separating difference & disability

DR. CATHERINE COLLIER@ASKDRCOLLIER

[email protected]

Seven Steps for Separating Differences and Disabilities

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What’s Up, Doc?

© 2012 Dr. Catherine CollierAll Rights Reserved

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@AskDrCollier catherine@crosscultured.

com www.crosscultured.com Facebook: CrossCultural

Developmental Education Services

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Who’s it going to be?

The Bottom Line

CLD/LEP must be able to participate effectively (at or near peer) in all programs and content

areas.


Growth in Native Born LEP

40%

40%

20%First Generation Second Generation Third + Generation



Definitions

The concept of things that particular people use as models of perceiving, relating, and interpreting their environment.

The process by which individuals perceive, relate to, and interpret their environment.

Difficulty in perceiving and manipulating patterns in the environment, whether patterns of sounds, symbols, numbers, or behaviors.

Culture CognitionLearning Disability

THE BASICS OF BEING HUMAN Sensory abilities, linguistic wiring, genetic and biologic

heritage, innate abilities, etc.

ENCULTURATIONPerceptions, social and behavior patterns,

language, values, etc. learned from caregivers.

ACCULTURATIONPerceptions, social & behavior patterns,

language, etc. learned from interaction with new group(s).

INDIVIDUALUnique experiences,

insights, personal reflections.

Ways we are less like other people.

Ways we are more like other

people.

Communicative, ADD/ADHD

Behavioral, linguistic, cognitive, PDD

Organic, physical, motor, sensory, neurological


National Disproportionality in Sped 2006

Hispanic Black Asian/PI American In-dian

Total Enrollment 18.51 14.91 4.2 0.970000000000001

Emotional Distur-bance

15.9 28.79 1.12 1.56

Learning Disability 21.23 20.52 1.7 1.74

Intellectual Disabil-ity

16.27 20.6 2.19 1.53

2.5

7.5

12.5

17.5

22.5

27.5


Disproportionality for ELL 2010

Underrepresented in special education overall

Overrepresented in specific categories: Speech/language

Impairments (SI) Learning Disabilities

(LD) LD/SI combination



LD EBD AS

5.80%2.50%

.6%

12.90%

4.40%.10%

NonELL ELL

Disproportionality WA 2011

ELL Representation Patterns

Students in English immersion programs are referred at higher rates than those in bilingual programs.

ELLs who are “parent denials” are the most likely to be referred and placed.


Policy Driving Practice

• The evaluation team may not identify a student as disabled if the discrepancy is primarily the result of an environmental, cultural, or economic disadvantage.

• Tests must be selected and administered so as not to be discriminatory on a racial or cultural basis;

• A child shall not be determined to be a child with a disability if the determinant factor for such determination is--• lack of scientifically based instruction practices and programs that

contain the essential components of reading instruction • lack of scientifically based instruction practices and programs that

contain the essential components of instruction in math; or• limited English proficiency.


RTI & RTII

Tier 1Tier

2Tier 3

Tier 3

Tier 2

Tier 1© 2012 Dr. Catherine CollierAll Rights Reserved

Problem Solving with Progress Monitoring

Identify Problem

Measure the

problem

Set goals

Brainstorm intervention

s

Plan intervention

setting

Implement interventio

n

Monitor response to intervention

Analyze response patterns Is there a discrepancy

between current & excepted performance?

Why & to what extent is there a problem?

By how much should the student grow?

What will be done to resolve the problem?

By how much should the student grow?

Did it work? What do we do next?

How & when will the intervention strategy be implemented?


RTI & RTII



Literacy Readiness Skills

Oral Proficiency L1

PRISIM: Pyramid of Resilience, Instruction, Strategies, Intervention &

Monitoring Learning created with building blocks for success


Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Step 5

Step 6Step 7

Is RTI the answer to disproportionate representation of ELL?

Only if approaches are culturally and linguistically responsive and address both system and student issues.


RTI is more than reading!


Eight Challenges to RTI for ELL

1. Difficulties with policy guidelines.2. Different stakeholder views about

timing for referral of students who are English language learners.

3. Insufficient knowledge among personnel involved in identification.

4. Difficulties providing consistent, adequate services to students who are English language learners.


Eight Challenges to RTI for ELL

5. Difficulty obtaining students’ previous school records.

6. Lack of collaborative structures during prereferral.

7. Lack of access to assessments that differentiate between second language development and learning disabilities.

8. Lack of consistent monitoring for struggling students who are English language learners.


Knowledge & Consistency


Potential Sources of Cultural mismatch

All students do not share the experiences and background knowledge that teachers, textbooks, and curriculum standards may assume.

Children from culturally and linguistically different backgrounds have different experiences and knowledge than mainstream teachers and children.

ExperienceLanguageCultureChild-rearing historyReligionSocioeconomic statusUrban‐rural contextRisk factors

(number/severity)


Culture & Child Rearing

Vertical vs horizontalInstruct vs allowIndulgent vs strictAdult vs peersInward vs outwardNuclear vs communal

But avoid stereotyping!

Sometimes it is easier to understand culturally diverse families in terms of group attributes. But individual families are constantly negotiating their identity and their culture within their peer groups and their community culture is not static.


Common Side-Effects Of the Acculturation Process

Heightened AnxietyConfusion in Locus of

ControlWithdrawalSilence/unresponsivenessResponse FatigueCode-switchingDistractibilityResistance to ChangeDisorientationStress Related Behaviors


The Intensity of CultureShock is Cyclical

AnticipationPhase

SpectatorPhase

IncreasingParticipationPhase

ShockPhase

AdaptationPhase

AnticipationPhase

SpectatorPhase

IncreasingParticipationPhase

ShockPhase

AdaptationPhase

Highly Engaged Level

ModeratelyEngagedLevel

Normal Intensity of Emotions

ModeratelyDepressedLevel

Greatly Depressed Level

Families as well as students

Error in English Possessive forms

Non English language

No marker for possessive forms: “my friend’s house” “house my friend”

Avoid use of ‘s to describe possession: “my sister’s children” “the children of my

sister”

Khmer, Vietnamese A noun’s owner comes after

the object Navajo, Apache

Only specific things can be “possessed” or “owned”

Hmong, Spanish, Tagalog Use of a prepositional

phrase to express possession reflects a more common structure

Why do they do that?


The 7 Step PRISIM Process


7 Steps for Separating Difference & Disability

Step 1 Building & Sustaining a Foundation for Learning

Step 2 Establishing & Supporting ResiliencyStep 3 Instructional Intervention &

Differentiated InstructionStep 4 Intensive Intervention with Progress

MonitoringStep 5 Resolution or ReferralStep 6 Integrated Services & Cross-cultural IEPsStep 7 Maintaining Staff & Programs Serving

CLDE© 2012 Dr. Catherine Collier

All Rights Reserved

PRISIM Step 1: Building & Sustaining a Foundation for

LearningSystems & policies promote and sustain:

• Access to safety, food, clothing, & shelter• Quality preparation of effective education

professionals & support staff• Adequacy of school facilities & resources• Consistent use of culturally & linguistically

responsive, evidence-based practices• Supportive responsive relationships• Other effective practices & procedures


PRISIM Application Step 1

Building & Sustaining a Foundation for Learning

What will you have in your foundation?1. Personnel2. Families3. Programs4. Resources5. Processes

Building Literacy foundation

Facilitating Readiness Skills

Facilitating & Sustaining Readiness to Learn

Sustaining Oral Proficiency L1

TPR

Bilingual


PRISIM Step 2: Establishing & Supporting Resiliency

Five Standards for Effective Instruction

Joint Productive Activity

Language & Literacy Development

Contextualize to Make Meaning

Challenging Activities

Instructional Conversation


Look at the Home Language Survey on José.


What Bilingual Type is José at this point in time?

High L1

Low L1

High L2

Type 1 Type 3

Low L2 Type 2 Type 4


Two questions you should be able to answer about acculturation at enrollment

1. What is the student’s current level of acculturation?

2. What is the caregiver’s current level of acculturation?


Look at José’s profile and his baseline AQS.


Look at the Resiliency

Checklist on José.


Look at the 1st Classroom Language

Interaction Checklist on José.


Strategy Fitness!


What We Recommend For Step 2

1. Identify student’s home language proficiency & use to support academic interventions.

2. Measure student’s level of acculturation to school and use to implement appropriate instruction & intervention.

3. Measure the student’s ‘classroom language’ in all communication modes & use to design appropriate instruction & intervention.

4. Develop a resiliency & cognitive learning profile useful in implementing effective instruction & intervention.

5. Implement strength based instruction & language support.

6. Monitor effectiveness of instruction & intervention.


Establishing & Supporting Resiliency

How will you facilitate resiliency in your students?1. Personnel2. Families3. Programs4. Resources5. Processes


Oral Proficiency L1

Expanded TPR

Transitional Bilingual

PRISIM Step 3: Instructional Intervention & Differentiated

Instruction

Analogies

Visualization

Self monitoring


Specific Needs = Specific Strategies

_____________

_____________

_____________

_____________

_____________

____________

_____________

Doesn’t get work in = Self checklist

Does not take time to think

Cannot organize tasks

Makes noises to distract

Says it’s no use to do work

Does not initiate work

Confuses English & Spanish phonemes

= “STOP” strategies

= Graphic organizers

= Guided practice

= Self concept activities

= Active processing

= Compare & contrast, rhymes, games


Two questions you should be able to answer about acculturation when

planning intervention.

1. What is the current level of acculturation?

2. Is the rate of acculturation normal?

© 201 2 Dr. Catherine CollierAll Rights Reserved

Look at the 2nd

AQS on José.

© 2012Dr. Catherine CollierAll Rights Reserved

Calculating Rate of Acculturation

_______ x _______ = __________ Years btwn AQS Minimum Gain Normal Gain Expected

_______ - _______ = __________ Current Score Baseline Score Point Gain Achieved

Normal is a ratio of 1< Achieved divided by Expected >

1 = Normal

Below 1Above 1

5 / 8 = .625 10 / 8 = 1.24© 2012 Dr. Catherine CollierAll Rights Reserved

Five questions you should be able to answer about instructional needs

1. What are the student’s instructional needs?

2. What interventions are needed?3. In what order should the interventions

be implemented?4. For how long should the interventions

be implemented?5. How will I monitor their effectiveness?


Look at the 1st Sociocultural

Checklist on José.


Models of Progress Monitoring

RTI Standard Protocol

RTI ContinuousResponse to

Instruction and Intervention

Problem Solving with Progress Monitoring

Clockwise

= ri

ght

brain

Counterclock

wise =

left bra

in


What we recommend for Step 3

1. Implement specific strength & need based interventions that facilitate learning.

2. Monitor effectiveness of instruction & intervention strategies. Modify based upon student’s response to the strategy.

3. Monitor effectiveness of instruction and intervention in relation to student’s home language proficiency.

4. Monitor student’s level & rate of acculturation to school & the effectiveness of instruction & intervention to facilitate.

5. Monitor the student’s ‘classroom language’ in all communication modes & the appropriateness of instruction & intervention to expand.

6. Monitor resiliency & cognitive learning & effectiveness of instruction & intervention.


Instructional Intervention & Differentiated Instruction

How will you differentiate instruction & intervention?1. Personnel2. Families3. Programs4. Resources5. Processes


PRISIM Step 4: Intensive Intervention with Progress Monitoring

3D pie charts

Stepped proximics

Miscue analysis


Strategy Fitness!


Four questions you should be able to answer about language

1. What is the student’s current social language proficiency in both languages?

2. What is the student’s current academic language proficiency in both languages?

3. Is the rate of development & acquisition normal?

4. What are the most effective instructional strategies to use?


Look at José’s 2nd language

proficiency information.


Look at the 2nd

Sociocultural Checklist on José.


Prioritization of RTI

Sociocultural Area

Order of Concern

Intervention Selected

Duration of Intervention

Outcomes of Intervention

Acculturation

Cognitive Learning

Culture & Language

Experiential Background

Sociolinguistic Development

Academic Area(s)

Order of Concern

Intervention Selected

Duration of Intervention

Outcomes of Intervention


Initiate strategy

• Preview, do, review• Stop if no response after 5 days, review

Modify strategy

• Make minor revisions• Preview, do, review• Stop if no response after 3 days, review

Start

new strategy

• Preview, do, review• Stop if no response after 5 days, review.

Monito

r process

• Measure and analyze• Identify what worked and what didn’t

Initiate strategy

• Preview, do, review• Stop if no response after 5 days, review.



1. Determine if the rate & level of acculturation to school is normal & analyze pattern of response to intervention & instruction.

2. Determine if language gains are normal & analyze pattern of language acquisition.

3. Determine if student response to interventions & modification patterns resolve problems & are sustainable.

4. Implement & monitor short cycle tightly focused “unanswered” needs based intervention.

5. Monitor the response & effectiveness of intervention.


Intensive Intervention & Progress Monitoring

How will you monitor student progress?1. Personnel2. Families3. Programs4. Resources5. Processes

PRISIM Step 5: Resolution or Referral

First Things First

There is no such thing as a nonbiased test.

Assessment is more than testing.Prevention is better than failure.Measure progress, not

‘achievement.’


Prior to Formal Evaluation

1. Screen standardized instruments for cultural and linguistic bias.

2. Review administration options for accommodation of language and culture issues.

3. Document how you have accounted for linguistic and cultural differences, and in regard to procedures and instrument selection.


Evaluation Procedures

Each public agency must ensure that tests and other evaluation materials used to assess a child under Part B of IDEA:

are selected and administered so as not to be discriminatory on a racial or cultural basis; and

are provided and administered in the child’s native language or other mode of communication, unless it is clearly not feasible to do so.


Clarifications from the Discussion

Under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964:In order to properly evaluate a child who may be

limited English proficient, a public agency should assess the child’s proficiency in English as well as in his or her native language to distinguish language proficiency from disability needs; and

An accurate assessment of the child’s language proficiency should include objective assessment of reading, writing, speaking, and understanding.


Clarifications (cont.):

In some situations, there may be no one on the staff of the public agency who is able to administer a test or other evaluation in the child’s native language, but an appropriate individual is available in the surrounding area.

In that case, a public agency could identify an individual in the surrounding area who is able to administer a test or other evaluation in the child’s native language, including contacting neighboring school districts, local universities, and professional organizations.



After a formal referral:1. Crosscultural evaluation based upon the outcomes

of the instructional intervention2. Test Evaluation Checklist3. CrossCultural Administration of Standardized TestsIf the student is eligible for SE & ESL services:4. Integrated plan of services.5. Cross-cultural IEP.6. Continued language and acculturation support.If the student is not eligible for SE services:7. Integrated plan of services within the general

education program.8. Continued language and acculturation support.


Resolution or Referral

How will you decide?1. Personnel2. Families3. Programs4. Resources5. Processes


Oral Proficiency L1

PRISIM Step 6: Integrated Services & Cross-cultural IEPs

Accessibility aids

Cochlear implant

Kurtzweil reader

Electronic eye piece

IEP504


IEP Development

The steps involved in IEP development for ELL students with special needs include the development of objectives related to:

(a) native language development and English language acquisition,

(b) the facilitation of acculturation, (c) special education, (d) the integration of specific culture/language

interventions which address special education needs, (e) identification of service providers responsible for

implementing and monitoring the integration of these services, and

(f) the time limits and scheduled specific re-evaluation formats, dates, and meetings.


Including Diverse Issues on the IEP

A. Does the student have behavior, which impedes his/her learning or the learning of others? Yes No

If yes, consider, if appropriate, strategies including positive behavioral interventions, strategies, and supports to address that behavior.

Check here if a behavior management plan is developed and attached.

B. Does the student have limited English proficiency? Yes No

If yes, consider the language needs as related to the IEP and describe below.


Integrated Services


PreProduction

Early

Production

Speech

Emergence

Intermediate

Fluency

Intermediate Advanced Fluency

Advanced Fluency

Needs total assistance

Needs a great deal of assistance

Needs a lot of assistance

Has a moderate level of needs

Has moderate but specific needs

Has specific need to be addressed

Needs minimal assistance

Pull out for targeted assistance

Pull out/Push in for targeted assistance

Push in for targeted assistance

Total InclusionJosé


Integrated Services & Cross-cultural IEPs

How will you integrate services?1. Personnel2. Families3. Programs4. Resources5. Processes


Oral Proficiency L1

PRISIM Step 7 : Maintaining Staff & Programs Serving CLDE

& Families



Maintaining Staff & Programs Serving CLDE

How will you maintain personnel readiness?1. Personnel2. Families3. Programs4. Resources5. Processes


Oral Proficiency L1

PRISIM: Pyramid of Resilience, Instruction, Strategies, Intervention &

Monitoring Learning created with building blocks for success


Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Step 5

Step 6Step 7

Local Action Planning for Service Integration


10 Questions to Consider

1. How have I honored the referring teacher’s concern?2. Do we have a clear problem solving process in place?3. Who is the gatekeeper within the ELL program who is

contacted for every intervention cycle?4. To what extent does everyone understand language

development?5. Is the ELL exhibiting atypical performance?6. To whom is the ELL being compared?7. What data should I look at for the peer comparison?8. What role does Response-To-Intervention (RTI) play in the

problem solving process?9. To what extent are parents involved?10. To what extent are district ELL/Special Ed trends being

scrutinized?

OSPI, Migrant, and Bilingual Staff 2009© 2012 Dr. Catherine CollierAll Rights Reserved

1. How have I honored the referring teacher’s concern?

Do’sRespect that the teacher

wants the child to succeed.Respect that the teacher is

probably doing the best she can with what she knows.

Respect the teacher’s understanding of pedagogy.

Offer immediate assistance – observations, co-planning, modifications.

Don’tDismiss the teacher’s

concerns as unimportant or foolish (this leads to stealth referrals and a competition to qualify an ELL just out of spite).

Make the teacher feel ignorant because she doesn’t have a background in ELL issues.

Promise something that you can’t/won’t deliver on.


2. Do we have a clear problem solving process in place?

Create a process with a multi-disciplinary team: Special Ed “best friend”, content and/or grade-level teacher, administrator, ELL staff.

Get approval for the process and communicate it often to all staff.

Avoid an overwhelmingly complex process if the majority of referrals are based on simple misinformation.


3. Who is the gatekeeper within ELL who is contacted for every intervention cycle?

No one has all the knowledge about ELL/Special Ed referrals, but … When a Special Ed or ELL staff person

suggests that “Yes, this kid probably is Special Ed” before knowing all the facts, it is difficult to bring any contradictory information to the table.

Many ELLs are referred because they were referred at an earlier grade.


4. To what extent does everyone understand language development?

Avoid these common fallacies:No English = No intelligence/learningSocial, oral language (BICS) = academic

language (CALPs)Judging GLEs without ELD standardsIgnoring time as a crucial factor in

language developmentIgnoring the role of dominant language


5. Is the ELL exhibiting atypical performance?

Franklin Bender “Difference vs. Disability: The Continuum of Working with English Language Learners” from National CEU.www.NationalCEU.com

Catherine Collier “Separating Difference from Disability” www.crosscultured.com

Evaluation and Assessment in Early Childhood Special Education: Children Who Are Culturally and Linguistically Diverse www.k12.wa.us/SpecialEd/pubdocs/CLD.doc


http://www.nationalceu.com/

http://www.crosscultured.com/

http://www.k12.wa.us/SpecialEd/pubdocs/CLD.doc

6. To whom is the ELL student being compared?A peer analysis is critical in determining if

the student’s performance is atypical.The ideal peer group are ELLs, same

language background, same time in program, same grade of entry in school.

Scour district longitudinal data and find as large a peer group as possible


7. What data should I look at for the peer comparison?

Years in programEntry gradeLanguage proficiency levels State benchmark test scoresMobilityParent inputThere is always more to find out…


8. What role does Response-To-Intervention (RTI) play in the problem solving process?

There is great promise […] in using an RTI approach for many reasons. First, the universal screening and progress monitoring called for in the RTI process allow for comparison of students to other similar or “true” peers in their local cohort rather than to national norms. Second, an effective RTI model requires collaboration among all educators (e.g. speech and language therapists, school psychologists, counselors, English as a second language/Bilingual specialist) thereby providing increased opportunities for professional dialogue, peer coaching, and the creation of instructional models integrating best practices of the various fields of education and related services.

Source: “A Cultural, Linguistic, and Ecological Framework for Response to Intervention with English Language Learners” Julie Esparza Brown, Portland State University, 2008.


9. To what extent are parents involved?

Parents need to be contacted early in a language they understand regarding the teacher’s concerns.

Parents need to be educated about language development and differences between siblings, the role of 1st language literacy, etc.


10. To what extent are district ELL/Special Ed trends being scrutinized?

Sometimes individual schools and staff are unable to notice trends in referrals across the district.


What Works


Five Things that Work in RTI for ELL

1. Adequate Professional Knowledge2. Effective Instruction3. Valid Assessments & Interventions4. Collaboration Between District

Departments5. Clear Policies


Indicators that validate the need for SPED evaluation

Poor communicative proficiency in the home as compared to siblings and age peers in bilingual environments, especially when this lack is noticed by the parents.

English language development that appears to be significantly different than that of peers who are also learning English as a additional language.

Documentation that student’s acquisition of English is within normal range for his peer group, age, culture/language population, length of time in ESL, etc. but there are specific learning and/or behavior problems unrelated to culture shock or language transition.

Specific sensory, neurological, organic, motor, or other conditions that impact learning and behavior when having reliable documentation that culture shock or language transition contributes but is not the determining factor for the learning and behavior problems.

Student is demonstrating limited phrasing and vocabulary in both languages indicating that she has not acquired morphologic structures by the appropriate age. Again, both languages may be marked by a short length of utterance

Student’s response to specific structured interventions addressing his presenting problem is documented to be more than 40% below ELL/CLD peers within individualized instructional intervention.


Achievement Progress Monitoring

1. Modify format Selection Taxonomy for ELL

Accommodations (STELLA) Bilingual dictionaries Expand time Open book

2. Administer in dual/multiple languages

3. Task analysis4. Local norms &

benchmarks

1. Clear begin/end criteria

2. Peer appropriate performance outcomes

3. Local norms & benchmarks

4. Discrete steps5. Strategy fitness6. Consistent & regular

monitoring7. Short cycles

Recommendations


Best Practice

Educators1. Remain informed2. Use

differentiation3. Facilitate

resiliency4. Initiate

communication5. Monitor

adaptation & response

6. Facilitate interaction!

Be Prepared for anything and keep a sense of humor!

Contact Information

Catherine Collier, Ph.D.@AskDrCollier (Twitter)[email protected] faxFacebook: CrossCultural

Developmental Education Services

www.crosscultured.com

Thank you! Come visit us atwww.crosscultured.com

Over 45 years experience. Research on impact of

acculturation on referral & placement of CLD students.

Research on effectiveness of specific cognitive learning strategies for diverse learners.

Classroom teacher, diagnostician, faculty, administrator.

Social justice advocate, author & teacher educator.

separating difference & disability

Education

catherine collierall

rti rtiitier

based instruction practices

programs thatcontain

social behavior patterns

goals intervention

intellectual disability

intervention strategy