December 5, 2009
Eligibility
Okay, so who exactly are we talking about when we say “students with moderate and severe disabilities?” This group of students has many names due to the ongoing political-correctness wording game. Here in Kentucky, the eligibility name is typically “FMD” which stands for Functional Mental Disability. Some teaching certification programs will call the degree or certification “MSD” which stands for moderate and severe disabilities. I have also heard this group referred to as “low incidence.” Please be prepared for some alphabet soup as the acronyms in the field of special education are unending. For the purposes of this course, although not exact synonyms, we will use FMD and MSD interchangeably.
How do we determine if a student is eligible for FMD?
We use the following form to determine eligibility for FMD: Functional Mental Disability.
It includes the following components:
1a. Cognitive functioning is at least three (3) standard deviations below the mean.
- This is based on a normal bell curve, where the mean is 100 and a standard deviation is 15. This means that for the Admissions and Review Committee (ARC) to check “Y” on this element, the student must score 55 or below (100-3×15=55 or 100-45=55).
1b. Adaptive behavior is at least three (3) standard deviations below the mean.
- Adaptive behaviors include communication, daily living skills, socialization, motor skills, and maladaptive behaviors. These are most commonly assessed with the adaptive behavior scales, such as the Vineland, that involve an interview with a parent, teacher or other knowledgeable individual of the student.
1c. Severe deficit in overall academic performance including acquisition, retention, and application of knowledge.
- The ARC must be able to show that students have difficult acquiring, retaining and applying skills and knowledge. This obviously will adversely affect a students’ performance in a the general education curriculum.
1d. And, is typically manifested during the developmental period.
- The word “typically” is used because instances and circumstances can cause individuals to be considered FMD due to health issues ( e.g. seizures, late onset, etc.). *Note: The state of Kentucky recognizes instances of traumatic brain injury (TBI) as its own category, which makes it important to assess the manifestation.
2. Evaluation information confirms there is an adverse effect on educational performance.
3. Evaluation information confirms that lack of instruction in reading and/or math was not a determinant factor in the eligibility decision.
4. Evaluation information confirms that limited English proficiency was not a determinant factor in the eligibility decision.
If all of these items are answered “yes,” then a student is determined FMD.
For students that may have scores a bit too high for this grouping, you may want to look at the Eligibility form for Mild Mental Disability (MMD). The only differences between these two groupings are that the cognitive functioning and adaptive behavior scores are two standard deviations below the norm (instead of three).
All eligibility forms can be viewed on the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) website. I strongly encourage you to become familiar with the different eligibilities, terminology and details.
Week Two: Eligibility
Quiz Password: eligibility
**After you have completed the quiz, review your scores and the explanations. Look for the assignment in the explanation section after the final question. Good luck!
Overview
Welcome students! This course is designed to help you to have a better understanding of students with moderate and severe disabilities. We will be tackling one major topic per week. Please understand that even so, some of these are far more complex than we will have time to discuss and cover. We will basically be skimming the surface. More detail and in-depth discussions will take place in the courses that follow.
Format of the Course:
Every Sunday, I will be releasing my blog for you to read. This will basically be equivalent to a short lecture if you were in a physical classroom. I will keep them short and to the point as much as possible. You may have supplemental readings that go along with my blogs. At the conclusion of each reading, you will follow a link to a quiz. Make sure that you read entirely and comprehend what you have read. Your quiz results will be sent to me and will be uploaded to the grade book. At the conclusion of each quiz, you will receive your assignment for the week. All work is due by midnight Saturday. The new week begins on Sunday. Please do not procrastinate on doing your reading and quiz as your assignments will not be revealed until these are completed. In addition to the weekly quizzes and assignments, I am requiring that you stay connected to your peers and myself. I am asking that you do this by setting up a blog, subscribing to one another’s blogs and, adding one another to Yahoo! messenger. I realize and understand that many of you use other messenger applications but for the purposes of this course, I would like for us all to use the same. I recommend WordPress for your blogs. Many internet browsers have built-in aggregators (aka feed readers or “gators”) but if you are unable to find this feature, I recommend Google Reader. Below is my contact information. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions, comments or concerns. Happy learning!
Jenny Hogg
Blog: http://teachersofmsd.wordpress.com/feed/
E-mail: j_hogg7@yahoo.com
Yahoo! Messenger: J_hogg7
Online help available on a personal basis available M-Th from 8-9PM. (In the case of a scheduling conflict, you may e-mail me or leave a message any time and I will do my best to respond in a timely manner).
Quiz One: Overview
Quiz password: overview
