Severe and Multiple Disabilities - Assessment

Assessment

 

All tools and procedures attempt to assess a child's disabilities, the impact of the combination of disabilities, the possible etiology, the prognosis and the strengths a child possesses.
 

 

There are two methods usually used for assessing hearing:

     EEG response audiometry and impedance audiometry.
These tests assess whether a child hears sound, but do not provide information about a child's ability to interpret the auditory stimuli.
Play audiometry is used for children over 2 years of age who perform a task in response to a sound such as putting pieces into a puzzle.



 

 

Assessing vision requires using a number of procedures especially when a child has neurological impairments.

1. Electrophysiological procedures - the presence of electrical activity indicates that an active pathway exists in the occipital cortex of the brain.
2. Behavioural measures - for example; the Bailey-Hall Cereal Test for visual acuity using picture cards including one of cereal.
3. Functional tests - assesses the visual behaviour of the child.

Most children with severe and multiple disabilities are not screened for psycho-educational assessments as they are never a one time affair and can be quite confusing for those with disabilities.
Assessments of these children require input from skilled practitioners, care providers and require many hours of observation and testing. A natural environment is critical, however no single assessment tool will meet the needs of this diverse population. Therefore, information can tend to be biased and inaccurate.


Functional skill areas include communication, social behaviour, self-help and independence skills. Common assessments for functional skills include arena testing (an observational approach conducted by different disciplines focusing on their own particular domains such as motor skills within context of play) and parent interviews for skills and awareness.