The Oregon Special Education Process for TBI
Contents
- Overview
- Introduction
- Child Find and Referral for Special Education
- Assessment for Special Education
- Eligibility for Special Education Under TBI
- IEP Development
Overview
If a student has a brain injury from an external physical force (fitting the federal definition of TBI) and needs assistance for social or academic progress, support is available under a 504 plan. If the student requires specially designed instruction, assistance is available under the special education eligibility of Traumatic Brain Injury.
When a student has a brain injury that was not caused by an external physical trauma, support may be eligible for accommodations under a 504 plan. If specially designed instruction is needed for a student to make educational progress, special education support under the the eligibility of Other Health Impairment may be an option.
Introduction
Brain Injury has unique characteristics that make its identification, evaluation, content of the IEP and specially designed instruction for students with TBI different from other disability categories.
First, TBI is caused by an event, and the student typically has a history of academic performance at a higher level. Also, the federal definition of TBI suggests that might have been impacted by the TBI. These areas need to be reviewed for evaluation and to determine the impact of the TBI on academic functioning.
The 13 areas tend to influence several academic areas simultaneously. Also, Individualized Education Plans need to address goals that may change rapidly within a year of the student’s injury. Therefore, interventions tend to be wide ranging and typically don’t occur within a single setting. Not surprisingly, placements and programmatic considerations also tend to be highly variable between students with TBI, depending on their individual needs.
This section will guide you through the special education process for students with TBI in Oregon.
Child Find and Referral for Special Education
Students are referred for help through special education by any person who is familiar with the child. To obtain assistance in special education under traumatic brain injury, the effects of the injury are expected to last more than 60 days and the student must need specially designed instruction to succeed in school. A 504 plan may be written if the student only needs accommodations to access their education. Accommodations may include: extra time on tests; books on tape; or a peer note taker.
The Oregon Department of Education defines a traumatic brain injury as…
…an acquired injury to the brain caused by an external physical force, resulting in total or partial functional disability or psychosocial impairment, or both, that adversely affects a child’s educational performance. The term applies to open or closed head injuries resulting in impairments in one or more areas, such as cognition; language; memory; attention; reasoning; abstract thinking; judgment; problem-solving; sensory, perceptual, and motor abilities; psychosocial behavior; physical functions; information processing; and speech. The term does not apply to brain injuries that are congenital or degenerative, or to brain injuries induced by birth trauma.
Assessment for Special Education
If it appears the student may need specially designed instruction, the student may be referred for a Special Education evaluation. At this time parents give permission for the evaluation. Then school professionals gather information from a variety of sources, interpret the information and determine if the student is eligible for special education services under the category of traumatic brain injury. Information is gathered from a review of existing information, including:
- Information from the parent(s).
- The student’s cumulative records.
- Previous individualized education programs or individual family service plans.
The review includes reports from hospitals or previous psychological or medical reports.
These include a medical statement or a health assessment statement indicating that an event occurred which may have resulted in a traumatic brain injury. This information must be signed by a Physician, Nurse Practitioner, or a Physician’s Assistant and include the date conducted and the date reviewed. Many schools use hospital reports or other reports indicating the event occurred.
A comprehensive psychological assessment or process using a battery of instruments and procedures is intended to identify deficits associated with traumatic brain injury. The psychological assessment includes:
- The name of the examiner.
- The assessment.
- The date conducted and the date reviewed.
The term assessment includes interview, observations, informal and formal (standardized) assessments.
There are 13 suggested areas in the federal definition of traumatic brain injury that a student may have a deficit in to qualify for special education. The special education team decides which areas should be assessed (communication; behavior; cognition, memory, attention, abstract thinking, judgment, problem solving, reasoning, and/or information processing; sensory, perceptual, motor and/or physical abilities).
School professionals follow state guidelines to assess areas of suspected difficulty. Evaluations are conducted by persons knowledgeable about the specific area being evaluated. It is important to document pre-injury performance and compare it to the student’s current post-injury performance in areas being evaluated.
Clearly documenting pre- and post-injury performance of a student allows the team to:
- Establish that one or more area of functioning has been negatively impacted by the injury.
- Provide baseline information for comparison in the case of a future manifestation determination.
- Provides baseline information if the student doesn’t currently qualify for services under special education. The team should also evaluate the student’s current difficulties to determine if specially designed instruction is needed in any academic area, including the planning, organization and social skills needed for academic progress.
Eligibility for Special Education Under TBI
Eligibility for Special Education is established by the team (which includes the parents or student if the student is over 18). Even if there has been a strong recommendation by someone in the medical community, Special Education placement is only made through a team of people based in the school. This team is deciding if the student meets eligibility for special education under the category of Traumatic Brain Injury. The medical community decides if there was an injury. Students are served best when there is open communication between the medical and education communities and professional boundaries are respected.
The team meets to review assessment findings and eligibility may be determined if the student’s disability:
- Disability is documented and expected to last more than 60 days, and,
- Demonstrates a decline in any area such as:
- communication; behavior; cognition, memory, attention, abstract thinking, judgment, problem solving, reasoning, and/or information processing; sensory, perceptual, motor and/or physical abilities
- The TBI has an adverse impact on the student’s educational performance and,
- The student needs specially designed instruction, in any educational area (including planning, organization and social interactions) and,
- The student does not meet any of the rule out criteria (limited English proficiency, lack of instruction),
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If the student is not found eligible for special education and only needs accommodations, a 504 plan may be written.
If the student does meet the eligibility criteria for TBI and eligibility is established an individualized education plan (IEP) is written for the student. Use the Guided IEP and sample goals to help with this step.
IEP Development
An IEP is an agreement between the local school district and the parents of a student who is eligible for special education services. It is written by a team of people involved with the education of the student with TBI.
The IEP includes a summary of present levels of academic and functional performance of a student; annual goals; an indication of the amount of time a student will attend regular classes and/or be removed from non-disabled students; accommodations the student may need to participate in classes; if and how the student will participate in statewide assessments; a plan for transition services (for students 16 and older) with dates and location of services to be offered; related services that will be offered to the student, such as speech or occupational therapy. The IEP should also indicate supports for school personnel.
