disabilities, or early childhood special education) we possess a unique
perspective of the child’s abilities and areas of need. This guide will answer many of your
questions about the assessment process. The purpose of this note is to identify the specific skills
that highly qualified special educators contribute to the process of educational assessment.
• We take time to develop a relationship of trust with the child and family. This way, we
facilitate a valuable partnership with families. We learn about the family’s lifestyle, priorities,
and concerns; the child’s activities at home and in the community; his or her personality,
strengths, interests, dislikes, and areas of need.
• We observe and interact with the child consistently during routine and instructional activi-
ties. We can identify how the child participates in activities and interacts with adults and
other children; what types of supports and adaptations are successful; the child’s likes,
dislikes, responses, reactions, and temperament; and how he or she learns. We are focused on
the “total child” (i.e., on all areas of the child’s development).
• We interpret the child’s nonverbal or presymbolic communicative behaviors, and use of
functional vision, hearing and/or compensatory skills, within the context of familiar
activities.
• We have opportunities within a familiar activity to structure a situation or manipulate events
to elicit a child’s targeted behaviors.
• We use authentic or ecologically valid, routines-based assessments, develop meaningful
instructional objectives, and implement relevant instructional experiences and intervention
supports in natural settings to accomplish these objectives.
• We are familiar with evidence-based and recommended assessment and intervention
practices for young children with disabilities in selected areas of special education, and we
use these practices.
As special educators, we are collaborating members of an interdisciplinary team that uses the
shared discipline-specific knowledge and skills of other team members (e.g., physical or occupa-
tional therapists, and speech-language pathologists) to promote a coordinated and comprehensive
program for the child. We are lifelong learners who delight in figuring out how to promote positive
outcomes for children with significant needs. The guide Assessing Communication and Learning in
Young Children Who are Deafblind or Who Have Multiple Disabilities was created for professionals
like you as well as for other professionals and family members whose job it is to conduct quality
assessments of young children who are deafblind or who have other complex disabilities.

36
A Note to Psychologists
Most of us have had limited opportunities to evaluate children who are deafblind. When presented with this
challenge, we may feel unprepared and somewhat uncomfortable because of so many unknowns, lack of clear
assessment models, and uncertainty of how to interpret the behavior of a child who may not communicate
in standard ways. Even if you do not have experience working with these children, your role is critical. Many
concepts and methods of assessment from your work with other populations (such as severe disabilities or
autism spectrum disorders) apply to children who are deafblind, along with your experience in organizing and
interpreting information from behavioral, cognitive and social perspectives.

This guide Assessing Communication and Learning in Young Children Who are Deafblind or Who Have Multiple
Disabilities is intended to answer many of your questions and provide some suggestions about the process of
psychological assessment. As you review the guide, keep in mind the following ideas:
• The most important assessment goal is to gain an understanding of the child’s real-life skills and
concepts as applied in educational, home, and social settings. It is less critical to obtain “scores” such
as age equivalencies or IQs, which are unlikely to be either valid or helpful. For example, saying that an
8-year-old child is “functioning on a 12-month level” (a) minimizes or ignores the competencies and
progress that, in fact, the child has achieved over eight years; and (b) promotes the erroneous assump-
tion that the child experiences the social and physical world just like an infant does. On the other hand,
your observations of key skills—documenting how a child shows understanding of cause-and-effect by
pressing the buttons of a musical toy, symbolic representation by associating the feel of a spoon to snack
time, or social awareness by quieting when someone provides a gentle touch cue—will go much further
toward establishing a profile of abilities that can then be directly linked to intervention planning.
• Use your expertise. You don’t have to be an expert in deafblindness to describe the child’s learning style.
Valuable information can be gained by observing the child’s: attention (e.g., What does it take to gain or
regain the child’s attention? What materials, tasks, or persons help to increase interest level?); learning
modality (e.g., What are the child’s preferences? How does he explore new objects?); social and commu-
nicative competence (e.g., How does the child respond to interaction, engage in play, communicate basic
needs or interests?); and many other important behavioral qualities (e.g., motivation, participation in
daily routines, stamina, affective and emotional state, reactions to multi-sensory stimuli, acceptance of
assistance, spatial awareness).
• Try to make specific recommendations about the interventions, resources, and teaching strategies
that could be helpful to the child, educational team, and family. Don’t stop short at just “qualifying”
a child for services or concluding the obvious (e.g., “needs OT evaluation”). At the very least, take the
next step by identifying the educational priorities for the child (e.g., increasing opportunities for peer
interaction, promoting interest in tactile exploration, expanding the child’s participation in mainstream
classes, re-directing repetitive behaviors to more purposeful activity). Help the team generate hypoth-
eses about situational interventions that might be effective (e.g., pairing the child with a peer instead of
the aide during ‘choice time’ to enhance the sense of play).

The National Consortium on Deaf-Blindness (http://www.nationaldb.org/index.php) is an excellent resource

for information about deafblindness and assessment.

37
 A Note to Speech-Language Pathologists
If you are like most speech-language pathologists, your caseload may never have included a child who is deaf-
blind, but now you have been called in to participate in an assessment. You are probably wondering: how do I
prepare, what do I assess, and how do I report my results? You may even wonder how important your role is,
given the extensive sensory, physical, and health issues the child may experience. Many of the answers to your
questions are found in this guide, but here are some additional tips:

• Expect each member of the assessment team to have an opinion about the child’s communication and
that their opinions may differ from yours. Think of communication in its broadest sense, but be realistic,
especially in interpreting social-affective behaviors. Keep everyone’s focus on skills that, through inter-
vention, have the potential to develop and become more conventional.
• Standardized assessment instruments have few preverbal items and those items generally describe infant
behaviors which are not relevant for older children. Look through the assessment instruments described
in Appendix B, both as a guide to preverbal communication and as a means of organizing your observa-
tions. You may need to scan the social and cognitive development sections of the instruments, since
communication items and communication prerequisites are often found in these sections.
• Children who are deafblind usually do not have autism, but your experience in assessing children with
autism can be helpful. For example, structured testing is not likely to give you much useful information
as compared to observations conducted in familiar settings. Videos can be very helpful in confirm-
ing and interpreting subtle and inconsistent communications. Be sure you set aside sufficient time to
observe and ask questions: think in terms of days, not hours.
• Your report needs to resonate with the intervention provided in the classroom and encouraged at home.
Take the time to learn about the methods and goals of the child’s current program and see where your
input can have an impact. Couch your report in the terminology of the classroom. Avoid SLP jargon,
which can be off-putting to teachers and parents. If you haven’t been in the trenches with these children,
don’t be surprised if you have to prove yourself as an authority on communication; but don’t be surprised
either if you are expected to have all the answers.

The guide Assessing Communication and Learning in Young Children Who are Deafblind or Who Have Multiple
Disabilities was created for professionals like you as well as for other professionals and family members whose
job it is to conduct quality assessments of young children who are deafblind or who have other complex
disabilities.

38
A Note to Family Members
No one knows our children like we do. As primary caretakers of a child with deafblindness, we are an invalu-
able part of any evaluation team. We can point out the nuances of our child’s behavior and explain the context
in which it occurs. Although some members of the educational team may speak in unfamiliar terminology,
please do not let that deter you from becoming an active participant on the team. Your unique insights into
the daily routines and habits of your child, along with your knowledge of their developmental history, are rich
in useful information. While this is a guide to be used primarily by professionals who conduct assessments,
it can be of great use to family members. There is much information to be gained and examples of questions
that parents frequently ask appear throughout the guide. It is our hope that you will share this guide with your
child’s educational team and use it together to provide your child with a quality assessment. Remember:
• Family members spend more time with their child than anyone else and possess a wealth of information
useful to professionals.
• We observe our children across varied environments.
• We have a unique perspective into development, medical history, social interactions, daily activities and
level of independence.
• We possess insight into communication styles, preferences and effective cues.
• We possess first-hand knowledge about deafblindness. The professionals on your educational team may
have never worked with a child with deafblindness and will benefit from your knowledge and resource
information.
This guide will assist your child’s educational team in the assessment process. Please read it and share it with
them. For more information on deafblindness and support for your family, please contact the National Con-
sortium on Deaf-Blindness at [email protected] or their website at (http://www.nationaldb.org/index.php)
or call 1-800-438-9376. The Consortium is also home to DB-LINK, which has the largest collection of infor-
mation related to deafblindness worldwide. For family-to-family support, national advocacy and information
please contact the National Family Association for Deaf-Blind at [email protected] or visit their website at www.
nfadb.org or call 1-800-255-0411.

39
40
 Appendix B:
Instruments Used to Assess Children who are Deafblind
We collected information about which tools are commonly used to assess children who are deafblind, which tools are highly
recommended, and which tools were designed specifically for this population. We narrowed our investigation to tools that:
• Cover some portion of the targeted age range (2-8 years)
• Can be used by a variety of professionals without extensive special training
• Address communication, social and/or cognitive skills
• Are readily accessible (in print, available for purchase in this country or downloadable)

The table on the next page allows a quick overview of the twelve instruments included in this appendix. The pages that
follow provide a one-page summary of the background and purpose of each instrument, purchasing information, and
advantages and limitations for assessing children who are deafblind.

41
 Quick Guide to Assessment Instruments

Developed for Age range Focus on pre-

Instrument Domains assessed
deafblind? targeted symbolic skills

Callier-Azusa-G Yes All domains 0-10 yr. High

Callier-Azusa-H Yes Communication 0-10 yr. High

Carolina Curriculum No All domains 0-3 yr. Low

(Infant & Toddler edition)
2-5 yr.
(Preschooler edition)

Communication Yes Communication All ages: only earliest stages High

Matrix of communication

Dimensions of Yes Communication All ages High

Communication

Hawaii Early Learning No All domains 0-3 yr. (0-3 edition) Low
Profile (HELP)

Home Talk Yes Communication, School-age (3+) High

learning/concept
development

Infused Skills Vision Social competence, Early childhood-secondary Low

impairment organization

INSITE Yes All domains 0-2 yr. (short version) High

0-6 yr. (long version)

Oregon Project Vision All domains 0-6 yr. Low

impairment

SIPSS/HIPSS Yes Object interaction re- All ages High

lated to cognitive and
social domains

Vineland No Adaptive Behavior All ages Low

(Communication,
Daily Living Skills,
Motor Skills)

42
 Callier-Azusa Scale-G edition University of Texas at Dallas
Callier Center for Communication Disorders
Robert Stillman (Ed.) 1966 Inwood Rd.
www.callier.utdallas.edu Dallas, TX 75235
(214) 905-3060

Summary
The Callier-Azusa-G is a comprehensive developmental scale last updated in 1978. It was designed specifically for use with
children who are deafblind or have other severe and multiple disabilities. The scale was intended for use by classroom
personnel in planning intervention programs and measuring progress. Assessment is based on observation of the child in
classroom activities and assumes that the scale will be completed by one or more persons who have considerable experi-
ence with the child in classroom contexts. The Callier-Azusa G contains numerous examples under each item that describe
how a child who is deafblind might demonstrate the particular skill. These examples were drawn from teacher/therapist
reports and reflect behaviors actually observed among children who are deafblind. However, many of the examples assume
one-to-one interactions and classroom activities prevalent when the instrument was developed, that may not reflect current
practice. The instrument includes subscales on Motor Development, Perceptual Abilities, Daily Living Skills, Cognition-
Communication-Language and Social Development. The Communication sections include both expressive and receptive
language scales. Many items were derived from the van Dijk methodology and emphasize gestures and other nonverbal
communicative means. The scale notes where items may not be appropriate for children having severe vision, hearing, or
physical-motor impairments.
Scoring is completed on a 1-page profile sheet that provides age-equivalency ranges. The presence of age-equivalencies
makes the profile sheet inappropriate for sharing with families. The scale’s instructions suggest that the age-equivalency
column be removed. Age equivalencies have also encouraged some to calculate a developmental age. However, the age
equivalencies should be used only to give users a general idea of scatter across skill areas; any developmental age calcula-
tion across domains would not provide valid or interpretable information.
Strengths
• Designed for children who are deafblind
• Comprehensive at earlier developmental levels
• Numerous examples are helpful for interpreting behaviors and identifying skills
• Small skill increments at earlier developmental levels makes it useful for slowly developing children
Weaknesses
• Many of the examples do not reflect current practice
• Users who are not familiar with the van Dijk approach may not observe some responses in the context of
regular activities

43
 Callier-Azusa Scale-H edition University of Texas at Dallas
Callier Center for Communication Disorders
Robert Stillman (Ed.) 1966 Inwood Rd.
www.callier.utdallas.edu Dallas, TX 75235
(214) 905-3060

Summary
The Callier-Azusa Scale H is designed specifically to assess the communicative abilities of children who are deafblind. The
Callier-Azusa H was last revised in 1985. It provides a highly detailed evaluation of communicative skills in: Representa-
tional and Symbolic Development, Receptive Communication, Intentional Communication, and Reciprocity. In some cases,
items overlap between subscales to demonstrate the interrelatedness of the four domains. Assessment is based on obser-
vation of the child in classroom activities, and the assumption is that the assessment will be completed by one or more
persons who have considerable experience with the child in a variety of contexts.

The selection and sequence of items reflect the dominant developmental theories at the time the scale was created. Under-
standing of the items may be hampered in users unfamiliar with the theories of Piaget, Werner and Kaplan, and Bates, or
the van Dijk intervention approach. The scale is rich in examples taken from observations of children who are deafblind.
However, the contexts described in the examples, especially the emphasis on one-to-one interactions, may no longer be as
prevalent as they were when the scale was developed. The Callier-Azusa H has a considerable number of items at preverbal
developmental levels; this should facilitate using the scale to measure progress, even when progress occurs in very small
steps. The emphasis on movement as the primary indicator of preverbal communication abilities may be less relevant for
children having severe physical-motor impairments.

The communicative profile derived from the Callier-Azusa H was designed to assist educators and therapists who use in-
tervention methodologies such as the van Dijk approach and other social/cognitive-based interventions. While the profiles
derived from the Callier-Azusa H provide an accurate picture of the child’s skills along important developmental dimen-
sions, the profiles may be difficult to translate into activities, particularly in inclusion classroom settings. The presence of
age-equivalencies on the profile sheet makes it inappropriate for sharing with families. However, the scale’s instructions
suggest that the age-equivalency column may be removed.

Strengths
• Highly detailed at lower developmental levels
• Includes numerous examples taken from observations of deafblind children
• Strong theoretical basis in selection of items
• Designed for use with children who are deafblind
Weaknesses
• Examples might not reflect current practices
• Emphasis on movement makes the scale less useful with children with severe physical-motor impairments
• Difficult to translate to intervention for programs not using van Dijk or other one-to-one social-communicative
approaches

44
 Carolina Curriculum Brookes Publishing Company
P.O. Box 10624
Nancy Johnson-Martin, Susan Attermeir Baltimore, MD 21285-0624
and Bonnie Hacker (800) 638-3775
www.brookespublishing.com/store/books

Summary
The Carolina Curriculum for Infants and Toddlers with Special Needs is a comprehensive curriculum that includes a de-
velopmental assessment. The package is designed for use with children functioning in the birth-to-3 years developmental
range. A companion volume, the Carolina Curriculum for Preschoolers with Special Needs (2-5 years), directly overlaps
with the Infants and Toddlers volume, allowing for continuity into the classroom. The materials are primarily designed
and used by early interventionists and are not specifically designed for children who are deafblind. The instrument has
undergone several significant revisions since it was initially published in 1986 and many users may be familiar with older
versions. The current edition was published in 2007.
The assessment portion of the Carolina consists of skills observed in typically developing infants and toddlers, although
many items are quantitative (e.g., “Appropriately uses 15 or more words”) and relevant regardless of the child’s chronologi-
cal age. Five developmental domains are covered (Communication, Cognition, Social, Fine Motor, Gross Motor) under
which 24 (0-3 yr.) and 22 (2-5 yr.) subscales are included. Although some communication subscales retain the familiar
expressive-receptive distinction, there are separate subscales to assess conversational skills, grammatical skills, auditory
attention and memory, and vocal imitation. This allows for addressing each in intervention, but also means that items more
typically grouped together are scattered among a number of subscales. The lack of guidance regarding how to synthesize
the information across subscales could lead to a fragmented communication intervention. Only the Conversation Skills
subscale has more than a few items at the early developmental levels and is probably the most useful of the subscales for
children who are only beginning to communicate. Many items require relatively intact visual and auditory skills, although
each subscale is preceded by a section describing possible modifications for children whose vision, hearing, or motor skills
are impaired. The other subscales jump rather quickly to the assessment of language skills.
The main strength of the Carolina is that it seems well designed for assessments conducted by persons who do not have
much time to spend with the child (e.g., a home visit) and who must provide immediate intervention suggestions. Al-
though it is designed for children whose abilities span the range from mild to severe developmental delays, it seems best
suited for children at the milder end.
Strengths
• Each assessment item is associated with an intervention strategy or activity
• Most useful for children with milder impairments and who are acquiring verbal language skills
• The Infant-Toddler and Preschooler versions overlap, providing assessment and intervention continuity into the class-
room
Weaknesses
• Communication subscales mainly focused on early language acquisition
• Clumsy to use for strictly assessment purposes
• Substantial requirement for hearing and vision needed to achieve many items, despite suggestions for modifications.

45
 Communication Matrix Oregon Health & Science University
Charity Rowland Design to Learn Projects
www.designtolearn.com 707 SW Gaines St.
Online service: free at Portland, OR 97239
www.communicationmatrix.org 888-909-4030

Summary
The Communication Matrix is an instrument designed to assess expressive communication skills in individuals func-
tioning at the earliest stages of development. It accommodates any form of communication, including pre-symbolic and
augmentative or alternative forms. It was most recently updated in 2004. The Communication Matrix is well-suited for
children who are deafblind because the items are either not tied to a specific sensory modality or can be easily used regard-
less of the child’s primary modality of expression. The instrument encompasses critical steps in communicative develop-
ment that would occur during the first 2 years in the typically developing child. The instrument is designed for use by
professionals who directly observe and elicit communicative behaviors from the child and/or gather information through
interviews with parents and teachers. Its brevity, clarity of instructions, and ability to identify critical communication skills
make it more user-friendly than most assessment instruments. The Matrix is available in a succinct format for experienced
professionals and in a lengthier but easier-to-use format for parents (in English and Spanish). A free online version is also
available at www.communicationmatrix.org, also in English and Spanish. This online service automatically generates the
1-page profile and a comprehensive communication skills list.
The assessment items form a matrix of communicative functions and communicative forms useful in understanding the
range of a child’s communicative skills and the means the child possesses to communicate. The assessment focuses on
four basic reasons to communicate: to refuse, to obtain items, to socially interact, and to provide or seek information. It
also asks the user to identify the behaviors and the level of intentionality and conventionality of the child’s expressions.
The communicative behaviors cover the full range one might expect to see, regardless of the type or severity of a child’s
sensory, motor, or cognitive impairments. The difficulty in its use may come from problems in correctly interpreting level
of intentionality. Determining whether a child intends to act or intends to influence another person is not always easy to
establish. Thus, there are always risks of under- or overestimating a child’s abilities. In addition, the focus on expressive
acts could lead users to ignore the receptive aspects of the child’s communicative development in designing and evaluating
the effectiveness of interventions. The scoring sheet is easy to use and the graphic format should be very useful in describ-
ing a child’s present skills and opportunities for progress to parents and classroom staff. The instrument also offers brief
but useful intervention suggestions.
Strengths
• Easily used with children who are deafblind
• Comprehensive at lower developmental levels
• Profile provides an excellent graphic for communicating a child’s strengths and weaknesses to parents and classroom
staff
Weaknesses
• Judgments of intentionality can be difficult
• Assesses only expressive skills

46
 Dimensions of Communication Department of Curriculum & Teaching, Box 31
ATTN: Nancy Sall, Ed.D.
Harvey H. Mar, Ph.D. Teachers College, Columbia University
Nancy Sall, Ed.D 525 W. 120th St.
NY, NY  10027
212-678-8353
[email protected]
[email protected]

Summary
Dimensions of Communication, published in 1999 (and to be updated in 2009), is a comprehensive communication assess-
ment-to-intervention manual “designed to help teachers, educational specialists, speech-language therapists, psychologists,
and other service providers evaluate the communication skills of children, adolescents, and young adults who have multiple
disabilities, including severe or profound mental retardation and deafblindness.” The instrument was intended to serve as
an alternative to traditional speech-language assessments that may not effectively tap the communicative skills of children
who are deafblind. The manual details a multi-step process of collecting assessment information, generating a profile of
the child’s communication skills, and linking the assessment results to intervention goals and activities. The assessment
data are obtained through observation of the child, elicitation of the child’s communicative behaviors, and interviews with
service providers and caregivers.
The instrument is organized according to six communicative dimensions: symbol use, intent, complexity, social action,
vocabulary use, and comprehension. Each of these dimensions is well defined and presented as a hierarchy of skills. Each
skill level includes four or more examples extracted from classroom and community activities to help users determine a
child’s skill. The examples describe activities appropriate for children of different chronological ages, making the instru-
ment useful for older as well as younger children with limited communication abilities. Instructions for using the instru-
ment and creating a profile are clear, but the multi-step process may require more time than some users may be able to
commit. The direct link to intervention is another distinct strength. However, some users may not be willing to study the
detailed instructions and procedures that would enable them to properly use the instrument. Nonetheless, the manual
offers an excellent tutorial for users having limited familiarity with children who are deafblind, guiding them through the
steps of early communication development and aiding them in development of appropriate intervention strategies in the
context of typical classroom and community activities.
Strengths
• Comprehensive evaluation of the essential domains of communication
• Direct link between assessment and intervention
• Manual provides an excellent tutorial on communication acquisition and appropriate intervention activities
Weaknesses
• May require more time and effort than some users may wish to spend due to length and multi-step nature of the
assessment process

47
 Hawaii Early Learning Profile (HELP) VORT Corporation
Strands and Checklists PO. Box 60132
Palo Alto, CA 94306
Stephanie Parks, Setsu Furuno 888-757-8678
www.vort.com

Summary
The Hawaii Early Learning Profile (HELP) provides comprehensive developmentally-based assessments in Birth-3 year
and 3-6 year (Preschooler) versions. Two versions are available. The HELP Strands include over 600 items organized into
developmentally sequenced strands of interrelated concepts. The HELP Checklists group the same items according to age
level and are designed for easy recording and progress monitoring. The HELP Strands and Checklists provide the assess-
ment component for a variety of curricula prepared by HELP. Each item links to intervention suggestions in the various
separately published curricula.
Both versions of the HELP evaluate six developmental domains. There are ten subscales under the language area. The large
number of subscales means that an unusually large number of items related to communication are included. But, there are
relatively few items addressing early developmental levels, which make the HELP assessments less useful for children at the
early stages of communicating. Most items also require relatively intact visual and auditory abilities and there are no spe-
cific instructions on modifying items to make them useful for children with sensory impairment. In the Language section,
there is a distinction between subscales which evaluate communicative behavior (e.g., use of particular forms and func-
tions) and those that evaluate the social aspects of communication (e.g., the Communicating with Others subscale.) One of
the advantages of the HELP assessments is that they are more comprehensive at the early language levels for children who
are in the process of acquiring language skills. The Cognitive area includes 16 subscales and covers some basic awareness
and sensory/motor skills. Nonetheless, substantial accommodation would be required to make the instrument valuable for
the assessment of many young children who are deafblind.
Strengths
• Large number of items in the domain of communication/language and in cognition
• Each assessment item is linked to curricula published by HELP
Weaknesses
• Few items relevant to children at the early stages of communicating
• Most items would be inappropriate or would require significant modification to use with children who are deafblind

48
 Home Talk (English and Spanish)
Various authors (OSEP Project)

Free download available from:

http://www.nationaldb.org/ISSelectedTopics.php?topicCatID=42
or : http://www.ohsu.edu/oidd/D2L/our_pro/hometalk.html

Summary
Home Talk is primarily an instrument to assist families with organizing and documenting their knowledge and observa-
tions of their children. Home Talk was developed as a joint project by parents of children who are deafblind and clinicians
and researchers who work with them. It may help families to effectively communicate and participate with professionals in
the development of their children’s educational program. It was designed specifically for use with children who are deaf-
blind. In the first section, families describe the child’s basic health and developmental status; in the second, they describe
the child’s individual interests, preferences, and personal characteristics; and in the third, the child’s competencies in the
social and cognitive domains. The fourth section is a “parent-professional worksheet”, a mechanism for joint consideration
of educational goals by family members and professionals.
In the first two sections, users complete a checklist or write in descriptive information. In the third section, users describe
the child’s skills using a numeric rating system to describe the child’s functioning in terms of People Skills (17 items),
Solving Everyday Problems (20 items), Exploring the Environment (21 items) and Discovery & Learning (13 items). These
ratings are intended to provide only a broad sample of development in these areas. The fourth section is designed for
collaborative family/service provider planning of educational goals. The first three sections include jargon-free and
culturally-neutral language and examples. Families who complete the first three sections of Home Talk could offer service
providers extremely valuable information that would otherwise require a complete case history and probably an in-depth
interview. It also gives the family the “authority” of a written document to compare and contrast with assessment infor-
mation collected by service providers. The fourth part is designed for parents and professionals to complete jointly as an
exercise for developing educational goals based on the information that parents have provided in the earlier sections. In this
section, the terminology and objectives are similar in language to the educational objectives typically included on IFSPs
and IEPs. Home Talk can be an important piece of a comprehensive assessment, but would not be sufficient to serve as an
assessment without additional measures of the child’s performance.
Strengths
• Provides family perspective on a child’s abilities and characteristics
• Allows families to more effectively participate in educational planning
• Mostly jargon-free and culturally neutral
Weaknesses
• Offers only the family’s perspective
• With few items, Home Talk doesn’t offer sufficiently detailed evaluation of communicative skills for planning or mea-
suring progress

49
 INSITE Developmental Checklist HOPE, Inc.
Elizabeth Morgan & Sue Watkins 1856 North 1200 East
North Logan, UT 84341
http://hopepubl.com 435-245-2888

Summary
The INSITE is a comprehensive developmental scale published in 1989 that covers gross motor, fine motor, self-help,
cognition, social, emotional, communication, vision, auditory, and tactile development. It is available in 0-2 year and 0-6
year versions. It is designed for joint service provider-parent assessments in the home for the purpose of planning home-
based interventions. However, it would also seem applicable for classroom use. Administration is based primarily on
observation and generally requires extensive knowledge of the child, best provided by a parent or an educator with extend-
ed contact with the child. The Communication section addresses expressive and receptive communication and includes
numerous items at the earlier developmental levels. Because the instrument was developed for children with motor and
sensory impairments, the items do not need to be adapted and users will readily be able to match behaviors they observe
with items on the instrument.
The INSITE is probably most useful for establishing an inventory of the child’s skills from which objectives and activities
may be planned. Each developmental level, indicated by an age-equivalency range, contains from 3-5 items drawn from
the typical development literature. By identifying the skills the child does and does not demonstrate, service providers and
parents can easily determine strengths and weakness that could be targeted in an intervention plan. In addition, the instru-
ment may be used to measure progress by noting changes in the child’s inventory of skills over time. The scoring system,
however, might exaggerate the number of splinter skills. Items at each developmental level are numerous and diverse.
Some require specific motor and sensory abilities, while others may not be present in the chronologically older child. Thus,
achieving a basal level as described in the instructions could be problematic.
Although the INSITE is designed for use in intervention planning, the path from assessment to intervention is not clear.
The manual suggests several sources to reference in intervention planning and, in fact, provides links to specific activities
in these curricula. However, it would be difficult for an inexperienced service provider to analyze and prioritize the detailed
data in order to choose appropriate targets. The density of developmental items, although a strength, could overwhelm
inexperienced users. Finally, the small print size makes the instrument appear more daunting and unfriendly than it
actually is.
Strengths
• Developed for children with multiple disabilities and sensory impairments
• Provides numerous items at earlier developmental levels
• Provides a comprehensive profile of skills and gaps
Weaknesses
• Large number of items at each level makes it difficult to determine which strengths and weakness need to be targeted
in intervention
• Identifying a basal score is likely to be problematic
• Print is very small and difficult to read

50
 Infused Skills Assessment Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired
(in Communication: A Guide for Teaching Business Office
Students with Visual and Multiple Impairments) 1100 West 45th St.
Linda Hagood Austin, TX 78756
www.tsbvi.edu/publications 512-206-9427

Summary
The Infused Skills Assessment was published in 1997 as part of the larger Communication: A Guide for Teaching Students
with Visual and Multiple Impairments (a revised version is in preparation). The assessment was designed for use with
children who are deafblind and, more generally, with children having severe cognitive impairments. It covers five areas:
Social Communicative Interactions, Emotional Development, Senses/Motor Skills, Basic Concepts, and Representation/
Cognition. The accompanying manual provides a thorough description of the acquisition of communication and cognitive
skills and of issues in assessment, especially as they relate to children with visual impairments and limited communication
skills. It also provides a comprehensive review of intervention approaches. A significant strength of the manual is that it
includes clear definitions of the terminology used in the assessment as well as reference lists for users seeking more infor-
mation on specific topics. However, the length of the manual may discourage thorough reading.
The assessment is integrated with intervention (“diagnostic teaching”) and includes multiple steps from basic data gather-
ing to scripted scenarios designed to elicit particular behaviors. The sheer complexity of the process, however, is likely to
discourage some users. Furthermore, there are relatively few items at earlier developmental levels. Scoring, too, is complex,
yielding good documentation but requiring substantial effort. Previously scored examples are provided to assist users.
The instrument is designed to provide measures of progress through color coding and there is space available for user
comments, which can provide a supplementary view of skill acquisition.
Strengths
• Comprehensive manual describing early communication skills
• Items are based on the research literature
• Terminology used in the assessment is defined in the manual
• Contains scripted scenarios for eliciting particular communicative behaviors
• Integrated with intervention
• Addresses cognitive development
Weaknesses
• Complex procedure for documenting skills
• Lacks assessment items for pre-intentional levels of communication

51
 The Oregon Project for Preschool Children Southern Oregon Education Service District
Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired 101 North Grape St.
Medford, OR 97501
Sharon Anderson, Sue Boigon, Kristine Davis 541-245-5196
and Cheri deWaard
http://www.soesd.k12.or.us/
(click on OR project)

Summary
The Oregon Project Inventory is a comprehensive developmental scale initially published in 1978 and supplemented in
1991. The 2007 version (6th Ed.) incorporates an additional 200 items. The assessment covers the following domains:
cognitive, language, compensatory, vision, self-help, social, fine motor and gross motor. The instrument was designed
specifically for use with children who are visually impaired or blind. The Oregon Project Inventory is designed for collab-
orative service provider/parent assessments with parents identifying particular skills and behaviors they have observed.
The Language Skills subscale contains relatively few items in the preverbal and early verbal stages. The items are develop-
mentally ordered within each stage, but expressive and receptive skills are mixed. The Cognitive subscale contains a number
of sensory/motor and awareness items at the birth-one year level. The items are described in jargon-free language, which
should make its use by non-professionals easier. Because the instrument is designed for children who are visually im-
paired or blind, the items are weighted toward abilities in the vocal/auditory modalities. Use of the instrument in assessing
children with more than moderate hearing loss would require adaptations and many of the items in the Birth-to-1 section
would be inappropriate.
Scoring is based on the percentage of items attained within each 1-year age range. This system avoids the need to attain a
basal level, thus minimizing the appearance of splinter skills and the subsequent confusion in selecting appropriate inter-
vention objectives. It also provides a quantitative measure of change over time. However, the lack of clear sequences within
and across each 1-year range makes it hard to use the results to plan intervention. Particularly at the Birth-to-1 stage, many
of the items describe spontaneous vocal play, which would be difficult to target in an intervention. Nonetheless, the instru-
ment does provide a thorough profile of skills, especially those related to the acquisition of speech and comprehension in
the auditory modality.
Strengths
• Items take into account visual impairment
• Jargon-free language
• Provides a quantitative, criterion-referenced measure of progress
Weaknesses
• Results not easily translated into intervention goals
• Not appropriate for children with more than a moderate hearing loss

52
 School Inventory of Problem Solving Skills Oregon Health & Science University
Home Inventory of Problem Solving Skills Design to Learn Projects
707 SW Gaines St.
Charity Rowland & Philip Schweigert Portland, OR 97239
www.ohsu.edu/oidd/D2L/cog_dev/pss/pss.html 888-909-4030

Summary
The School Inventory of Problem Solving Skills (SIPSS) is an observational instrument designed to assess cognitive skills
related to object use in children who are deafblind or have severe and multiple disabilities. The SIPSS was most recently
revised in 2002. It assesses the acquisition of sensory-motor skills related to objects and is not a measure of overall cogni-
tive status. Rather than creating a scale of sensory-motor skills, the SIPSS reframes sensory-motor development in terms
of problem-solving circumstances a child would encounter and might be expected to master in the classroom. This makes
the SIPSS useful with chronologically older children for whom the typical infant-toddler sensory-motor assessment would
not be appropriate.
The SIPSS is divided into three sections: Basic Skills with Objects, Ways to Gain Access to Objects, and Ways to Use Objects.
Each of these three sections contains 9-13 items and a variety of appropriate examples. Items represent generic skills
(e.g., Holds two objects, Opens simple containers, Matches to perceptual features). Each item is scored according to 4 score
options. Of particular value is the category “Mastered with Limitations”. This allows credit to be given to the child who,
“Clearly understands what needs to be done, but physical limitations prevent the child from doing this independently.” The
SIPSS also cautions that the behaviors assessed need to be intentional to avoid crediting purely motor or perseverative ac-
tions.
The SIPSS is probably best used to determine the types of activities that would be appropriate for a child based on the
child’s object interaction skills and to inventory the environment to assure the child has opportunities to demonstrate those
skills. Although it is indicated that the SIPSS may be used to target new skills, many of the skills described are difficult to
teach because they depend on the child’s ingenuity and motivation. A home version of the SIPSS (the HIPSS) is available
and includes examples describing situations typically encountered in the home. It should be relatively easy for families to
complete and to collaborate with service providers in interpreting the results. A Spanish language version of the HIPPS also
is available.
Strengths
• Assesses sensory-motor skills in an age-appropriate way
• Clearly written with numerous classroom or home-based examples
• Allows credit for children whose motor/physical impairments interfere with their ability to demonstrate certain skills
• Available home version provides opportunity for parent input
Weaknesses
• Some examples within items seem to require different levels or types of cognitive skills

53
 Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales Pearson
P.O. Box 1416
Sarah S. Sparrow, David A. Balla Minneapolis, MN 55440
& Domenic V. Cicchetti 800-627-7271
www.pearsonschool.com

Summary
The Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales is a standardized, comprehensive instrument designed to assess age-related,
adaptive behaviors in individuals from 0-90 years. The latest edition is the Vineland II, published in 2006. The Vineland
was designed to serve multiple purposes including differential diagnosis, program and treatment planning, and measuring
progress. The manual contains extensive statistical data and states that accurate administration as well as interpretation
requires a graduate degree in psychology or a related field. The Vineland Survey Form versions can be given to parents in
questionnaire form or through parent interview by a professional (the preferred mode). The interview, if administered by
a skilled interviewer, would likely gather rich information beyond the 4-category ratings available in the parent question-
naire. Items in the teacher rating version of the Vineland start at age three and are not appropriate for younger children or
children at earlier developmental levels.
The Vineland addresses the domains of Communication, Daily Living Skills, Socialization and Motor Skills. Even the parent
form of the Vineland has few preverbal items in the Communication Domain, and most require relatively intact auditory
and/or visual abilities. It does, however, offer extensive and relatively fine-grained assessment of language and literacy
skills for children who are acquiring language. Assessment of cognitive abilities are incorporated under Daily Living Skills,
but are focused primarily on adaptive behaviors rather than educational performance.
One stated purpose of the Vineland is to provide information applicable to intervention and treatment planning, but the
translation would not be straightforward because the items describe specific skills rather than general ability categories.
In addition, the assessment focuses on performance, not skills. That means that that the user would need to determine
whether they were targeting the child’s motivation in a situation or the child’s acquisition of knowledge or skill. Scoring is
complex, but provides a profile of strengths and weakness that might be of value in communicating results to families and
in measuring progress.
Strengths
• Standardized test with substantial data across populations of children having developmental disabilities underpinning
the norms
• Focus on adaptive behaviors rather than on developmental skills may fit the goals of some programs
Weaknesses
• Few items at the earlier developmental levels
• Difficult to adapt for children with vision and hearing impairments
• Complicated to administer and score, requires specialized training and experience
• No clear translation into educational planning

54
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56
Assessing Communication and Learning
in Young Children Who are Deafblind
or Who Have Multiple Disabilities

Oregon Institute on Disability & Development

Design to Learn Projects
Toll free 1-888-909-4030

Visit our web site

www.designtolearn.com
for additional practical information and materials.