1 PPRROOCCEEDDUURREESS FFOORR CCOONNFFIIRRMMIINNGG EEmmoottiioonnaall DDiissttuurrbbaannccee && MMeennttaall RReettaarrddaattiioonn January 2003 Edition COMMITTEE MEMBERS Carolyn F. Bailey, Ph.D., NCSP Marilyn Chapman, M.A., AGS, NCSP Erica Edelman, Ph.D., NCSP Robert Foster, Ph.D. Ana Groene, Psy.S., NCSP Audene Harvey, Ed.S., NCSP Jeffrey D. Hoffman, M.A., CAS Stephen Johnsen, Ph.D. Michelle L. Palmer, Psy.S., NCSP Celia Schuchman, Ph.D. Stephan M. Silverman, Ph.D., NCSP Kimberley Watson, Ph.D. John W. Wisor, Ph.D. ADVISORY COMMITTEE Ronit Eschel Robert Fuhrer Mary Lou Tucker June Zillich 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Section Page No. Introduction ......................................................................................................................................................... 4 Early Intervention ............................................................................................................................................... 5 Student Information Summary .......................................................................................................................... 5 Referral Process to Special Education .............................................................................................................. 6 Screening..................................................................................................................................................... 6 Assessment Procedures .............................................................................................................................. 7 Disability-Specific Procedures............................................................................................................................ 7 Emotional Disturbance .............................................................................................................................. 7 Definition............................................................................................................................................ 7 Evaluation Components.................................................................................................................... 8 Evaluation IEP Team Meeting......................................................................................................... 8 Mental Retardation .................................................................................................................................... 10 Definition ..................................................................................................................................... 10 Evaluation Components ............................................................................................................. 10 Evaluation IEP Team Meeting .................................................................................................. 11 Re-Evaluation Procedures .................................................................................................................................. 12 Emotional Disturbance .............................................................................................................................. 12 Mental Retardation .................................................................................................................................... 12 Conclusion............................................................................................................................................................ 13 Appendices A. Student Information Summary............................................................................................................. 14 B. Emotional Disturbance-Student Screening Profile Worksheet ......................................................... 18 C. Common Terms-Emotional Disturbance Student Screening Profile Worksheet ............................. 20 D. Parent Questionnaire Supplement........................................................................................................ 23 E. Emotional Disturbance Multidisciplinary Evaluation Form.............................................................. 26 F. Characteristics of Emotional Disturbance: Sample Behaviors .......................................................... 29 G. Mental Retardation Multidisciplinary Evaluation Form ................................................................... 31 H. Frequently Asked Questions.................................................................................................................. 34 I. Worksheet/Checklist .............................................................................................................................. 37 J. Process Flow Chart ................................................................................................................................ 40 K. Resources................................................................................................................................................. 44 3 Introduction The Office for Civil Rights in the US Department of Education has identified the issue of the over-representation of African American students in the categories of emotional disturbance and mental retardation as a significant barrier to their right to equal educational opportunity. In Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) one attempt to ensure equal educational opportunity to such students was the creation of an Advocacy Review Committee (ARC), which reviewed the records of African-American special education students identified as having emotional disturbance or mental retardation and made recommendations for best practice diagnostic procedures. At the recommendation of members of the ARC, the Montgomery County School Psychologists Association (MCSPA) created a subcommittee to develop best practice procedures for confirming Emotional Disturbance and/or Mental Retardation. These procedures are an outgrowth of the work done by the MCSPA. They reflect the MCPS goal of the promoting student achievement and keeping students in the general education classes to the greatest extent possible. They are intended to provide practical assistance to school personnel attempting to improve their early intervention problem solving process and special education diagnostic decision-making processes and procedures, with the expectation that this will eliminate the disproportionate representation of African American students in special education programs. “Emotional Disturbance,” is defined in the Individuals with “Mental Retardation,” is defined in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the Code of Maryland Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the Code of Maryland Regulations (COMAR) as follows: Regulations (COMAR), the Diagnostic & Statistical Manual- Fourth Edition (DSM-IV), and by the American Association of A condition exhibiting one or more of the following Mental Retardation (AAMR) as follows: characteristics over a long period of time and to a marked degree that adversely affects a child’s educational performance: • the age of onset comes before the age of 18 • an inability to learn that cannot be explained by • the person demonstrates significantly sub-average intellectual, sensory, or health factors intellectual functioning demonstrated by comprehensive • an inability to build or maintain satisfactory measures of Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning competencies interpersonal relationships with peers and teachers at or below standard scores of 70±5 or two or more standard • inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under deviations below the mean based on individual test manual normal circumstances requirements in multiple measures of verbal and non-verbal • a general pervasive mood of unhappiness or reasoning depression • significantly sub-average adaptive skill functioning in at least • a tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears two of the following areas: communication, health & safety, associated with personal or school problems self-care, functional academics, home living, leisure, social skills, work, and community use The term includes schizophrenia. The term does not apply to • the above described deficits adversely affect the child’s children who are socially maladjusted, unless it is determined that educational performance they have an Emotional Disturbance. The definitions of Emotional Disturbance and Mental Retardation generally remain static, as they are legal dictates. However, many leaders in assessment research agree that diagnosing Emotional Disturbance, Mental Retardation, and the subsequent need for special education is one of the most difficult tasks given to the Individualized Education Program (IEP) team. Working in a collaborative and interdisciplinary mode, the IEP team must consider a number of possible factors that may account for the academic or behavioral difficulties, such as environmental and cultural factors, as well as weigh issues of duration, severity, and pervasiveness of problem manifestations. Except when the severity of certain symptoms (e.g., depression) threatens to result in extreme impairment, the team must be convinced that appropriate interventions have been tried in the general education setting and found lacking before making a final eligibility decision. In extreme cases, professional judgment should take precedence over normal procedures. The determination of Mental Retardation is particularly challenging when the diagnosis has not been made prior to age five or upon school entrance. However, in instances