Intellectual
Disabilities
Nicole Secrist
What it means in general to have
an intellectual disability
• According to the DPI, an intellectual disability means
significant limitations both in intellectual functioning and in
adaptive behavior as expressed in conceptual, social, and
practical adaptive skills and manifested during the
developmental period that adversely affects the child’s
educational performance.
• Cognitive disabilities include; fetal alcohol syndrome, down
syndrome, fragile x syndrome, autism, and more.
What DPI uses to determine
qualification
• There is a document (eligibility checklist intellectual disability
ELG-ID-001) that the DPI uses to determine if the student has
an intellectual disability and is eligible for services. This
document directly references Wisconsin state laws.
• There are three sections that are used to determine if a
student has an intellectual disability. Each section must be
checked “yes” in order for the student to be determined
eligible.
What DPI uses to determine
qualification
• Section one is the intellectual functioning
section. This section asks if the student scored
two or more standard deviations below the
mean on an individually administered
intelligence test. The data used to support
determination must be included in this post.
What DPI uses to determine
qualification
• Section two is the adaptive functioning section. This
section asks if the student has limitations in adaptive
behavior as demonstrated by a standard score of two or
more standard deviations below the mean in either
conceptual skills, social adaptive skills, practical adaptive
skills, or all. Data used to make the decision must be
included.
What DPI uses to determine
qualification
• Section three is the educational performance section.
This section is broken into two different subsections
determined by age. One of the subsections is for
students aged 3-5 and the other is for students aged 621. For a student to qualify in the ages 3-5 subsection
they must score two or more standard deviations
below the mean in language development and
communication and cognition and general knowledge.
In the ages 6-21 subsection the student must score
two or more stand deviations below the mean in
written language, reading, and mathematics. Data
must be included in all sections.
How does an intellectual disability
generally impact elementary
students?
Like any disability, an intellectual disability can be very stressful
to an elementary aged student, both physically and socially.
No matter how high or low functioning the student is, having
an intellectual disability can really effect the student
emotionally. The student will often feel different as they are
constantly seeing different teachers and going to different
classrooms. This may make the student feel “dumb” or
“different.”
How does an intellectual
disability generally impact
elementary students?
Aside from the emotional aspect, the student also has
physical and mental impacts. These conditions could be
problems with learning and understanding, problems
socializing, problems communicating, problems adapting,
and problems functioning adequately.
What do typical goals look like
based on the impact?
Typically goals are tailored to meet the specific needs
that the student has based on their disability. For
example, if a student has great social adaptive needs, a
goal could be written to address those needs.
What do typical goals look like
based on the impact?
Based on the social adaptive needs, the i-4 will list
something like this: Dennis is demonstrating five
appropriate social skills each school day (manners
and greeting others). Taking turns and showing
concern for others is of great concern. There is a
lack of participation in many classes (music, PE,
art). He will attend to teacher but will not
participate in discussion. Dennis does not respond
well to unexpected change in routine at all.
What do typical goals look like
based on the impact?
A typical goal for a
student with social
adaptive needs will look
like: Dennis will
participate in 3 out of
every 5 opportunities for
classroom discussion and
activities in art, music,
and gym.
What do typical services look like
based on the goals?
Like the goals, the services are written very specific to
the students needs. A lot of items are taken into
consideration when planning services, such as need,
availability, location, teacher, and time.
What do typical services look
like based on the goals?
Services can range greatly, some services that are
pretty typical of a student with intellectual
disabilities are; specialized instruction, social skills
instruction, speech, OT, PT, testing modifications,
and use of outside sources like autism consultants,
just to list a few.
What do typical services look
like based on the goals?
Services are written like this:
Specialized Math Instruction - Special Ed. Teacher - 30
minutes 5X/week – Resource Room - Length of IEP
What specific strategies are
typically helpful in both regular
and special education settings?
• Know your students
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Know their likes and dislikes
Know their interests
Know their triggers
Know their needs
• Be understanding
• Understand their needs
• Understand how they work
best
• Understand what they are
dealing with
• Don’t give up
• Keep trying
• Don’t drop your
expectations
What specific strategies are
typically helpful in both regular
and special education settings?
• Don’t be overbearing
• Know what the student can
handle
• Use language that the student
can understand
• Use pictures whenever
possible
• Group students tactfully
• Know what accommodations
to use and when
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Sensory
Movement breaks
Organization checks
Extra time
Positive Reinforcement