 INTELLIGENCE TESTING OF
INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE BLIND OR
VISUALLY IMPAIRED:
A Position Paper
 Marnee Loftin, MA, TSBVI
 Carol Evans, PhD, Davis District, UT
 Debbie Willis, MA, APH
 July 20, 2012
 AER International, Bellevue, WA
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THE BEGINNING…
 APH established a Task Force in Jan.
2007
 Asked question of Task Force:

“Do IQ tests provide meaningful information for individuals with visual impairment?”
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THE ANSWER…
 The Task Force responded that:

“IQ tests can provide meaningful information to individuals who are blind and visually impaired, as well as to their instructors, families, and decision makers.”
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HOWEVER IT IS IMPORTANT:

“… provided that all tests be administered in accordance with key points that reflect the uniqueness of the population, as well as appropriate cautions.”
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THE TASK FORCE STARTS:
 The Task Force developed a position paper and key points that reflect:
 Appropriate preparation for administration
 Cautions in administration
 Cautions in interpretation
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CONTENTS OF POSITION
PAPER CONSIST OF:
 PREPARATION
 Administration
 Specialized Training Needed
 Reasons for Evaluation
 Collaboration between Disciplines
 Eye Conditions and Developmental History
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(Continued)
 ADMINISTRATION
 Adaptations
 Tactile and Symbolic Representation
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(Continued)
 INTERPRETATION
 Qualitative Interpretation
 Reporting Results
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POSITION STATEMENT
When appropriate practices are followed, cognitive or intelligence testing of individuals who are blind or VI provides useful and valuable information to testtakers, their families, instructors, and other decision makers.
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ISSUE 1: ADMINISTERING
INTELLIGENCE TESTS
GUIDELINE: Intelligence test results yield valuable information about an individual and increase the usefulness of the overall evaluation.
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PRIOR TO ADMINISTRATION
THE EVALUATOR MUST:
 Ensure completion of Functional
Vision/Learning Media Assessment
(FV/LMA) by TVI or O&M Specialist
 Understand

… information contained in the FV/LMA and ways to use it in testing
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(Continued)

… the impact of adaptations and modifications upon test results

… the importance of making tests accessible without changing content assessed or of level of difficulty
 Support of collaborative evaluations for ensuring the highest quality outcomes
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ISSUE 2: SPECIALIZED
TRAINING
Guideline 2: Those administering tests need specialized training in theory of assessment and test construction as well as child development and communication methods of individuals who are blind and VI
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Professional Preparation of
Evaluator must include:
 Constructs of intelligence
 Theory of tests and measurement
 Typical and atypical child development
 Test administration with general and special populations
 Understanding of collaborative evaluations
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The Professional Evaluator must:
 Accept the concept of collaborative evaluation
 Incorporate expertise of VI professionals in the evaluation process
 Collaborate in all phases from preparation for testing to report writing
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ISSUE 3: REASONS FOR
EVALUATION
Guideline: The reason for the evaluation, and the resulting specific clinical judgments and recommendations, should be clearly documented in each individual’s report.
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The Evaluator must:
 Request information about specific reasons for evaluation
 Avoid accepting reasons that relate only to regulations
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Specificity of these requests will:
 Improve test selection
 Answer referral questions
 Minimize simple reporting of scores
 Increase applicability of results
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The Recommendations should:
 Be clear to all stakeholders
 Avoid professional jargon
 Explain technical terms
 Apply to real-life situations and promote increasing independence and selfadvocacy
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The Evaluation should not be used as the sole determinant of:
 Cognitive abilities
 Presence of additional disabilities
 Eligibility for special programs
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ISSUE 4: COLLABORATION
Guideline: The visual impairment and/or rehabilitation professional, classroom teacher, family, and individual must be involved during the planning, evaluation, and report writing process.
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COLLABORATIVE
EVALUATIONS WILL ALWAYS:
 Gather information from all individuals
 Actively solicit and discuss information
 View collaboration as an on-going process
 Reflect the professional expertise of all
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ISSUE 5: EYE CONDITION AND
DEVELOPMENTAL HISTORY
 Guideline 5: The evaluator should be aware of the individual’s medical and developmental history, as well as the implications of the eye condition on the tasks to be performed (and implementation of recommendations).
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Specific information necessary includes understanding of:
 Medical history
 Developmental patterns and relationship to vision
 Early intervention
 Congenital vs. Adventitious vision loss
 Neurological vs. Ocular vision problems
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ISSUE 6: ADAPTATIONS
Guidelines: Adaptations, which include accommodations that do not change the concepts tested nor the difficulty level of the test items, should be planned in advance in collaboration with the visual impairment and/or rehabilitation professional and the test developer, and be well-documented in the final report.
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ACCOMMODATIONS SHOULD:
 Provide access to the test taker
 Be planned in advance
 Maintain the basic concept and level of difficulty of items
 Be documented in final report
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ACCOMMODATION OR
MODIFICATION?
 Accommodations do not affect basic concept or level of difficulty, e.g. braille or
LP
 Modifications affect basic concept or level of difficulty, e.g. use of calculator
 Either change increases the need for caution in interpretation of results
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ISSUE 7: TACTILE AND
SYMBOLIC
REPRESENTATIONS
Guideline 7: Symbols, tactile graphics, and miniature objects must be carefully considered and used with caution to represent pictorial or graphical information.
Real objects should be used whenever feasible.
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Visual stimuli must be carefully analyzed to determine
 Relevance to the concept being assessed
 Stimuli that can be made accessible
 Any changes or eliminations
 Appropriate use of miniature objects if familiarity with both the real object and the miniature is ensured
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ISSUE 8: DIRECT
OBSERVATION
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Suggested behaviors for observation include:
 Visual efficiency
 Visual fatigue
 Organizational abilities required in problem-solving
 Application of O&M skills in new environments
 Presence of self-stimulatory behaviors
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Additional information should include:
 Social integration with peers
 Independent initiation of activities
 Organization of tasks for successful management and completion
 Self-advocacy skills
 Self-management of technology
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ISSUE 9: QUALITATIVE
INTERPRETATION
Guideline: When visual-spatial items or tests are administered, these results should be used only for clinical purposes and to identify appropriate modifications of educational or vocational materials and instructional methods. Results obtained from visual-spatial evaluations must never be reported as scores or used to determine the presence of other disabilities.
Important exceptions to this guideline exist, and are documented below.
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Visual-Spatial items or tests may be administered if:
 The individual uses vision for learning
 The FV and LMA support the presence of adequate vision for specific items
 Both the VI professional and Evaluator agree that results provide meaningful information AND support the referral question
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Accommodations made to Visual-
Spatial items/test must be:
 Supported by the FV/LMA
 Endorsed by both vision professional and evaluator
 Noted in the final report
 Include such things as extended time and use of CCTV during administration
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Results of performance on Visual-
Spatial items or tests should be:
 Reported qualitatively rather than as a score
 Used as a source to determine learning strengths
 Used to plan meaningful accommodations in different environments
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ISSUE 10: REPORTING
RESULTS
Guideline: Reports of assessments of individuals with visual impairments need to be expanded to include an explanation of the procedures followed, changes in standardized administration, and the description of performance observed.
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GENERAL CAUTIONS
All reports should reflect that tests represent an estimate of abilities
Standardization of most-frequentlyadministered tests did not include persons with visual impairments
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Test results should be reported with the Evaluator specifying:
 Intervals around the obtained score as well as specific score
 Confidence intervals at 90% level
 Specific concerns relating to validity of scores
 Any adaptations in procedures and/or materials
 Lack of norms for individuals who are blind or visually impaired and corresponding cautions
 Accommodations to provide access are specified
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REPORTING RESULTS OF
VISUAL SPATIAL TESTS
Extreme caution must be used in reporting scores on visual spatial tests
Generally these must be reported qualitatively, i.e. as strengths and weaknesses, with implications for materials and instruction
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Further Information:
 www.aph.org/tests/intelligencetesting.html
 Marnee Loftin loftinm@tsbvi.edu
or loftinmp@att.net
 Carol Evans visionpsych@gmail.com
or braillepsych@yahoo.com
 Debbie Willis dwillis@aph.org
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