Catherine A. Fiorello

Critical Issues in Response-To-Intervention, Comprehensive Evaluation, and Specific Learning Disabilities Identification and Intervention: An Expert White Paper Consensus

Developed in concert with the Learning Disabilities Association of America (LDA), this White Paper regarding specific learning disabilities identification and intervention represents the expert consensus of 58 accomplished scholars in education, psychology, medicine, and the law. Survey responses and empirical evidence suggest that five conclusions are warranted: 1) The SLD definition should be maintained and the statutory requirements in SLD identification procedures should be strengthened; 2) neither ability-achievement discrepancy analysis nor failure to respond to intervention alone is sufficient for SLD identification; 3) a “third method” approach that identifies a pattern of psychological processing strengths and weaknesses, and achievement deficits consistent with this pattern of processing weaknesses, makes the most empirical and clinical sense; 4) an empirically-validated RTI model could be used to prevent learning problems, but comprehensive evaluations should occur for SLD identification purposes, and children with SLD need individualized interventions based on specific learning needs, not merely more intense interventions; and 5) assessment of cognitive and neuropsychological processes should be used for both SLD identification and intervention purposes.

Analyzing Digit Span Components for Assessment of Attention Processes

The Digit Span (DS) subtest of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Third Edition (WISC-III) is thought to be a measure of attention, concentration, sequencing, number facility, and auditory short-term memory. An optional WISC-III subtest and part of the Freedom from Distractibility (FD) factor, DS assesses several cognitive constructs, yet its utility in differential diagnosis has been questioned because poor DS or FD performance has been inconsistently associated with attention processes. In this study of 195 children referred for comprehensive neuropsychological evaluations, Digits Forward (DF) and Digits Backward (DB) component scores were found to be differentially predictive of attention, executive function, and behavior rating measures. Results suggest that DB is associated with attention and executive function processes, not the short-term rote auditory memory processes tapped by DF.

Is the Demise of IQ Interpretation Justified? A Response to Special Issue Authors

Standardized testing of intellectual and cognitive functioning remains a critical component of psychological assessment despite widespread criticism of the practice. Although most standardized intellectual measures are some of the best tools available to practitioners, opponents of intellectual assessment argue the traditional use of global IQ-achievement discrepancy has little diagnostic utility or treatment validity. It is time to move beyond the academic rhetoric of global intelligence to make standardized intellectual assessment meaningful for individual children. In this paper, we respond to special issue authors by presenting clinical and statistical arguments that support idiographic interpretation of intellectual measures for children with disabilities and variable test profiles, and offer recommendations for practice that demonstrate the clinical utility of such approaches. If practitioners move beyond global IQ interpretation, and methods for objective idiographic interpretation are established, the practice of intellectual assessment will be once again valued and respected among those in clinical and educational practice.

Interpreting Intelligence Test Results for Children with Disabilities: Is Global Intelligence Relevant?

School psychological and neuropsychological evaluations typically include intellectual and other standardized assessment tools in the identification of children with disabilities. The clinical utility of intellectual assessment in the identification and treatment of these children has been repeatedly challenged, with alternatives such as a response to intervention or global intelligence score interpretation offered to replace the long-held tradition of idiographic interpretation of intellectual factors or subtests for the purpose of differential diagnosis and individualized intervention. Replicating previous work, this study examined the structure of intellectual functioning for children diagnosed with Learning Disability (LD; n = 128), Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD; n = 71), and traumatic brain injury (TBI; n = 29) using regression commonality analysis. Across groups, results provide substantial evidence for a multifactorial representation of intellectual functioning for children with LD, ADHD, or TBI, with little shared variance among factor predictors of FSIQ in each analysis. As global intellectual functioning, represented by the shared variance among all predictors, was largely absent and instead composed of several discrete elements with the requisite specificity for individual interpretation, idiographic interpretation appears to be warranted for children with disabilities.

IQ interpretation for children with flat and variable test profiles

Despite suggestions that IQ reflects an underlying ability trait, a direct comparison of typical and atypical populations using commonality analysis has not been undertaken. In this study, commonality analysis was used to examine unique and common factor predictors of Full-Scale IQ (FSIQ) for typical children with variable (n=707) and flat profiles (n=166) based on significant index score variability. FSIQ was composed of primarily shared variance for the flat profile group, but unique variance for the variable profile group and the Learning-Disabled (LD) and Attention Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) samples, suggesting that FSIQ does not adequately represent global intellectual functioning for either typical children with significant profile variability or children with disabilities.

Predicting Math Achievement Through Neuropsychological Interpretation of WISC-III Variance Components:

Although prevalence estimates suggest that mathematics learning disorders (MLD) are as common as reading disorders, there has been comparatively little research conducted that examines the psychological processes involved in math competency for typical children, and the characteristics, etiology, and treatment of children with MLD. Previous research in disabled populations has implicated dysfunctional right hemisphere cognitive processes as a cause of MLD and suggested that impaired visual-spatial skills lead to specific MLD error patterns. In this study of 587 unidentified children with variable intellectual test profiles, the cognitive predictors necessary for math competency were interpreted from a neuropsychological orientation. Results revealed that complex interactions between WISC-III Verbal and Performance subtests were predictive of Albert Einstein College of Medicine math word problems and computation skills, suggesting that semantic/mathematics knowledge, working memory, executive function, novel problem solving, and visual-perceptual-motor processes are necessary for mathematics performance. Contrary to the right hemisphere hypothesis of math competency, results suggest that left hemisphere crystallized abilities and frontal executive functions are most predictive of mathematics achievement for children with variable test profiles. Consistent with theoretical and empirical advances regarding lateralization of function, the numerous predictor commonalities found support a reconceptualization of the left-verbal/right-nonverbal dichotomy of the cognitive processes underlying mathematics competency.

School-Based Methylphenidate Placebo Protocols Methodological and Practical Issues

Around 1990, psychologists and educators began to notice increasing use of methylphenidate by students. Diagnosis of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder by family physicians and pediatricians was most commonly based on brief behavioral descriptions by parents and, infrequently, by use of rating scales. At that time, the present researchers began to explore the development of a school-based, methodologically sound, and inexpensive method of assessing the efficacy of stimulant medications, which would ensure reasonable compliance by teachers, parents, and students in monitoring the effects of medications and placebos. This article focuses on the methodological issues involved in choosing instruments to monitor behavior, once a comprehensive evaluation has suggested trials on Ritalin. Case examples illustrate problems of teacher compliance in filling out measures, supplying adequate placebos, and obtaining physician cooperation, and with the practical issue of providing adequate data without overwhelming the time and resources of participants. Emerging school-based methodologies are discussed with recommendations for future efforts.

COMPARING METHODS OF IDENTIFYING REINFORCING STIMULI IN SCHOOL CONSULTATION

Reinforcement-based interventions, the most frequently used treatments for school-age children, rely on accurately identifying stimuli that will serve to reinforce appropriate classroom behavior. Research has consistently demonstrated that the results from a forced-choice pairing procedure are the best predictors of reinforcing stimuli. Interestingly, systematic evaluation of potential reinforcers is rarely implemented in the school consultation setting. Considering the importance of the reinforcer on reinforcement-based interventions, and the literature focusing on the significance of the selection procedure on accurately identifying a reinforcer, this is concerning. The purpose of these two studies was to examine the effectiveness of identifying reinforcing stimuli for students in the consultation setting using two different methods: stimulus forced-choice and asking the teacher to identify potential reinforcers. The effectiveness of the selected stimuli as reinforcers was studied on two student outcomes: academic production and on-task behavior. The results of the two studies suggested that the reinforcers selected using a forced-choice procedure were more effective than the reinforcers selected from a teacher-identification procedure. Further, results indicated that although stimuli derived from both reinforcer assessment methods were useful at increasing rates of desired behavior, stimuli derived from the forced-choice reinforcer assessment were more consistently effective.

Mapping the Relationships Among Basic Facts, Concepts and Application, and Common Core Curriculum-Based Mathematics Measures

Abstract. There is a paucity of evidence supporting the use of curriculum-based mathematics measures (M-CBMs) at the middle school level, which makes data-based decisions challenging for school professionals. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among three existing M-CBM indices: (a) basic facts, (b) concepts/application, and (c) measures aligned with Common Core. In a sample of 408 sixth, seventh, and eighth graders, cross-lagged panel analyses were used to examine the temporal relationships of the M-CBM indices over three screening occasions. Latent growth models were also used to investigate (a) patterns of annual growth on the indices and (b) predictive validity of M-CBM level and slope on a high-stakes state assessment. Results indicated that (a) concepts/application scores predicted change in the Common Core measure with mixed evidence that basic facts predicted change on the concepts/application and Common Core tools; (b) growth was positive in all grades but nonlinear in some grades; and (c) fall scores on all measures, but only slopes on the Common Core tool, were related to performance on the high-stakes assessment.

Comparison of Teachers’ and School Psychologists’ Accuracy in Assigning Basic Academic Tasks to Underlying CHC-model Cognitive Abilities

Teacher perceptions of their students’ cognitive abilities affect the referrals they make and intervention strategies they implement. In this study, teachers and school psychologists were asked to sort basic academic tasks into categories on the basis of the Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) broad cognitive abilities, such as fluid reasoning and crystallized intelligence. School psychologists were more accurate at classifying, placing 25 of the 34 tasks in the expected categories, compared with 16 for the teachers. The tasks that were most difficult overall were associated with the fluid reasoning and crystallized intelligence categories. Teachers and school psychologists in this study perceived the CHC broad cognitive abilities required for basic academic tasks differently. Thus, additional training in the practical applications of this theory may be necessary.