{"id":88,"date":"2019-03-28T11:00:37","date_gmt":"2019-03-28T15:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/?p=88"},"modified":"2019-03-28T13:06:17","modified_gmt":"2019-03-28T17:06:17","slug":"evaluating-a-child-who-is-blind-and-language-impaired","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/evaluating-a-child-who-is-blind-and-language-impaired\/","title":{"rendered":"Evaluating a Child Who is Blind and Language Impaired"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"padding-bottom:20px; padding-top:10px;\" class=\"hupso-share-buttons\"><!-- Hupso Share Buttons - https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/ --><a class=\"hupso_pop\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/gallery\/share-button-gray.png\" style=\"border:0px\" alt=\"Share\" \/><\/a><script type=\"text\/javascript\">var hupso_services=new Array(\"Twitter\",\"Facebook\",\"Google Plus\",\"Pinterest\",\"Linkedin\",\"StumbleUpon\",\"Digg\",\"Reddit\",\"Bebo\",\"Delicious\");var hupso_icon_type = \"labels\";var hupso_background=\"#FFFFFF\";var hupso_border=\"#FFFFFF\";var hupso_image_folder_url = \"\";var hupso_twitter_via=\"wrightslaw\";var hupso_url=\"\";var hupso_title=\"Evaluating%20a%20Child%20Who%20is%20Blind%20and%20Language%20Impaired\";<\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/js\/share.js\"><\/script><!-- Hupso Share Buttons --><\/div><blockquote><p>&#8220;My 11 year-old daughter is blind and language impaired. She has been in a public school for the blind. As part of her triennial re-evaluation, the team insists on doing IQ testing. I refused as these tests are not designed for the blind. The school is threatening me with due process.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-24100\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/08\/read.not_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"497\" height=\"331\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/08\/read.not_.jpg 849w, https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/08\/read.not_-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/08\/read.not_-768x511.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 497px) 100vw, 497px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Before we can give more than general advice, we need to know more.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Is your daughter totally blind or does she have low vision?<\/li>\n<li>Was she born blind?<\/li>\n<li>Where are her reading skills relative to her peers?<\/li>\n<li>Has she been taught to read with Braille?<\/li>\n<li>When was her last evaluation?<\/li>\n<li>What tests were used then?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>As a parent who is not a psychologist, you are not in a strong position to say what tests she needs or doesn&#8217;t need.<\/p>\n<p><strong>You need&nbsp; an independent expert in your corner.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Do you know an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/info\/test.indep.evals.htm\"><span style=\"color: #0066cc;\">independent evaluator<\/span> <\/a>who has expertise in testing and teaching children who are blind and have language problems?<\/p>\n<p>If not, places to look for a qualified evaluator are a medical school, a children&#8217;s hospital, or a school for the blind. If you do know an independent evaluator, schedule an appointment, discuss the problems, and ask for his\/her advice. This person may be able to test her. If not, s\/he can probably refer you to someone who can.<\/p>\n<p>From what I can determine, you are correct in saying that many tests used with blind children are outdated or lead to inaccurate findings.<\/p>\n<p>Because testing requires the use of so many accommodations and modifications, results should be &#8220;interpreted with caution.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/store\/aat2.html\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-22439\" style=\"margin-right: 10px;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/aat.2ed.cover_.300x384.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"158\" height=\"202\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/aat.2ed.cover_.300x384.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/aat.2ed.cover_.300x384-234x300.jpg 234w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 158px) 100vw, 158px\" \/><\/a>Refer to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/store\/aat2.html\"><em><span style=\"color: #0066cc;\">Wrightslaw: All About Tests and Assessments, 2nd Edition<\/span><\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Chapter 11<\/strong>: <em><strong>Assessments of Hearing, Vision, and Motor Skills<\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Chapter 12<\/strong>: <em><strong>Auditory, Visual, Visual-Motor, and Sensory Processing Assessments<\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>An evaluator should select tests that allow your child to show what she knows &#8211; tests that measure your daughter&#8217;s abilities, not her impaired skills.<\/p>\n<p>The <span style=\"color: #0066cc;\"><a style=\"color: #0066cc;\" href=\"https:\/\/nfb.org\/our-community\/parents-blind-children\">National Federation of the Blind (NFB)<\/a><\/span> offers many programs, services, and resources for parents of blind children.<\/p>\n<p>The NFB also provides <a href=\"https:\/\/nfb.org\/programs-services\/blind-parent-mentoring\"><span style=\"color: #0066cc;\">mentoring relationships<\/span> <\/a>for individuals who are blind and need resources and guidance on blindness issues.<\/p>\n<p>We encourage you to <a href=\"https:\/\/nfb.org\/about-us\/state-affiliates\"><span style=\"color: #0066cc;\">contact your state affiliate<\/span><\/a> for information and resources that are specific to your local area.&nbsp;You can also contact us at our national headquarters using the <span style=\"color: #0066cc;\"><a style=\"color: #0066cc;\" href=\"https:\/\/nfb.org\/about-us\/contact-us\">contact information<\/a><\/span>&nbsp;listed on this page.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #333399;\"><em>Re-edited from a post originally published 08\/11\/2008<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #993300;\"><strong>You may also like&#8230;.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/info\/iep.specfact.popup.htm\"><span style=\"color: #0066cc;\"><span style=\"color: #993300;\">IEP FAQs Pop-Up &#8211; Special Factors in IEPs<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;My 11 year-old daughter is blind and language impaired. She has been in a public school for the blind. As part of her triennial re-evaluation, the team insists on doing <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/evaluating-a-child-who-is-blind-and-language-impaired\/\">Continue Reading \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24100,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[55,3,63,122,136],"tags":[53,86,36,31,85],"class_list":["post-88","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-accommodations-modifications","category-advocacy","category-independent-evaluations","category-placement","category-strategies","tag-accommodations","tag-blindness","tag-due-process","tag-evaluations","tag-language-impaired"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24135,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88\/revisions\/24135"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24100"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}