EF Deficits Across Disabili1es · • Turner’s Syndrome • Klinefelter Syndrome • Fragile X...

EF Deficits Across Disabili1es

• ADHD• Au&smSpectrumDisorders•  Toure3eSyndrome• ConductDisorder•  Turner’sSyndrome• KlinefelterSyndrome•  FragileX• Down’sSyndrome

Assessing Execu1ve Func1oning

WisconsinCardSort

TowerofHanoi

One more…

StroopTest Parent/TeacherReport• BehaviorRa&ngInventoryofExecu&veFunc&on(BRIEF)

Components of Execu1ve Func1oning

• Donotappearatthesamelevelofmasterywithinanindividual• Havedifferentdevelopmentaltrajectoriesoccurringatdifferentrates

• Workingmemory,ini&a&onandorganiza&onmoreimpairedinASDastheyage

• Manifestdifferentlyindis&nctdisorders•  Inhibi&onlessimpairedinau&smthanADHD•  Planningmoreimpairedinau&smthanADHD

•  EFskillsaremorestronglyassociatedwithschoolreadinessthanIQ

Interven1ons for EF

Fortypicallydevelopingandthosewithmilddisabili&es,teachingstrategiesthatenhanceEFprocessessuchasgoal

seSng,planning,organizing,priori&zing,shiTingstrategiesflexiblyandself-checkingimprovesstudentperformanceForthosewithmoresignificantdisabili&es,

effec&vemethodstoimproveEFsignificantlyareelusiveResearchhasshownminimalgainsandnolongtermeffects.

Modifica1ons and Accommoda1ons

•  Changing,loweringorreducinglearningexpecta&onsisusuallyreferredtoasamodifica&on(alterna&veassessment).• Accommoda&onsareintendedtolessentheeffectsofastudent'sdisabilityandleveltheplayingfieldtodemonstrateexpecta&ons

Typical Accommoda1ons for EF Issues

•  Varyac&vityoTen•  Reduce/minimizedistrac&ons•  Extend/adjust&me•  Allowfrequentbreaks•  Providechecklistsandvisualschedules•  Assis&vetechnology

•  Tapedtext,highlightedmaterials,usingcalculators,computers,specialequipment,communica&ondevices

•  Assignments•  Givedirec&onsinsmalldis&nctsteps,easierformats(matching),seriesofsmallassignments,giveoral/visualcuesorprompts,oralresponses,adapt/simplifytextforunderstanding.

•  Reinforcement•  Concretereinforcement,checkforunderstanding(trainingtrials)

Typical Modifica1ons for EF Issues

• Usespecializedcurriculumwri3enatalowerlevelofunderstanding• Modifycontentareasbysimplifyingvocabulary,concepts,andprinciples• Adaptac&vi&eswithsimplifiedvocabulary/concepts

Not a “Field of Dreams” or “One Size Fits All”

•  Studentmustbetaughtskillstouseaccommoda&onsandhavemanyprac&ceopportuni&espriortoassessment

• Accommoda&onsmustbeindividualizedtotheneedsofthechild

• Whataccommoda&onsdoesthechildregularlyuseintheclassroom?• Whataccommoda&onshasthechildbeenwillingtouse?

Ques&ons?