ROCHESTER SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF
1545 ST. PAUL STREET
ROCHESTER, NEW YORK 14621
EDUCATIONAL EVALUATION
INTAKE
Student Name: Jane Doe
DOB:
DOE: July 12, 2007
Age: 11 years, 1 month
Evaluator:
Primary Language in the Home: English
Primary Language of Student: Single Signs
Current Grade Placement: 8:1:1 Self-Contained
REASON FOR REFERRAL
Jane was referred for an academic evaluation as part of an intake process to determine her
current levels of academic functioning for potential placement and programming at
Rochester School for the Deaf.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Jane is an 11- year, 1 month old whose hearing abilities have been traditionally difficult
to assess. Inconclusive results have not yielded an unequivocal determination of her
hearing levels in the past. Jane’s most current audiological evaluation suggests a mild
sloping to moderate hearing loss for at least the better ear (, July 2007). Jane’s reactions
to audiological testing equipment placed on her ears and her reactions to louder sounds
indicate a possible hypersensitivity to sound. Jane has not used hearing aids in the past,
and none are recommended at this time.
Jane presents with multiple diagnoses: Cri du Chat, cerebral palsy (spastic diplegia),
episodes of respiratory arrest, failure to thrive, strabismus at birth (often part of Cri du
Chat Syndrome), gastro-esophageal reflux, pica and microcephaly. Jane resides with her
adoptive mother and several siblings, including an adoptive sister with Down’s
syndrome. Mother reported that English is the predominant language in the home, but
some sign is used as well.
Jane attends School of the Holy Childhood in Rochester, New York where she is part of
an 8:1:1 self-contained classroom. BOCES 1 provided her preschool and kindergarten
education. Jane’s mother is seeking academic placement other than the School of the
Holy Childhood for Jane because she feels that the skills presented in Jane’s current
classroom are too basic and redundant for Jane and because the needs of the other
children in the class are disabling Jane’s efforts to learn, develop communication abilities
and to socialize.
Jane receives physical therapy in order to address gait, motor planning, strength, postural
control and balance skills. She also participates in occupational and speech therapy. The
School of the Holy Childhood provided Jane with a “DynaMyte” assistive
communication device, and she has used it consistently to communicate throughout the
day when it is in good repair. Mother reported that there was a period of time from
October 2006 until February 2007 when the “DynaMyte” was broken and therefore not
available for Jane’s use. Jane participates in an adaptive physical education class at The
School of the Holy Childhood.
Mother stated that Jane has undergone trials with 3 separate “ADD medications” in order
to improve Jane’s ability to focus and attend. According to her mother, when none of
these medications was successful, Tenex was prescribed. Mother stated that Jane is
currently taking Prilosec. Jane uses “Pull Up” undergarments and benefits from
scheduled restroom breaks. Aside from this, she is able to take care of her toileting needs
independently.
BEHAVIORAL OBSERVATIONS
Jane was accompanied to this evaluation by a previous evaluator. She cooperated during
introductions, but resisted coming into the room. Jane ran away up and down the hall
several times before entering the evaluation room and sitting at the table. Jane would not
interact with formal testing materials, but responded to toys and puzzles. Her attention
span was limited during teacher-directed activities. It was difficult to establish and
maintain eye contact with Jane. She did not maintain attention on the face of this
evaluator during communication attempts. While she was alert to others around her, Jane
did not initiate communication. Jane responded well when her efforts were applauded,
and she was somewhat motivated by stickers. Jane enjoyed doing puzzles and using
crayons to draw.
Jane got out of her chair numerous times during this evaluation, and while she could
sometimes be encouraged to sit back down and resume work, most of the time she ran
from the room. She feigned being hurt or in pain periodically. When this evaluator
refused to run after her and appeared bored with Jane’s running away, Jane stopped and
returned on her own.
REVIEW OF INFORMAL ASSESSMENT RESULTS
CURRENT PERFORMANCE LEVELS
Jane did not consistently perform skills upon request. It was not clear whether she was
not able to comprehend what was required of her to perform a task or if she did not
possess the skill needed to complete the task successfully. In general, the skills
demonstrated by Jane during this evaluation are pre-academic.
Colors: Jane identified 8 out of 10 colors when the color names were presented via
simultaneous voice and sign: red, blue, green, purple, orange, pink, yellow, and brown.
She did not correctly identify grey or white. She demonstrated expressive use of the
color signs blue, red, green and yellow.
Numbers and Counting: Jane demonstrated the ability to count up to 2 objects using
1:1 correspondence. She was able to hold up 2 fingers to indicate 2 objects. Jane did not
demonstrate the ability to imitate number signs. She was not able to provide the correct
number of objects 1-5 upon request or demonstrate understanding of the concept “one
more”. While mother reported that Jane is able to count to ten and identify the numbers
1-10 on a number line, Jane did not demonstrate this ability during the evaluation.
Letters: Mother reported that Jane is able to recognize alphabet letters, but is not able to
recite (via voice or sign) in order. Jane did not demonstrate this skill during this
evaluation.
Visual Discrimination: Jane experienced difficulty focusing on this task and
understanding what she was to do.
Vocabulary: Mother stated that Jane uses approximately 50 signs. During this
evaluation, Jane responded to a small number of tasks on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary
Test (Expressive). She correctly signed “boat”, “tree” “apple”, “cat”, and “phone”. She
was observed to use the signs “Halloween”, “help”, “cry” and “pig” spontaneously.
PreHandwriting: Jane held crayons in a full-fist grip in her right hand when making
strokes on paper. She exerted extremely heavy pressure on the crayons when executing
marks. As a result, her marks were extremely bold. Most of her marks were sharp zigzag
shapes. No printed alphabet letters were discernable although she sequenced 3 vertical
lines following a pre-printed J in order to spell her name.
Response to Instruction: Jane required frequent and persistent redirections to task.
When she was interested in a task, she worked cooperatively with this evaluator for
extended periods of time (i.e., approximately 15-20 minutes). She was most successful
following directions administered via gestures. Once when she was having difficulty
placing a puzzle piece, she asked for help by signing “help”. Jane demonstrated the
strategy of acting out her thoughts and ideas occasionally. For example, when she
wanted to communicate that a cat scratches, she formed her hand into a claw and lashed.
Calling Jane’s name was not successful in getting her attention. She did respond
appropriately to the words “stop” and “no”. Adding sign to spoken language did not
appear to enhance Jane’s performance on communication or learning tasks. Jane did not
appear to rely on sign any more than on auditory information to understand
communicative and instructional interactions. However, she is dependent on her use of
expressive sign to communicate with others, especially since her speech is not
intelligible. Jane was most successful working with manipulative materials. Stickers,
applause, the prospect of playing with toys and the privilege of earning some hand lotion
motivated Jane.
SUMMARY and RECOMMENDATIONS
Jane is an 11- year, 1 month old whose most current audiological evaluation suggests a
mild sloping to moderate hearing loss for at least the better ear (Sterling, July 2007).
Jane presents with multiple diagnoses including Cri du Chat and cerebral palsy (spastic
diplegia). Jane resides with her adoptive mother and several siblings, including an
adoptive sister with Down’s Syndrome. Mother reported that English is the predominant
language in the home, but some sign is used as well.
Jane attends School of the Holy Childhood in Rochester, New York where she is part of
an 8:1:1 self-contained classroom. Jane’s mother is seeking academic placement for Jane
at Rochester School for the Deaf (RSD) because she feels that Jane needs exposure to
different learning goals, to American Sign Language (ASL) and to children with whom
she can socialize and communicate. Jane receives physical, occupational and speech
therapy.
Results of this educational evaluation suggest that Jane is performing tasks at a preacademic level and that a marked lag in language acquisition, attention and behavioral
factors are among those that have a significant impact on Jane’s learning. A highly
structured classroom environment that communicates clear, consistent expectations for
appropriate behavior will facilitate Jane’s learning. One-on-one support is strongly
recommended throughout the school day, as is immersion in language and socialization
skill development activities.
Jane does not have the language, socialization or classroom skills to function within a
class of her age peers at Rochester School for the Deaf (RSD). Significant program
modifications would need to be made if Jane’s needs are to be met at RSD at this time.
Considerations include the latitude RSD can be afforded in initiating a program that
blends life skills and early academic skills for a child as young and multiply involved as
Jane. Another consideration is the availability of a class placement and the teaching staff
necessary to provide constant supervision, one-on-one interactions and significantly
modified instruction.
Educational Evaluator