| All students in special education are required by law to | | | | analysis to determine why Adam was exhibiting |
| have a complete evaluation every three years to | | | | disruptive behaviors. Questionnaires were sent home |
| determine eligibility for special education services. The | | | | for the parents to complete. Screaming and biting |
| following case study is about a student named | | | | were behaviors his parents and teacher were |
| "Adam". Adam is seven years old and has autism. He | | | | concerned about. The classroom teacher was |
| is in a Special Day Class setting in a public school. The | | | | responsible for collecting data on the behaviors. The |
| case study includes details of Adam's three-year | | | | psychologist and the teacher created a data collection |
| educational evaluation. | | | | form. The teacher recorded the occurrence of the |
| The student in this case study has autism. His name is | | | | undesired behaviors. The information from the parents, |
| Adam. Adam is seven years old. He is in a Special | | | | psychologist observations and teacher were compiled |
| Day Class for Severely Handicapped students. | | | | by the psychologist and the report was written. |
| Adam's 3-year evaluation needed to be completed to | | | | The occupational therapist observed Adam, assessed |
| determine eligibility for his special education services. | | | | him and wrote a report. The school nurse tested |
| Adam has an advocate and parents who are | | | | Adam with a special device. She was able to |
| intensely involved with his education. When the | | | | determine that his hearing appeared to be normal. |
| assessment plan was presented to the parents, they | | | | Adam's parents reported no problems with his vision |
| requested additional assessments including a functional | | | | and hearing. The speech therapist, who worked with |
| analysis, occupational therapy and an assistive | | | | him over the past year, also assessed him. |
| technology assessment. A copy of the signed | | | | Other tests that can be used to diagnose and assess |
| assessment plan was given to the appropriate | | | | students with autism are the Autism Behavior Checklist |
| specialists: psychologist, occupational therapist, speech | | | | (ABC), Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R), |
| therapist, speech therapist, nurse and special education | | | | Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) and |
| teacher. | | | | Pre-Linguistic Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule |
| The school psychologist observed Adam on several | | | | (PL-ADOS). These tests are individual autism |
| occasions before administering the psycho-educational | | | | assessment instruments that have been specifically |
| profile revised (PEP-R). The PEP-R covers a variety | | | | designed to assess children with autism. Furthermore, |
| of developmental areas. The test items are presented | | | | these tests rely on either historical information about |
| with simple, concrete instructions and most of the | | | | the child's behavior (usually provided by a parent), |
| expected responses are nonverbal. The PEP-R | | | | direct observation of the child by a professional or a |
| provides information on developmental functioning in | | | | combination of these methods. |
| imitation, perception, fine motor, gross motor, eye-hand | | | | Adam's assessment for his 3-year evaluation was |
| integration, cognitive performance and cognitive verbal | | | | extensive and comprehensive. This assessment gave |
| areas. The PEP-R consists of a set of toys and | | | | the team information on Adam’s development, |
| learning materials that were presented to Adam within | | | | behavior, communication, health, coordination and |
| structured play activities. The psychologist recorded | | | | cognitive levels. With this information, the Individualized |
| Adam's responses to the test. His scores were then | | | | Education Plan (IEP) team determined that his |
| distributed among seven developmental and four | | | | placement was appropriate. Occupational Therapy |
| behavioral areas. The resulting profile revealed Adam's | | | | (OT) services were recommended. The occupational |
| strengths and weaknesses in the different areas of | | | | therapist wrote several goals and will provide services |
| development and behavior. | | | | for Adam. The functional analysis concluded that |
| Adam's portfolio was used as an assessment tool. | | | | Adam's undesired behaviors occurred during |
| Included in his portfolio were work samples, progress | | | | transitions. The assistive technology assessment |
| reports, behavior reports, notes from parents and daily | | | | revealed that Adam excelled in this area. No |
| reports. The teacher sent home daily reports that | | | | recommendations were needed. Although Adam's |
| included performance, compliance and prompt levels | | | | assessment was extensive and required hard work |
| on Adam's tasks and goals/benchmarks. His parents | | | | for the IEP team, valuable information was provided |
| signed and returned the daily reports and became part | | | | that assisted the team in making recommendations for |
| of his portfolio. The daily reports were used to assist in | | | | Adam's education. The assessment also revealed that |
| the assessment of Adam. | | | | Adam was making great progress in his special day |
| The school psychologist also conducted the functional | | | | class setting. |