The Functional Assessment of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students

Selected Topic of Interest, 1999 The Functional Assessment of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students Michael A. Karchmer and Thomas E. Allen Karchmer is professor of educational FOUNDATIONS AND RESEARCH, GalLAUDET University, Washington, DC. Allen is DEAN OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL AND RESEARCH AT GALLAUDET. The study reports on a set of questions added to the 1997-98 Annual Survey of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children and Youth designed to take into consideration the functioning of children in their classrooms in nine functional areas. Basing information on 30,198 students, the study describes prevalence rates of reported limitations in these functional areas for deaf and hard of hearing students, compares these to rates resulting from the reporting of categorically defined additional disabilities , and examines interrelationships among the items. Results of school estimates of students' functional hearing abilities are presented. The study's findings suggest a broader range and higher prevalence of functional limitations than would be assumed by analyzing categories of additional disabilities alone. The study's findings support the viability of functional assessment through large surveys . The discussion emphasizes the importance of functional assessment for the provision of appropriate educational services to deaf and hard of hearing children. The past 2 decades have witnessed a shift in paradigm regarding the conceptualization and assessment of disability. This shift has entailed a movement away from categorical definitions of disability to a framework in which an individual's functional abilities are described in the context of a particular societal environment, for example, the workplace or the classroom (Kirchner, 1996). Hendershot (1998), citing a 1998 report by the National Council on Disability , noted that definitions of disability needed to be changed to reflect the mandates of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which views disability as an interaction between an individual with an impairment and the environment rather than as a deficit of an individual. Hendershot urged a concerted effort by the disability statistics community to incorporate new strategies for assessing individual functioning , with a focus on describing environmental and participation factors. This recommendation echoes those of other researchers (e.g., Simeonsson & Bailey, 1988), who have made significant contributions to the development of new instrumentation . Since the reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in 1997, there has been a growing emphasis on the full inclusion of all children with disabilities in regular classrooms . A consequence of this trend is that the practice of categorizing and labeling students assumes less importance, particularly in determining decisions regarding school placement and the provision of services. Schools and classrooms are viewed as dynamic social environments in which all children demonstrate particular strengths and needs. Given the mandates of ADA and IDEA, the challenge for society , through its schools, becomes one of ensuring that the needs of all individuals are met. The assessment of students' functional abilities is crucial under the new paradigm . For program and policy planning, functional assessment can identify areas in need of attention. It can help articulate the interplay between academic and social functioning in the classroom and the demands placed on students, as well as the supports and accommodations that need to be provided. Survey methodologies that employ functional definitions and include measures of environmental factors are clearly needed to provide information relevant to the mandates of both ADA and IDEA. For the assessment of deaf and hard of hearing children in schools, the new paradigm has great relevance, and the implications of the full inclusion of these students have been widely discussed (e.g., Johnson & Cohen, 1994). In addition to the issues already raised regarding deafness , it is particularly important to consider deaf and hard of hearing students because among them are many who have been labeled as having specific conditions in addition to hearing loss that have relevance to their educational needs (Karchmer, 1985; Wolff & Harkins, 1986). The present article goes beyond the consideration of categorically defined specific conditions to provide a broad assessment of deaf and hard of hearing students in relation to cognitive, social and behavioral , communicative, and physical functional limitations. We also consider an estimate of the functional hearing ability of this group of students. Our particular focus is on students from infancy through 21...