Chapter 7
Educational, Psychological, and
Behavioral Characteristics
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EDUCATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS
• Characteristics Related to Academic Skills
– Under IDEA, students with disabilities should have access to the general
education curriculum even if they exhibit deficits in academic skills, but
they may also need access to a functional curriculum over time.
• Conceptual Thinking
• Concepts are categories used to group objects, events, and
characteristics on the basis of common properties.
• The more exemplars children with intellectual disabilities are
exposed to, the better they may be able to abstract the
prototypical features of a concept.
• Research into the ability of individuals with CIDs to categorize
established that the ability existed and could be improved.
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EDUCATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS
• Comprehension Skills can be diminished intellectual
capabilities that lead to both acquisition and performance
deficits in comprehension and other areas.
• Literacy comprehension skills are often deficient with
mathematical computational skills less affected when
applied in relation to the individual's overall abilities and
disabilities; literacy instruction may be inadequate for
many students.
• Listening comprehension may also be a problem area.
• Literacy instruction for students with CIDs may lack the
breadth and depth needed to develop these skills.
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EDUCATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS
• Functional Skills are those skills that must be performed by others
if not performed by the individual with CIDs.
• Students with CIDs may require more time to achieve mastery
and transfer and generalization of knowledge and skills.
• Problems in reading can result in an ever-increasing gap
between the achievement of an individual with CIDs and those
without disabilities.
• Students with severe disabilities have greater difficulty with
synthesizing information and skills in an organized and useful
way.
• Emphasis on academic skills may address those skills needed for
present and future living, working, and leisure.
• Students with severe disabilities need opportunities to learn
functional academic skills.
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PSYCHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
• PSYCHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS are the presence of
atypical psychological characteristics has historically led to
segregation and even persecution.
• Learned helplessness is an acquired tendency to give up
easily or not to try when faced with new or difficult tasks.
• Learned helplessness may result from repeated failure, a
belief that others are in control, or from having others take
care of one's needs unnecessarily.
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PSYCHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
• Characteristics Related to Self-Concept
• Individuals with CIDs may differ in self-concept from those
without CIDs in at least two ways:
• Lack of ability in one area (e.g., academics) might affect
self-concept in other unrelated areas (e.g., friendships).
• The "ideal" self-image might include lower aspirations than
those of individuals without disabilities.
• Access to community living and recreational/leisure
programs may positively affect self-concept.
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PSYCHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
•
Characteristics Related to Self-Regulation
– Self-regulation involves the abilities to plan and manage time, attend to and
concentrate on tasks, organize information strategically, establish a productive
environment, and utilize resources.
•
•
Self-regulation is often learned from the modeling of others.
Self-regulation is amenable to change; those with self-regulatory behavior
view themselves as in charge of their own lives.
• Characteristics Related to Locus of Control refers to placing causality
for life’s outcomes and whether causality is linked to external or
internal sources.
• Those with an external locus of control tend to look to others for
guidance and causality of outcomes.
• Those with an internal locus of control tend to rely more on their
own guidance and are more likely to assume personal responsibility
for outcomes.
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PSYCHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
• Characteristics Related to Locus of Control (continued)
• People with CIDs, like all of us, tend to fluctuate between
having an external and internal locus of control, depending
on the situation.
• The study of locus of control and internal and external
motivation lacks generality and precision, making definitive
judgments about these characteristics problematic.
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PSYCHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
• Characteristics Related to Self-Determination and Self-Direction –
Concerns an individual’s ability to set goals, plan how to reach
goals, monitor progress toward goals, and adjust plans accordingly.
• People with CIDs tend to stress a need for greater control in their
own lives yet experience fewer options for choice-making and
self-determination.
• Self-determined individuals act according to their own
preferences, interests, and abilities.
• Becoming self-determined results from the ability to make
choices and decisions.
• As communication abilities decrease, deficits in being able to
express one’s thoughts, feelings, and needs may inhibit selfdetermination.
• Restrictive environments may limit opportunities for choicemaking and self-determination.
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PSYCHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
• Characteristics Related to Self-Determination – selfdetermination refers to the belief that one is accomplishing
goals as a result of one’s own efforts and motivation.
• Self-determination is a process beginning in early
childhood and continuing to adulthood.
• Self-determined individuals are autonomous, selfregulated, able to make and execute a plan, psychologically
empowered, and self-realized.
• Self-determination may be developed in less restrictive
environments.
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PSYCHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
• Characteristics Related to Motivation – Motivation is typically defined as
an internal state that arouses, directs, and maintains one’s behavior.
• Intrinsically motivated people tend to seek out and conquer challenges
in pursuit of their interests and tend to rely less on external incentives.
• Extrinsically motivated people tend to show greater interest in the
external incentives associated with completing a task than in the
nature of the task itself.
• Individuals with CIDs, like all of us, tend to follow along a continuum of
self-determination of being fully self-determined to fully determined
by others.
• Individuals with CIDs may derive less pleasure in solving difficult
problems and may be less likely to select difficult or new tasks to
attack.
• Engaging in choice-making, challenging opportunities and activities,
goal-setting, self-monitoring, self-evaluation, and problem solving
encourage development of intrinsic motivation.
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BEHAVIORAL CHARACTERISTICS
• BEHAVIORAL CHARACTERISTICS – The presence of
challenging, difficult, or dangerous behavior should result in
an analysis of a person’s life experiences, current situation,
personality, and health condition toward designing some
intervention.
• Difficult behavior can result from internal or external
triggers, trauma, limited range of expression, and overlap
of conditions (e.g., CIDs and mental illness), learned
behaviors, mannerisms, and disease processes.
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BEHAVIORAL CHARACTERISTICS
• Relationship Between CIDs and Behavioral Disorders is generally
accepted people with CIDs exhibit more behavioral problems than
those without disabilities.
• Individuals with CIDs may have behavioral needs arising from
destructiveness, self-injury, sexual aggression, and other
behaviors such as tantrums, wandering, substance abuse, or not
following mental health treatments.
• Aggression is the behavior problem most often cited when an
individual is referred for mental health services.
• Some behavior, such as rule-breaking and noncompliance, may
be the result of difficulties in processing and retrieving
information, frustration, or lack of opportunities for
recreation/leisure.
• The variety of potential problem behaviors is extensive but the
origins of the problems are not well known.
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BEHAVIORAL CHARACTERISTICS
• Relationship Between CIDs and Behavioral Disorders
(continued)
• Dual diagnosis results from the presence of mental
illness with CIDs and is not easily identified.
• Stressors that affect behavioral characteristics include
transitional phases, environmental stressors,
parenting and social support problems, illness or
disability, stigmatization, and frustration.
• Most individuals with dual diagnosis have mild to
moderate CIDs.
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BEHAVIORAL CHARACTERISTICS
• Destructive or Aggressive Behavior may be indicated by screaming,
crying, damaging property, attacking others, as well as noncompliance.
• Impulse control and bipolar disorder may be more closely associated
with aggressive behavior.
• Self-injury was associated with more severe CIDs.
• Self-Injurious Behavior includes behavior that results in harm to the
individual and includes such behavior as hitting one’s head, falling
intentionally, biting, gouging, and scratching oneself.
• SIB tends to occur more frequently among those with severe levels of
CIDs.
• SIB and stereotypy might emerge in early childhood and persist, or
emerge in over- or under-stimulating conditions, or be learned
behavior used to control others; it is also associated with certain
syndromes.
• Research indicates there have been many successful interventions
used with SIB.
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BEHAVIORAL CHARACTERISTICS
• Stereotypic Behavior refers to repetitive behaviors that tend
to be physically harmless but affect adjustment.
• Those with stereotypy may exhibit lower adaptive
behavior scores, have more limited expressive abilities,
less understanding of others’ speech, and deficits in
performing daily activities and functional skills.
• The origins of stereotypy are not well understood and
research does, at times, conflict (e.g., establishing the
different functions of stereotypy).
• Stereotypy is amenable to treatment.
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BEHAVIORAL CHARACTERISTICS
• Interpersonal and Sexual Relationships vary widely among people with
CIDs.
• Those individuals in more restrictive settings may find most
relationships to be with people who are paid to interact with them.
• Quality of life is connected to one’s social network.
• The quality of interpersonal relationships can affect both mental and
physical health.
• Intellectual and physical development, behavior problems, and
communication abilities can affect relationship development.
• Proximity to other children does not guarantee frequent social
interaction.
• Sexual relationships are of concern to individuals with CIDs and
caregivers.
• People with CIDs are more at-risk for being sexually and physically
abused.
• The right to privacy for those living in residential settings may be an
issue.
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ADAPTIVE SKILL CHARACTERISTICS
• ADAPTIVE SKILL CHARACTERISTICS may include deficits in
acquisition and performance of adaptive behaviors.
• It is assumed that individuals with CIDs will have significant
limitations in multiple dimensions of adaptive behavior.
• Characteristics Related to Leisure
• Participation in leisure activities and environments fosters
growth, development, and wellness.
• Individuals with CIDs participate in a wide variety of
leisure activities and exhibit preferences.
• Individuals with more severe levels of CIDs can learn to
express choices in leisure settings and activities.
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ADAPTIVE SKILL CHARACTERISTICS
• Characteristics Related to Work – The presence of a disability leads
to a lower likelihood of being employed and to substantially lower
levels of income.
• The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was enacted to
reduce discrimination in the workplace based solely on
disability and mandates employers provide reasonable
accommodations.
• Individuals with CIDs who work in integrated settings tend to
have better job skills and live more independently, although
income levels are still low.
• As other areas of difficulty emerge (e.g., educational and
behavioral characteristics), developing and maintaining a career
becomes increasingly challenging.
• Supported employment, job coaching, and mandated transition
planning can aid in obtaining employment.
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ADAPTIVE SKILL CHARACTERISTICS
• Characteristics Related to Community – Historically, segregation from the
community has occurred and still does occur.
• The options and costs for living in the community vary widely although
the costs are usually greater for those with more severe and multiple
disabilities and for those with challenging behaviors.
• Institutional settings are on the decrease in the United States.
• Overall, research findings suggest positive outcomes in adaptive
behavior and challenging behavior associated with integrated living
arrangements.
• In general, people with CIDs tend to live at home with parents longer,
to be more dependent on social service systems, to be less mobile, and
to be less well integrated in the workforce than are those without
disabilities.
• The status of adulthood is often associated in Western society with
leaving home and living more independently.
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ADAPTIVE SKILL CHARACTERISTICS
• Characteristics Related to Self-Care and Home Living – With
assistance, individuals with CIDs can improve both acquisition
and performance deficits in these adaptive skill areas.
• Individuals living in community settings tend to have at
least as good or better adaptive behaviors than those living
in institutional settings.
• Individuals with severe levels of CIDs are capable of
learning to meet most of their self-care needs.
• The challenge for service providers is to provide needed
support but still allow for maximum independence.
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