Group 10

FUNCTIONAL PHASES OF THE

MULTIDISCIPLINARY
ASSESSMENT TEAM,
CLASSROOM ASSESSMENT
AND CHILDREN WITH
DISABILITIES, AND COMMON
AREAS TO ASSESS FOR
STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL
NEEDS
 Functional Phases of the
Multidisciplinary Assessment
Team
What is Multidisciplinary Team?
 Isresponsible for the assessment of children
with special needs.

A Mulidisciplinary team approach,including the

integration of values,perspective, and ideas gives
an accurate decision-making process in identifying
the academic,social,and vocational needs of the
child to develop an individualized educational
program that will meet the needs of the student
with disability.The team functions to support
students in the Special Education and related
services.Members would share responsibility and
have to maintain an open communication in the
form of collaboration.
In assessing a child with special needs,
the major functions of the team are:
1. To determine if the student has a disability and
would require special Education services;
2. To plan and evaluate educational experiences of
students who have been diagnosed to be in need of
Special Education services; and
3. To develop an action plan that would meet the
needs of the child with disability bin terms of
education ,social,and vocation, in the inclusion
process which indicates that the child with
disability will not placed in special Needs to
develop and individualized educational program
to address the needs.
The Basic Multidisciplinary Team Activities
includes:
• Evaluating student who are experiencing difficulty in the regular class
upon referral or student who are in need of Special Education upon
entering the educational system;
• Developing strategies that may used as intervention in the regular class
for those students who will benefit most from regular education while
providing modifications to suit their needs;
• Initiating the process of assessment for students who are suspected to
have disability;
• Reviewing existing information and student assessment data that will be
used as the bases for developing an individualized educational
programs for the students;
• Deciding on the appropriate placement for the student, educationally,
socially, and vocationally; and
• Acting as a support system for educators who will be serving students
with disabilities.
 Members of the
Multidisciplinary Team
1. Administrators

Whether it is the administrators, principal,

or assistant principal, each one is an essential
member of the team. The administrators
should have the know-how of specific
resources and the expertise within the school.
Furthermore, administrators are qualified to
supervise the programs and can commit
necessary resources.
Specific responsibilities of administrators
in the assessment process are:
• Conducting administrative arrangement for team meetings. This includes
scheduling the date, time, and place of meetings;
• Organizing an agenda for the meeting with the assessment team;
• Identifying experts and appropriate personnel and inviting them to the
meeting;
• Inviting the parents of both the child with special needs and regular
students assessment to the meeting;
• Acting as the chair during the meetings or appointing qualified personnel;
• Ensuring that each person has the knowledge on what action the team
recommends, the person responsible for implementation, and the
resources needed to support implementation effectively;
• Ensuring administrative supports of the team to all members of the school
community;
• Promoting resources to secure the needed technical assistance;
• Identifying the needed topics for in-service and developmental training.
2. Regular Education Teachers

The Regular Education teacher and the special

Education teacher should have equal responsibility
to all children in the classroom, whether the child is
regular or diagnosed under certain condition. The
Regular Education teachers role concerns the
presentation of subject matter in the classroom
and is primarily in a charge of instruction in the
classroom.
In assessing children with special needs, it is the
general role of the Regular Education teacher to
accomplish the following:
1. Maintain appropriate communication between the schools
and home. The teacher should keep parents informed about
their child’s educational achievement, grades, and
educational programs;
2. Help develop, review, and revise the Individualized
Educational Program (IEP) of the child;
3. Determine appropriate behavioral interventions and
strategies considered positive for the students;
4. Assess determined supplementary aids and services and
program modifications for the students; and
5. Identify supports that school personnel need to help the
student progress in the general curriculum.
3. Special Education Teachers

The Regular Education teacher and the

special Education teacher should have
equal responsibility to all children in the
classroom, whether the child is regular or
diagnosed under certain condition. The
Regular Education teachers role concerns
the presentation of subject matter in the
classroom and is primarily in a charge of
instruction in the classroom.
To be effective, the roles of the Special
Education teacher in schools include the
following:
a. Provides assessment and instructional planning for the student with
disability;
b. Conducts tutorial instruction and remedial classes among students with
sub-par performance;
c. Provides consultation to the Regular Class teacher as part of team
teaching;
d. Participates as a members in the school’s assessment and eligibility
committee;
e. Examines ways of integrating students in Special Education to all aspects
of the school’s program which includes extracurricular activities; and
f. Offers suggestions for modifying instruction, consults with the regular
Education teacher, and identifies resources, alternative learning materials,
and assistive devices that will be of benefit to the child with disability (as part
of the multidisciplinary).
Both the Special Education teachers can
help parents in the following ways:
a. Learn useful information about the student from the
parents;
b. Explain the process and terms of the disability and the IEP;
c. Help the parents during IEP process, ensuring that their
ideas, concerns, and views are adequately expressed and
heard;
d. Furnish parents with narrative reports and suggestions on
how to effectively work with their child at home;
e. Help the student and the parents in planning the students’
future after leaving the school; and
f. Advocate through representation of interest, preferences,
and rights of the student or parents.
4. Students

Students are encouraged to be active

participants in their own IEP process.
Priority is set in teaching self-
determination skills and how to set their
own life gals and objectives.
5. School Psychologist
The school psychologist may assume the following responsibilities:

a. Complete thorough assessment to determine if the child is suited

for special programs and services
b. Provide interpretation and analysis of assessment data for parents
and other team members;
c. Participate in the identification of curricula modification and
instructional intervention which are deemed appropriate to the
identified needs of the pupils; and
d. Conduct follow-up observations to establish the success of
modifications and interventions.
6. Related Service Personnel
Related Support people will assist the Regular Education and Special
Education teachers include:

a. Speech/Language Therapists

The speech/language therapist plays a critical role in assessing ,and

treating patients who have speech, language, and communication
disorders.

b. Occupational Therapists

After physical assessment, an occupational therapist assists a child

with disability in developing and regaining skills important to functions
independently and develop health and well being. The occupational
therapist aims to improve or maintain the ability of the child.
c. Physical Therapists

A physical therapist assesses each individual and devices a plan

using different treatment techniques to promote the ability to
move, reduce pain, restore functions, and prevent further disability.

d. Vision Specialists

A vision specialist or usually termed as teacher of the visually

impaired, is a teacher who hold a special credential. A vision
specialist is trained to work with visually impaired students from
preschool through latter grades.
e. Dieticians

After the result of assessment, a dietician plans nutrition

programs and food programs for the child with disability. He helps
prevent other diseases and obesity problems because they educate
their clients about the role of food in their diet. He usually promotes
healthy diet through education and education programs.

f. Guidance Counselors

The main role of a guidance counselor is to aid clients with their

adjustment to some circumstances in their life, utilizing counselling
techniques in personal, educational, and vocational counselling.
Classroom Assessment and
Children with Disabilities
Classroom Assessment and Children with
Disabilities
Classroom Assessment is a systematic approach to
formative evaluation, used by instructors to determine
how much and how well students are learning. Classroom
assessment and other informal assessment tools provide
key information during the semester regarding teaching
and learning so that changes can be made as necessary.
“The central purpose of Classroom Assessment is to
empower both teachers and their students to improve
the quality of learning in the classroom” through an
approach that is “learner-centered, teacher-directed,
mutually beneficial, formative, context-specific, and firmly
rooted in good practice.”
 An ecological assessment is a comprehensive
process in which data is collected about how a child
functions in different environments or settings.
Sometimes, students eligible for special education
perform or behave well in some environments but have
difficulty in others.
An ecological assessment can help determine
why the child functions differently in different settings.
Maybe he or she misbehaves when the environment is
too stimulating, or maybe the expectations of the
authority figure are drastically different from one
environment to the next.
1. The Ecological Model for
Assessment
A Model of Ecological Assessment
A model of ecological assessment should take into account
several factors related to the student and the environments in
which the student operates. According to Carroll (1974) an
ecological model consists of six steps: 1) delineation of the
assessment goals (i.e., identify the data to be collected and how
they will be used); 2) formation of a conceptual framework within
which to assess the learner and the environment (i.e., identify the
relative importance of learner and environmental factors); 3)
implementation of the assessment plan (i.e., conduct direct
observations, inspect work samples or products); 4) evaluation of
assessment results; 5) development of a set of hypotheses (i.e.,
relationships between student behavior and identified learner
characteristics and environmental factors); and 6) development of
a learning plan (i.e., an intervention strategy designed to match
learner characteristics with appropriate environmental settings).
 Wallace and Larsen (1978) cautioned that while any
ecological assessment model maybe useful for
conceptualizing the process, teacher and other field-based
personnel must recognize that specific techniques must be
developed to collect reliable and valid assessment data for
both environmentally based and student-based factors. In an
ecological assessment a great deal of information is gathered
about the person and the various environments in which that
person lives and works. Among the many factors that can
affect a person’s behavior are physiological conditions,
physical aspects of the environment (e.g., lighting, seating
arrangements, noise level), interactions with others, home
environment, and past reinforcement history. Each of these
factors represents a potential area for assessment.
 Ecological Assessment should be based on various sources of
information such as student records, interviews, formal and informal
tests, and direct observation, and include an examination of specific
influences within a setting such as:
• Spatial Density
• Seating Arrangement
• Noise
• Student-Student Interaction
• Classroom Lighting
• Teacher-Student Interaction
• Home Environment
• Reinforcement History
Ecological Assessments have both a setting focus and a student
focus. Ecological Assessments study the nature of all behaviors required
to be reinforced in a particular setting and the specific circumstances
under which those behaviors must occur. It then compares these
requirements to the abilities and experiences of the student.
 Common Areas to Assess for
Individuals with Special Needs
 Assessing students with learning disabilities can be
challenging. Some students, such as those with ADHD and
autism, struggle with testing situations and cannot remain
at a task long enough to complete such assessments. But
assessments are important; they provide the child with an
opportunity to demonstrate knowledge, skill, and
understanding. For most learners with exceptionalities, a
paper-and-pencil task should be at the bottom of the list
of assessment strategies. So, here are some alternate
suggestions that support and enhance the assessment of
learning students with special needs in three areas.
1. Fitness
General Guidelines for Successful Skill and
Fitness Testing
1. Motivation can be a problem for many students with
disabilities because they lack the intrinsic
understanding and concept of giving “100%” effort.
Physical educators may need to find extra motivating
factors for students to perform at their potential. For
example, in the long jump teachers could have
students with disabilities reach out and jump to a
friend, jump out for a favorite toy, or jump over a
colored rope. Students could also reach for a ball or
toy during sit-ups and Sit & Reach tests or listen to
their favorite music on a treadmill test for motivation.
2. For attention deficit issues, more verbal and
physical cues may be needed, shorter periods of on-
task time, and/or more frequent task changes.

3. Those students who use a wheelchair may benefit

from the following suggestions:

Over heating should be closely monitored during

vigorous activity. Good air-conditioning, wet towels
or a mister, and having activities intermittently with
shorter periods of exertion can help keep the body
“cool" and lastly, straps may be applied to improve
stability of upper body, legs, and arms.
4. When obtaining weight measurements, the educator could
hold the student and weight both together, then subtract the
weight of the carrier.

5. When measuring height, consider having students with

disabilities lay down on a mat instead of standing.

6. Give students with disabilities more attempts so they can

understand/learn the task.
7. Pictures of skills being performed may be
needed along with demonstrations, physical
shaping, sign-language, jesters, or
computerized communication devices.

8. Use of visual and physical cues for

starting/stopping may be needed.
9. Several practice sessions should be scheduled prior to the
actual test day and use a peer to help with:
• skills demonstration
• Pacing
• guide tether
• Encouragement
• Counting
• Timing
• stability

10. Students with respiratory conditions may need testing

indoors with a longer warm-up and they should take
medication 30 min prior to activity and be properly hydrated.
Assessments Used for Students with
Disabilities in terms of Fitness Skills
1. Physical Best: for individuals with disabilities: A handbook
for inclusion in fitness programs
2. Physical Best: A physical fitness education & assessment
program
3. The Brockport physical fitness test
4. Special Olympics lead up skills
5. Project Active: Physical fitness test battery
6. Project Mobility Fitness
7. Project Unique: Physical fitness test for the disabled
8. Block perceptual-fitness development checklist
9. Block perceptual-fitness screening for individuals with
multiple handicaps
2. Motor Ability
Six Sub-areas of Motor Ability

Fine Motor Coordination — ability to control fine

muscle movements, as in writing, drawing, and
cutting.

• Wechsler: Coding, Mazes

• Stanford-Binet: FE – Copying
• Bender-Gestalt
• Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration
(VMI)
• Slingerland: Tests 1, 2, 5, 6
• Observations of writing, drawing, and cutting
 Fine Motor Coordination – Speech — ability to
coordinate articulatory movement patterns for
speech.
• Speech Exam
• Slingerland: Echolalia

Tactile-Kinesthetic Discrimination — ability to

identify and interpret information gained through
touch and movement.
• Task: Examiner moves child’s fingers to form letters
or numbers with eyes closed; child identifies
 Kinesthetic Memory — ability to remember
information gained through movement.
• Task: Examiner teaches a new word through
repeated writing; child reproduces letter
• Observations of motor patterns in writing

Gross Motor Coordination — ability to coordinate

large muscle movements as in running, walking,
skipping, and throwing.
• Bruininks – Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency
• Observation of gross motor activities
 Modality Integration — ability to transfer
information from one sensory modality to another.
Ability to coordinate two or three modalities in the
production of outgoing responses.

• Slingerland
• Halstead – Reitan and Reitan – Indiana
Neuropsychological Test Batteries
• WJ-R, Cognitive: Visual – Auditory Learning
• Comparisons of performance on academic tasks
such as reading, copying, and dictated spelling
3. Social/Behavioral Skills
Social/Behavioral Skills
Social and behavior skills are essential for lifelong
success, but children with special needs often struggle with
these skills. For example, some kids with special needs have
difficulty greeting others properly, a skill deficit that could
later translate into occupational challenges. Other children
have trouble interpreting and using facial expressions and
gestures, which interferes with communication. The first step
in addressing social and behavioral deficits is to identify them.
It’s critical for parents and educators to collaborate to assess
the child’s current level of functioning and determine areas
that could use some extra help. For best results, corrective
strategies should remain consistent from the school to the
home.
Developmental Milestones
Developmental milestones help determine whether a
child is developing at a rate that is on target for his or her
peer group. This comparison assists parents and educators in
assessing whether the child is struggling in certain areas. For
example, by about four months, most children begin to
mimic the facial expressions of others, and by a year old
most play simple games such as peek-a-boo and pat-a-cake.
However, it’s important to remember that every child
develops differently, and that failure to reach a milestone
doesn’t necessarily indicate that he or she will experience
long-term behavioral or social challenges.
Social Skill Deficit Identification
It can also be helpful to identify specific types of social
skill deficits. The child might not understand that he is
behaving improperly, for example; this is called an acquisition
deficit, and it stems from a lack of knowledge. A child with a
performance deficit understands a particular social skill, but
fails to implement it consistently, while a child with a fluency
deficit needs practice or coaching to use a skill effectively.
Additionally, parents and educators must identify the types of
social skills with which the child struggles, such as
interpersonal skills (i.e. taking turns), problem-solving skills
(i.e. making decisions or asking for help) or conflict resolution
skills (i.e. coping with peer pressure or losing a game).
Implementing Corrective Strategies
When potential social skill deficits
and developmental delays have been identified,
implementing corrective strategies as soon as possible
will accelerate the child’s progress. Parents and
educators should discuss the issues at hand; the parents
can then decide whether to enlist the help of additional
professionals. Corrective strategies should be consistent
in all environments so that the child does not become
confused about expectations. Regular communication
between parents and educators regarding the child’s
progress is helpful to everyone involved.
Establishing Routines
Children with special needs often benefit from regular routines; for
instance, children with autism often do not cope well with change. Parents
and educators can work together to adjust the child to specific routines, such
as:

• Johnny will hang up his coat and put his lunch in his designated cubby as
soon as he arrives at school.

• Johnny will sit at his desk as soon as the teacher says that it’s time for class.

• Johnny will show his mom his schoolwork upon arriving home.

These routines can be tailored to each child’s particular behavior problem.

Johnny’s routine of putting his belongings away promptly may curtail morning
horseplay, for example.
Establishing a Behavior Contract
Older kids with behavioral deficits may be
motivated by a behavior contract. This is an informal
contract developed by the parents, the educators and
the child. The contract should detail expectations of
behavior, the types of behaviors that are not
acceptable and a system of rewards and
consequences. The age at which a child will respond
well to a behavior contract depends on his or
her level of understanding.
Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)

Applied behavior analysis (ABA) is a time-tested

technique for correcting behavior and social skill deficits
in children with special needs, particularly those with autism. It
is based on the understanding that children are more likely to
repeat desired behaviors when these behaviors are met with
positive reinforcement, and that they are less likely to repeat
undesirable behaviors that are not rewarded. One significant
part of ABA is discrete trial training (DTT), in which a skill is
broken down into its most basic components so that these
components may be taught one at a time.
 Repetition is the cornerstone of a successful
ABA program. It might seem tiresome to remind a
child to make eye contact 30 times per day, for
instance; but, eventually that child may begin to
regularly look others in the eye. Another example of
teaching a child a desired behavior with ABA might
involve teaching a child how to take turns by having
the child take turns while playing a board game,
sharing a toy, etc. When the child successfully uses
the skill, he is rewarded with praise or a small trinket.
Trained specialists in ABA can work with the child and
teach parents and educators to use this system.
References:
Angelo, T.A., & Cross, K.P. (1993). Classroom assessment techniques: A handbook for college teachers. San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
 
Galevska, N. & Milena, P. (2018). Assessing children with special educational needs in the inclusive
classrooms. Skopje: Republic of Macedonia.

Conatser, P. & Funk, M. (2016). Skill and fitness assessment ideas for students with disabilities. Retrieved
from https://www.pheamerica.org/2016/skill-and-fitness-assessment-ideas-for-students-with-disabilities/.

Retrieved from https://dredf.org/special_education/Assesments_chart.pdf.

 
Retrieved from https://www.slideshare.net/mobile/ShirleyVelasco1/the-multidiciplinary-team-for-
assessment-of-children-with.

(2013). Addressing behavioral and social skills of children with special needs. Retrieved from
https://www.specialeducationguide.com/early-intervention/tackling-behavior-and-social-skills-sooner-
than-later/.