Assessing Students with Intellectual Disabilities

How to conduct meaningful assessments for students with intellectual disabilities and understand their unique cognitive profile.

Comprehensive psycho-educational assessments are the cornerstone of any well-developed individualized education program (IEP) and are essential for program planning. However, conducting assessments for students with significant needs and intellectual disabilities (ID) that are legally defensible and meaningful can be especially challenging. Often, students with significant needs have difficulty participating in formal assessment measures and may even be deemed "untestable". This training will include strategies for how to gain relevant and meaningful information through a combination of formal and informal measures and the use of dynamic assessment. This training will also dive deeper into the eligibility criteria for ID, common syndromes associated with ID, and their unique cognitive profiles.

Participants Will

  • Discuss the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) and special education eligibility criteria for Intellectual Disability
  • Learn how to conduct legally defensible assessments for students with ID that yields useful, meaningful information for goal writing and program planning
  • Discuss formal and informal assessment measures to help providers develop a well-rounded assessment battery
  • Learn strategies for dynamic assessment
  • Learn how to explain ID and the implications to parents

Intended Audience

  • School Psychologists
  • Speech Language Pathologists
  • Special Education Teachers

Dates

  • Part 1 - Thursday, 10/6 from 3:00 - 4:30pm
  • Part 2 - Tuesday, 10/11 from 3:00 - 4:30pm

Registration Link

Register for this training External link opens in new window or tab.
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

About the Trainer

Natalie Corona is a bilingual school psychologist with the Diagnostic Center of Northern California. She has a Master's degree in Educational Psychology with a focus on Clinical and Child School Psychology from California State University East Bay. She has worked in special education for over a decade as an instructional assistant, school psychologist, and administrator. She has expertise working with all age levels (preschool-transition) and ability levels. Her interests and areas of passion include executive functioning, working with students with significant needs, and helping early career teachers and school psychologists develop their skills.