Los Angeles Unified School District
Division of Special
Education
Schools for All
Children
Developmental and
Learning
Characteristics of
Students with
Mental Retardation
Donnalyn Jaque-Antón
Associate Superintendent
Definition

A disability that originates before
the age of 18 and is characterized
by significant limitations both in
intellectual functioning and in
adaptive behavior as expressed in
conceptual, social, and practical
adaptive skills
AAMR 2002

Significantly subaverage general
intellectual functioning, existing
concurrently with deficits in
adaptive behavior and manifested
during the developmental period,
that adversely affects a child’s
educational performance
CFR 300.7(c)(6)
Causes of Mental Retardation

Chromosomal abnormalities including
genetic, metabolic and neurological
disorders

Congenital infections

Prenatal drug exposure

Perinatal/postnatal factors
Levels of Mental Retardation
Mild
Moderate
Severe
Profound
Adapted from: Institute On
Violence and Destructive
Behaviors, University of
Oregon (1999)
Significant/
Pervasive
Support
Supports are
Constant, High
Intensity
Limited
Support
Supports are
Needed Consistently
Intermittent
Support
Supports are on as Needed Basis
Levels of Support for Students with
Mild Mental Retardation

Intermittent Supports

As needed basis

High or low intensity

Most likely to be required at life
transitions
Levels of Support for Students with
Moderate Mental Retardation

Limited Supports
 Needed
consistently over time
– but not on a daily basis
 Non-intensive
 Transitional
sensitive
Levels of Support for Students with
Severe Mental Retardation
Significant Supports

Regular and frequent involvement

Situational sensitive
Levels of Support for Students with
Profound Mental Retardation

Pervasive Supports

Consistent

High intensity

Across environments
Educational Implications
Attention, memory, and decision
making

Good attention to task at hand

Decision-making capability varies

Difficulty generalizing
Educational Implications (continued)
Cognitive characteristics related to
skill acquisition:
 Difficulty in organizing thought
 Persistence in using incorrect
methods
 Difficulty in self-evaluation
 Less preparation and slower
movement times
Addressing Educational Challenges

Student learns
through direct
interactions
with things
activities &
people

Teacher
provides
activity-based
“hands-on”
learning
experiences
Addressing Educational Challenges
(continued)

Student learns
through
associations

Teacher uses
meaningful
context such
as daily
routines &
organization of
materials
Addressing Educational Challenges
(continued)

Student’s
understanding is
likely based
upon their own
perceptions,
experiences, or
scripted answers
that are not
completely
understood

Teacher
explicitly links
cause–effect,
especially
through social
skills instruction
Addressing Educational Challenges
(continued)

Student learns
through
repetition

Teacher
provides
multiple
opportunities
to learn and
practice skills
systematically
What is Systematic Instruction?
Identification of the learning
target
 Breaking down the learning
target into incremental steps
 Knowing where each student
enters the learning sequence
 Practicing across environments

Systematic Instruction Includes
Task Analysis
 Teaching Strategies
 Reinforcement, shaping, fading
and prompting hierarchies
 Data collection

Task Analysis
Break down a task into a behavior
chain consisting of separate,
teachable, smaller steps/links


Steps/links should be individualized to
meet student’s needs
Behavior chains range in amount of
steps/links
Teaching Strategies
Direct Instruction is often used
to teach rote association,
vocabulary skills, “early
academic skills,” and sometimes
“behavior scripts”
Teaching Strategies
 Tasks
are broken into small
skills
 Tasks are taught using a
structured format
(Stimulus>Response>Consequence)
 Provides
multiple opportunities
to practice
Teaching Strategies
 Effective
for varied skills and
group size
 Keep the individual or groups
attention by serial responding,
active participation, pacing
and varying materials
 Consequence tends to be an
external reinforcer
Reinforcement
A tool used to support, establish,
maintain, or generalize a
behavior
 Kinds of reinforcers
 How much
Shaping/Fading/Prompting

“Shape” or prompt the correct
response





Block error or use maximum prompt to
cue correct response
Verbally prompt correct response
Model correct response
Reduce choices (simplify task)
As student gains mastery fade or
reduce the prompts
Data Collection
We need to:
 Monitor student learning
 Monitor effectiveness of
teaching strategies
 Write observable, measurable
goals and objectives
 Demonstrate adequate yearly
progress
Adapted from: Institute On
Violence and Destructive
Behaviors, University of
Oregon (1999)
Significant/
Pervasive
Support
Supports are
Constant, High
Intensity
•
•
•
•
Alternate curriculum or Life Skills
Intensive social skills training
Parent training and collaboration
Multi-agency collaboration (wrap-around) services
Limited
Support
Supports are
Needed Consistently
Intermittent
Support
Supports are on as Needed Basis
• Modifying Core curriculum
• Varying response output
• Small group targeted instruction
• Pre-teach/Re-teach/Remediation
• Social Skill Training
•
•
•
•
Based on Core Curriculum
Universal Access
Based on individual student’s nee
High-quality instructional methods
& strategies that ensure progress
• Frequent assessment to monitor
progress
• Positive reinforcement systems
Curriculum
An applied curriculum that connects the
general education concepts being taught
with the context where those concepts are
utilized in managing one’s everyday life is
key to making the standard curriculum
accessible for students with moderate to
severe disabilities.
Teaching Students with Moderate to Severe Disabilities by Hammill & Everington
Strategies for Access to Standardsbased Instruction


Curriculum provides multiple
means of representation
Alternate modes for subject
matter
 Visual
 Auditory
 Differentiated
Strategies for Access to Standardsbased Instruction (continued)

Curriculum provides multiple
means of expression
 Allows students to respond
with their preferred modality
 Accommodates the differing
cognitive strategies and motor
systems of students
Strategies for Access to Standardsbased Instruction (continued)

Curriculum provides multiple
means of engagement
 Students’ interests in learning
are matched with the mode of
presentation and their
preferred means of expression
 Students are engaged
Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST)
Importance of Choice-Making
Relates to
 Self-determination
 Motivation
 Positive behavior
support
Structuring ChoiceMaking
 Within a task
 Between tasks
 Order of tasks
 With whom to do
task
 “More” of task
 Yes or no
Positive outcomes




Can live independently or semiindependently
Can develop meaningful social and
personal relationships
Can be meaningfully employed
within the community
Can enjoy a high quality of life
"How we spend our
days is, of course, how
we spend our lives."
--Annie Dillard