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English Language Development for Students
With Significant Cognitive Disabilities
Laurene Christensen, Ph.D., National Center on Educational Outcomes
Vitaliy Shyyan, Ph.D., National Center on Educational Outcomes
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What does NCEO do?
Mission: To support the development of inclusive
assessment in a rapidly changing state (and
consortium) assessment system environment in order
to promote improved educational results for students
with disabilities.
www.nceo.info
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Today’s Essential Questions
 Who
are students with significant cognitive
disabilities?
 Who
are ELLs with significant cognitive disabilities?
 What
do we believe about students with significant
cognitive disabilities related to their receptive and
expressive language development?
 How
do we separate English language development
from language development of for students with
significant cognitive disabilities?
 What
is the difference between language and
communication?
 How
does what we know about language systems
affect the socio-cultural implications of including
these learners in ESL programming?
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Who Are Students With
Significant Cognitive Disabilities?
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Students With Significant Cognitive
Disabilities

Represent ~1% or fewer of the total assessed population

3 primary disabilities categories are usually listed:
 Mental Retardation
 Multiple Disabilities
 Autism

Highly varied levels of expressive/receptive language use

Most students in the population use symbolic
communication

Level of symbolic language distribution is similar across
grade-bands

Most of the population read basic sight words and solve
simple math problems with a calculator.
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Students With Significant Cognitive
Disabilities
 69% likely use symbolic language (verbal
or written words, signs, braille, or languagebased augmentative systems) to
communicate
 Approximately
20% use intentional
communication, e.g., consistent patterns of
gestures or sounds
 Approximately
10% communicate primarily
through cries, facial expressions, change in
muscle tone
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Who Are ELLs With
Significant Cognitive Disabilities?
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IEP Team Determined
 The
student is classified as ELL.
 Student
records indicate a disability or
multiple disabilities that significantly affect
the student’s intellectual functioning and
adaptive behavior.
 The
student is or will be participating in his
or her statewide alternate assessment
based on alternate achievement standards.
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The student has a significant
cognitive disability.
Not Determined by:

A disability category or label

An IQ score


Determined by:

The student’s need for
extensive, direct
individualized instruction
Native language,
social/cultural, or economic
differences

The student’s need for
substantial supports to achieve
measureable gains
Anticipated poor performance
or disruptive behavior

The student’s use of
substantially adapted
materials and individualized
methods of accessing
information
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+ Participation of ELLs with
Significant Cognitive Disabilities in
ELP Assessments
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Federal Guidance on ELLs With
Significant Cognitive Disabilities
 IEP
team membership
 Participation
in alternate ELP assessments
 Provision
of accommodations on a case-bycase basis
 Meaningful
involvement of parents
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How do we separate English language
development from language
development of students with
significant cognitive disabilities?
 Axel Cortes, is a twelve year old elementary bi-lingual student with autism at Idelhurst
Elementary in New Hampshire.
• Axel Video http://www.ncscpartners.org/multimedia
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Language
 Language
is a specific form of communication
where letters, figures, numbers, characters,
gestures, or combination thereof (spoken, visual, or
both) is universally accepted by a culture or sub
culture to facilitate common ideas, expressions,
and thoughts.
 Students
do not move lockstep in language
development.
 Language
is learned by using language in all four
domains: listening, speaking, reading, and writing.
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Communication

Communication is a social event which requires sending or
receiving messages with an agreed upon sets of symbols,
gestures, objects, pictures, words, sounds, movements.

Communication can be words-based, but often is not for
students with cognitive delays who may not use words or more
words due to the nature of their disabilities.

Because of their cognitive, social, and communicative delays,
these children may have a different form of language to fulfill
the function of language (to communicate) based on the
individual student needs and abilities.

If the student has a language system (any type of AAC), then the
student has access to the language needed to access contents
and more because he/she can communicate with set of
symbols, gestures, objects, pictures, words, etc., which the
student uses as language.
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What do we believe
about students with
significant
cognitive
disabilities related
to their receptive
and expressive
language
development?
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Communication Beliefs
 All
individuals and all behaviors (including
gestures, cries, noises) communicate.
 Communication
is possible and identifiable
for all students.
 Every
step toward improved communication,
attention, and interaction leads to increased
independence
 No
more fundamental outcome of education
exists than the right and the ability to
communicate.
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A Student Can Have
Symbolic Understanding and
Receptive Communication,
but not Use Symbolic Communication
EXPRESSIVELY.
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What if the student does
not have a dedicated
communication
system?
 The “absence
of evidence is
not evidence of absence”
(Donnellan, 2000).
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Intent + Mode (form or language system)
+ Listener Comprehension =
Successful
Communication
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All Students Communication
 Teachers
observe to identify communication
intent and mode/form
 Communications
targets (intents) are selected
 Student
strengths are used to establish the best
form or mode of communication
 Family
members describe what the students
like and dislike the most
 The
team records observations of student
preferences (likes/dislikes)
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Expressive Levels of
Communication
 Symbolic
level or true language use
 Emerging
symbolic communication:
students use pictures, objects, signs to
communicate a variety of intents
 Pre-symbolic
communication
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Receptive Levels of
Communication
 Understand
simple directions without
supportive cues
 Understand
 Alerts
 Does
simple directions with cues
and attends to others
not alert to others
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Non-Verbal Communication
Tone
Touch
Personal
Facial
distance
expressions
Gestures
Eye
contact
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Non-Verbal Communication
Can you guess what this gesture means in Japan?
This Japanese gesture means “angry.”
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Non-Verbal Communication
Can you guess what this gesture means in
France?
This French gesture means “I do not believe
you.”
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Non-Verbal Communication
Can you guess what this gesture means in Iran?
This Iranian gesture is extremely obscene.
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Non-Verbal Communication
Can you guess what this gesture means in
Nigeria and other parts of West Africa?
Rumsfeld’s gesture in Nigerian culture is also
extremely obscene. It means what the extended
middle finger means in America times five.
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The Least Dangerous Assumption
IS to Presume Competence!
Acting on the
presumption of
competence provides
students with the
opportunity to learn,
achieve, and
ultimately become
more independent.
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Thank
you!
laurene@umn.edu
shyya001@umn.edu