|
Article Excerpt
Allen-Meares and Lane (1983) authored an article in NASW s Social Work journal rifled "Assessing the Adaptive Behavior of Children and Youths," which appraised the status and use of adaptive behavior as a concept and measurement tool that would work in the school system. Adaptive behavior--or the ability of a person to function in society, in a group, or in a classroom according to specific standards of behavior and ability--is one factor practitioners consider when completing holistic assessments of the level of care and services necessary. At the time of the Allen-Meares and Lane article, adaptive behavior instruments and theories were gaining recognition and use among school social workers as they strove to accurately assess students to determine who among them was eligible for special education programming.
The use of formal measurement was not an entirely novel concept within the school setting. School psychologists and special resource personnel frequently presented data from various instruments that measured or quantified performance, IQ, speech, motor skills, and other indicators. Many of these instruments were limited to the in-school behaviors or cognitive abilities of the child. However, at the time, the ability to assess a child's whole experience was trending toward a more comprehensive set of measurements as a complement to those more typically administered. Because school social workers are knowledgeable about the importance of a holistic approach and understand how environment affects behavior, they were ideally suited to assess the adaptive behavior of pupils identified as candidates for special education services.
As often is the case with trends, whether societal, educational, or professional, it is prudent to examine the tools that have been developed concomitantly and the way they have been used. Although several of the assessment instruments discussed by Allen-Meares and Lane (1983) are still in use, many others have been developed. In addition, although Allen-Meares and Lane discussed one culturally sensitive instrument called the System of Multicultural Pluralistic Assessment (SOMPA), the consideration of cultural and ethnic factors in assessment has gained more importance given the increasing ethnic and racial diversity within certain school systems.
Furthermore, cultural and ethnic factors are of particular relevance as the overrepresentation of ethnic minority students in special education classes has been documented by researchers whose work spans the past 40 years (Harry, Sturges, & Klingner, 2005; Hosp & Reschly, 2004). In 1998, approximately 1.5 million ethnic minority children were identified as mentally retarded, as having emotional problems, or as having a specific learning disability (Civil Rights Project, 2002), with nearly 60 percent of those children being African American or Native American. The Children's Defense Fund (2005) cited Osher, Sims, and Woodruff's (2002) report, which stated that in 39 states, African American children are twice as likely to be labeled mentally retarded. Atkins-Burnett (2006) suggested that although troubling, these statistics, taken as a whole and contextualized in light of economic status, environment, and so forth, might not be as troubling if those so identified were then provided with "adequate supports" to bolster their academic success. However, once labeled, ethnic minority children are less likely to receive instruction in a mainstream classroom, are more likely to face harsher discipline than that received by their peers, and are less likely to graduate. Outside of school, African American students, in particular, face a greater rate of unemployment and arrest (Children's Defense Fund, 2004).
When ethnic minority population growth and the information regarding overrepresentation is considered in conjunction with the recent reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA) (U.S. Department of Education, 2004), which includes specific language on preventing this overrepresentation, now is a particularly appropriate time to revisit the status of these adaptive behavior assessment scales. Not only does IDEA seek to prevent the overinclusion of ethnic minorities in special education, but also its language guarantees that all students with potential disabilities be included in the assessment process, with appropriate accommodation as necessary to "measure the academic achievement and functional performance of [any given student]" (IDEA, [section] 1412, 24).
Overrepresentation is not the only reason to norm assessment instruments with different ethnic and cultural considerations. The face of the United States is quickly changing to include growing populations of students who reflect a larger American diversity. On the basis of the 1990 data, the U.S. Census Bureau (1992) projected that by 2050 the fastest growing population in America will be Hispanic, with growth in the Asian or Pacific Islander populations following closely behind. Similarly, the African American population will double in size, whereas the white, non-Hispanic population will remain stagnant (Day, 1996).
With these factors in mind, this article updates definitions, discusses theories and assessment criteria, revisits the different adaptive behavior instruments presented in the 1983 Allen-Meares and Lane article, presents several additional instruments used in today's schools, and examines important psychometric properties relevant to the growing diversity of U.S. schools. Furthermore, it appraises the importance of cultural competence and provides practical suggestions for how social workers may ensure culturally sensitive assessments.
DEFINITION OF ADAPTIVE BEHAVIOR
Adaptive behavior literature has regularly pointed to a definition provided by the American Association on Mental Retardation (AAMR) as the accepted standard. It is important to note that adaptive behavior has been a component of AAMR's definition of mental retardation since approximately 1961, and the factors that constitute adaptive behavior assessment have evolved over time as the definition itself has changed. It is also important to note, relevant to the following discussion, that although AAMR's definitions of mental retardation and adaptive behavior have changed over the course of additional research, one of the criteria for application has not: In both the 1992 and the 2002 AAMR definitions of mental retardation, a person's culture is explicitly mentioned as a basic assumption in any assessment (Wehmeyer, 2003).
According to the most recent definitions put forth by AAMR (2002), adaptive behavior is defined as "the collection of conceptual, social, and practical skills that people have learned so they can function in their everyday lives" AAMR presents three core skill groups...
|
