The Multidisciplinary
Team
Testing Considerations, and
Parental Participation in the
Assessment Process
Chapter Seven
CHAPTER OBJECTIVES
Understand the following
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Multidisciplinary team (MDT)
Purpose of the MDT
Membership of the MDT
Formal referral for a suspected
disability
Contents of a referral to the
MDT
Initial referral to the MDT from
the school staff
Initial referral to the MDT from
a parent/guardian
Assessment plans-consent for
evaluation
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Assessment options of the
MDT
Selecting an appropriate
instrument
Limitations of testing
Parental participation in the
assessment process
How to conduct parent intakes
and interviews
Parent intakes
Confidentiality
The Multidisciplinary Team
MDT
 Multifactor Team (MFT)
 School-Based Support Team (SBST)
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Usually comes into operation when the local
school-based team (Child Study Team) has
conducted a screening and suspects a
disability
Purpose of the MDT
The role is to work as a single unit in
determining the possible cause,
contributing behavioral factors,
educational status, prognosis(outcome),
and recommendations for a student with
a suspected disability.
Membership of the MDT
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School psychologist
School nurse
Classroom teacher
School social worker
Special education
teacher
Educational
diagnostician
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Physical therapist
Behavioral consultant
Speech/language
clinician
Audiologist
Occupational
therapist
Guidance counselor
Parents
FORMAL REFERRAL
 A form
starting the special
education process
 A referral for evaluation and
possible special education
services is initiated by a written
request
Contents of a Referral
Signed and dated paperwork
 Further documentation as to why a
possible disability exists
 Descriptions of attempts to remediate the
child’s behaviors (prereferral strategies)
 Performance prior to the referral
 If not from the parents, the district must
inform the parents in writing immediately
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IMPORTANT POINT
If a release for testing (assessment plan) is
not secured at a separate meeting, the
chairperson of the MDT will mail one to the
parents along with the letter indicating that a
referral has been made. No formal
evaluations may begin until the district has
received signed permission from the parent
or guardian.
Assessment Plans
Consent for Evaluation
In a language easily understood by the
general public
 In the primary language of the parent
 Explains the types of assessments to be
conducted
 States that no IEP will result from the
assessment without the consent of a
parent
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Assessment Plans
Consent for Evaluation
No assessment shall be conducted unless
the written consent of the parent is obtained
prior to assessment
 A copy of the parent rights, including the
right to record electronically the
proceedings of the eligibility committee
meetings
 Assessment/Psychological assessment/
Health Assessment shall be conducted by
persons competent in that area
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Assessment Options of the
Multidisciplinary Team
Academic Achievement Evaluation
 Intellectual and Psychological Evaluation
 Perceptual Evaluation
 Oral Language Evaluation
 Occupational Therapy Evaluation
 Physical Therapy Evaluation
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TESTING CONSIDERATIONS
Selecting an appropriate instrument:
 Consider the student’s skill areas to be
assessed, and identify a range of tests
that measure those skill areas
 Investigate how suitable each test
identified is for the student to be assessed
and select those that are most appropriate
Some questions to ask when
reviewing a test
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What is the test supposed to measure?
Is the test valid and reliable?
Is the test appropriate for the student’s
age and grade?
If norm-referenced, does the norm group
resemble the student?
What is the purpose of the test?
Some questions to ask when
reviewing a test
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Is the test administered by a group or
individually?
Does the examiner need specialized
training?
Will the student’s suspected disability
impact his or her taking of the test?
How similar to actual classroom tasks
are the tasks on the test?
LIMITATIONS OF TESTING
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Usefulness of traditional testing in making good
educational decisions for children is questioned
Lack of usefulness in designing interventions
Scores may not reflect what the child really knows
of what is taught in the classroom
Overfamiliarity with repeated tests
Inability to apply test findings in practical way
Difficulty in using such measures to monitor shortterm achievement gains
Parent Participation in the
Assessment Process
Waterman (1994) lists parental options,
responsibilities, and expectations prior to an
assessment for a suspected disability on
pages 108 and 109
Parent Intakes and Interviews
A parent intake is a gathering of
pertinent information from a parent.
It may involve interviewing the
parent to obtain a complete family
history.
When conducting a parent intake…
Help the parent feel comfortable…
 Hold the meeting in a pleasant setting…
 Never view parents as adversaries…
 Inform parents every step of the way…
 Inform parents of the types, names and
purposes of the evaluation instruments…
 Reassure the parents about confidentiality
of information gathered…
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Goals of a Parent Intake
 Identifying
data and family
information
 Developmental history
 Academic history
 Social History
CONFIDENTIALITY
Information collected through assessment
automatically becomes part of a child’s
school records
 Each school district should have
confidentiality policies
 Handouts with the district’s policy are
usually given out on the day of the parent
intake
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CHAPTER OBJECTIVES
Understand the following








Multidisciplinary team (MDT)
Purpose of the MDT
Membership of the MDT
Formal referral for a suspected
disability
Contents of a referral to the
MDT
Initial referral to the MDT from
the school staff
Initial referral to the MDT from
a parent/guardian
Assessment plans-consent for
evaluation







Assessment options of the
MDT
Selecting an appropriate
instrument
Limitations of testing
Parental participation in the
assessment process
How to conduct parent intakes
and interviews
Parent intakes
Confidentiality
THE END