Washingtonstate Learning Disabilities Project

WashingtonState Learning Disabilities Project

For Adult Basic Education

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION...... 2

UNIVERAL DESIGN FOR INSTRUCTION...... 4

PURPOSE OF THIS GUIDEBOOK...... 6

REQUIREMENTS TO IMPLEMENT THE MODEL...... 7

Staff Training...... 7

Release of Information...... 9

Screening Instruments...... 10

Resource Lists...... 10

PROCEDURES...... 11

Flagging...... 12

Screening...... 12

Interventions...... 15

Learning Disabilities Testing...... 16

Follow up...... 18

GED TEST ACCOMMODATIONS APPLICATION PROCESS...... 21

ATTACHMENTS...... 23

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WashingtonState Learning Disabilities Project

For Adult Basic Education

INTRODUCTION

Washington’s Learning Disabilities System Initiative has its roots in the hearts of teachers, administrators, and students working together over the past ten years to address the needs of adult basic education students with learning disabilities. The question that began as “What is a learning disability?” changed throughout the course of this project’s history. “How do we help ABE students with learning disabilities—particularly those students who need documentation to get GED accommodations?” “What are good screening tools, strategies and interventions to use with at-risk students?” And last, but most likely not the final question is “How do we help teachers provide instruction in ways that benefit all students—particularly those at risk?”
In 1997-98 the Office of Adult Literacy of the State Board for Community and TechnicalColleges sponsored an intensive statewide training effort for ABE teachers and Disabled Student Services Counselors on learning disabilities. ABE teachers throughout the system received intensive training in order to improve instruction to the learning disabled in their classrooms. In 1999 the state decided to fund the Pierce County Coalition to develop two LD specialists in order to provide testing needed for documentation of learning disabilities. Out of these two efforts the 2001 Washington State Learning Disabilities Quality Initiative was born. Using a change model called AIDDE, the LD Quality Initiative developed and implemented an intake, screening and referral model. The pieces of an LD system were finally in place—trained teachers, a process for identifying students and referring them for further service, and experts who could test, document and provide assistance to teachers and students. The process of refining, expanding and improving the system was just beginning.
Three regions in Washington pioneered the LD screening and referral model in the first two years—Pierce County Adult Basic Education Consortium, Community Colleges of Spokane, and WenatcheeValleyCollege. During this time the number of students applying for and getting GED accommodations doubled in the state. In 2002 RentonTechnicalCollege joined the LD Quality Initiative and in 2003-04 the project added 4 new ABE providers: Big Bend, Edmonds, Olympic and South Puget Sound Community Colleges.
Up to this point, the emphasis of the project was on developing an effective screening and referral model that institutions could include in their ABE programs. In 2003 RentonTechnicalCollege received $750,000 from the Department of Education to pioneer universal design for instruction in their vocational programs as well as their ABE classes. This new emphasis on universal design for instruction marked a turning point and a new direction for the LD Quality Initiative as well. Additional training workshops were added promoting success and learning for all students.
In addition, the need to build Washington’s capacity to continue developing high quality services for the ABE system’s learning disabled was evident based on the interest and demand from institutions in the ABE system. In 2003-04 the first LD Specialist training—developed by Candyce Rennegarbe—was implemented through Tacoma Community House. The first four graduates were certified through the State Board for Community and TechnicalColleges in 2004.
In 2004-05 three more institutions were added to the LD Quality Initiative: Grays Harbor, Lower Columbia, and Centralia, bringing the total participation to 15 institutions.
In 2008-09 five new institutions were added. These included Bellingham, Green River, Hopelink, Peninsula and SkagitValleyCollege.
UNIVERSAL DESIGN FOR INSTRUCTION
Success for Students with Barriers in Adult Basic Education
Everybody Wins
Adult Basic Education Program sites participating in this project share a common philosophy in approaching learning through a universal design for instruction framework. Instruction is designed which maximizes the learning of all students. The term Universal Design (UD) was first used in the early 1970’s by Ronald Mace, the founder of the Center for UD at North CarolinaStateUniversity. The Center defined UD as the design of all products and environments to be usable by all people to the greatest extent possible. (Center for UD, 1997; Follette Story, Mueller & Mace, 1998.) For Example, sidewalk curb cuts are necessary for wheelchair use but mothers with strollers also benefit. Close-captioned TV and video help the hearing impaired or the deaf but are used extensively in noisy public areas such as airports.
The Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST) states there are three essential Qualities of UDI. Teachers design a curriculum that provides multiple means of representation (modalities used), multiple means of engagement (student choices), and multiple means of expression (student response to demonstrate mastery of learning).
The philosophy of this approach dictates that teachers offer multiple ways for students to take in information, multiple ways for students to process and practice new learning, and multiple ways for students to demonstrate mastery of learning. ABE teachers are trained in how to design a class where all learners are taught to identify their own strengths, how they learn best, and specific strategies they can benefit from. Teachers highlight critical features of the skills they teach, provide models, provide multiple media formats, and offer choices for assessment. A specific example of universal design for instruction related to assessment would be to ask all students before a test to indicate if they need extra time or a quiet room in which to test; this option isn’t just offered to students with documented disabilities.
Carol Gill, Director of the Chicago Institute of Disability Research, says that the remedy for disability-related problems is a change in the interaction between the individual and society . . rather than a cure or normalization of the individual. For further information on Universal Design of Instruction, please see Attachment 26.
Washington’s LD System Initiative has embraced and incorporated the philosophy of Universal Design for instruction into its model. This guidebook includes information and procedures that support learning for all.

PURPOSE OF THIS GUIDEBOOK

The purpose of this Guidebook is to describe the Washington State Learning Disabilities System Initiative for serving students who have learning difficulties that prevent them from attaining their educational goals.
This Guidebook was developed to help Adult Basic Education programs utilize the LD System Initiative model. The process that is described in this Guidebook includes:
Requirements and procedures to implement the model
Forms, copies of instruments, and resources used in the model
The LD System Initiative modelis a simple four-step process. ABE programs can easily implement this model if they have staff that are trained and given the time to administer the screens and take the appropriate follow-up actions.
The four steps of the process are:
Flagging
Screening
Interventions
Follow-up
This process can be initiated anywhere along the Adult Basic Education continuum—at intake, orientation, or after a student has participated in instruction.
There are many pages of useful information in this Guidebook, but it was not meant to provide everything a program needs to serve students with learning disabilities. Additional information that can help programs and students learn more about LD is included in the Attachment Section.

REQUIREMENTS TO IMPLEMENT THE MODEL

What is required to implement the LD System Initiative model?
Staff Training
Screening instruments
Release of information forms
Resource lists
STAFF TRAINING
Staff involved in the LD Project must be trained prior to implementing the model. Training consists of:
Basic overview of Learning Disabilities
Proper use of the screening tools used in the model
Procedures and resources of the LD System Initiative model
Concepts of Universal Design including teaching strategies




At least one staff person from an institution should participate in all of these training elements. It is also recommended that the ABE Program Director participate as well in order to fully understand what is involved.
Additional staff, such as ABE instructors, counselors, and developmental education faculty are welcome to participate in the training as well.

RELEASE OF INFORMATION FORMS

All student participation in this project is voluntary. A Release of Information form is required for all students referred to the LD System Initiative. These include:
Consent to Participate (Attachment 9)
Authorization for Release of Confidential Information (Attachment 10)
When a student signs the Consent to Participate form, the student gives screening staff permission to ask confidential questions and conduct the screening process. The student should fully understand with whom the information will or will not be shared. The Consent to Participate form is usually signed prior to administering the first screen.
When a student signs the Authorization for Release of Confidential Information form he/she gives permission to release confidential information held by another institution to the LD System Initiative staff. This information, for example, may include special education records from the student’s high school, diagnostic records held by a student’s WorkFirst case manager, or a medical evaluation about a brain injury.
Samples of both forms are included in the Attachment Section of this Guidebook. Your institutional logo can be added to the forms in the Attachment Section.
Release forms should be kept in the student’s file in a locked cabinet and are good for 1 year. See About Confidentiality, Attachment 21 in the Attachment section.

SCREENING INSTRUMENTS

The LD System Initiative model utilizes the following instruments as a part of the screening process:
The 13 Question Learning Needs Screening Tool or the 13 Question Screen, for short (Attachment 11)
The Initial Interview (Attachment 14)

RESOURCE LISTS

Lists of available resources within and outside the institution should be available to staff responsible for referral to other services that address students’ problems or barriers. Resources can include college services, local doctors who specialize in ADD/ADHD, testing resources, vision and hearing examination opportunities, the Department of Vocational and Rehabilitation contacts, etc. This list will need to be developed region by region in the first year of implementation of this project.

PROCEDURES

The four steps of the LD System Initiativemodel are:
Flagging
Screening
Interventions
Follow-up
a)b)Students and teachers should recognize at least one person in the ABE program as the one who will carry out most of these steps in order to help students with learning difficulties.These activities can take place at various times along the instructional continuum.
The LD System Initiativemodel works most successfully with programs that have institutional support that allows for change and continuous improvement. A staff person designated to conduct the screening process and act as the “point of contact” for LD services in the ABE program needs sufficient time to:
Attend initial and on-going training
Conduct the screening process, and
Interact with students and teachers
FLAGGING“Flagging” is defined as looking for indications that a student has special learning difficulties. There are several ways that students are “flagged” for additional interventions.
Self-identification: A student identifies him/herself as being a person with learning disabilities either at intake, to his/her ABE teacher, at registration or any point along the education continuum.
Teacher referral: a teacher notices that a student is not progressing, does not seem to be performing at his/her skill level, or fits the LD profile.
Partner agency or in-house referral: a staff member suspects or has been told by the student that a learning disability may exist and indicates this to the ABE program.
At intake: Result of the 5 Question Tool (Attachment 6)indicates that screening might be warranted.
Programs are asked to use the 5 Question Tool for all students at intake or during orientation. This tool will alert or flag the program about students’ background and experiences that may hinder learning.
Like other flagging indicators, the 5 Question Tool does not automatically require the POC to administer screening. Both POC and instructors can discuss and agree on courses of action regarding the student.

SCREENING

Screening enables program staff to determine next steps for students. Screening is a process, not just a set of instruments. It is a first step and by itself does not detect learning disabilities. Screening is used to help determine interventions.
Once the decision to screen the learner has been made, the program should refer the student to a screener or point of contact who will follow these general steps with the student:

1. Share observations, information or reasons the student has been referred for further screening. Be positive and supportive at this stage. (2 minutes)

1. Explain the screening process, what’s involved and how it will benefit the student. (2-3 minutes)

1. Obtain the student’s Consent to Participate (Attachment 9). Make sure the student fully understands how the information will be used. (2-5 minutes). If you’ll be requesting school records, have the student sign the Request for Information form (Attachment 10).

1. Administer the 13 Question Screen (Attachment 11). This should be done one-on-one with the student and not simply handed to him or her to fill out. If the results are “positive”, administer the next screen (the Initial Interview) or set up an appointment with the student. (5-8 minutes)

1. Administer the Initial Interview (or II) (Attachment 14).(35-40 minutes)

1. Complete the Student Action Plan (Attachment 15) and go over with the student. (10 min)

1. Complete the II Student Summary Formafter you’ve studied the results of the Initial Interview (Attachment 17). (10-15 min to write)

1. Go over the II Student Summary Form the next time you meet with the student. This can be shared with instructors as well.

1. Check back with the student and instructors to see if the plan is working. Make adjustments, if necessary.

The process through #6 should take approximately 1 hour. The tools included in the screening process appear in the back of the Guidebook in the Attachments Section.

(b)

13 Question Learning Needs Screening Tool

The purpose of the 13 Question Screen is to indicate to staff whether further screening is needed for a student who displays evidence of learning disabilities.
The 13 Question Screen is a validated tool that is easy and fast to administer. A high score indicates that further screening is appropriate. Staff, counselors, intake personnel, caseworkers, teachers or others can be trained to administer the 13 Question Screen.
Initial Interview
The purpose of the Initial Interview is to gather additional information about a learner. The Initial Interview takes approximately 35-40 minutes to administer and should be conducted in privacy. The answers to the questions are used to make recommendations to the student for further interventions and/or LD assessment.
The Student Action Plan follows the Initial Interview and is used to give a student immediate, specific instructions about next steps. Many programs write up this plan and give it to the student immediately following the interview or screen.
The II Student Summary Form follows the Initial Interview and is used to write up conclusions and recommendations to the staff and teachers. This is usually done after the student leaves so that the POC has time to carefully read and reflect on the Initial Interview results. The summary should be shared with the student at the next meeting. The summary should also be shared with instructors in a face to face meeting.
INTERVENTIONS
Following the screening process the screener should have sufficient information to determine the next steps for the student. This is the INTERVENTION stage of the LD System Initiative.
Interventions fall into four categories:
Referral to services that remove barriers that impede learning
Requests for records or documentation of learning disabilities
Teaching and learning strategies
Referral to further learning disabilities assessment
Referral to services that remove barriers that impede learning should be listed on the Student Action Plan, which is shared with the student. These recommendations should be easy to communicate to the student, and include such things as vision and hearing exams, counseling, DVR services, etc. These interventions should be the first considered and tried.
Request for records or documentation of learning disabilities is an option that can help students get accommodations for the GED if the student was in special education or was previously assessed for learning disabilities. Currently the state of Washington accepts past records as documentation for GED accommodations. However, also be aware that schools often do not keep records for more than 3 years.
Teaching and learning strategiesinvolve the POC, the student and the instructors. If a learning strategy is recommended, the POC or an instructor should always demonstrate and provide an opportunity for the student to practice the strategy. POCs can also work with instructors to recommend specific teaching strategies. There should be a process in place to assess whether the strategies are working.
Referral to further leaning disabilities assessment should be carefully considered as a final step for a student. LD evaluations are expensive and time consuming and do not guarantee a student’s success. These assessments will provide evidence for a student’s request for legal accommodations. Before the screener refers an individual to an LD Specialist (or an individual qualified to administer