Assessment & Instructional Resources

Instruction

Accessible Literacy Learning

Evidence-based basic reading skills program for non-verbal students. The ALL Reading Program is designed to teach basic reading skills to non-verbal students and is accessible through touch, eyegaze, and scanning.

Age Range: 5-22

Assessment

ADAMLS: Assessment of Deafblind Access to Manual Language Systems

Resource for educational teams who are responsible for developing appropriate adaptations and strategies for children who are candidates for learning manual language systems

Age Range: 5-22

Instruction

Adaptive Living Skills Curriculum

This curriculum focuses on the functional skills that are necessary for students with moderate to severe disabilities to live the most active, independent and productive lives possible.

Age Range: 0-40+

Assessment, Instruction

Assessment, Evaluation, Programming System (AEPS)

Criterion-referenced/curriculum-based assessment that can be used by all team members (families, community caregivers, teachers, home visitors, Itinerant teachers, related service personnel, assistants, school psychologists etc.)

Age Range: 0-6

Assessment

Battelle Developmental Inventory – 2nd Ed.

An early childhood instrument based on the concept of measuring these developmental milestones.

Age Range: 0-8

Assessment

The Bridge by Pierce, Summer, & O’Kirk

The Bridge is an early literacy and language assessment framework based on observation and portfolio development/analysis.

Age Range: 3-22

Assessment

Brigance CIBS II: Comprehensive Inventory of Basic Skills

Includes two volumes—one for Reading/ELA, one for Mathematics. Assessments align to many state and national standards, including the College and Career Readiness Standards and TEKS.

Age Range: 5-12

Assessment

Brigance Inventory of Early Development III

There are two versions of the BRIGANCE Inventory of Early Development (IED). The criterion-referenced IED III contains more than 100 assessments and covers a broad range of readiness skills to help educators identify each child’s specific strengths and needs.

Age Range: 0-7

Assessment

Brigance Transition Skills Inventory

Consists of more than 100 assessments to support formal transition planning for middle- and high-school students as they prepare for life after high school

Age Range: 12-21

Assessment

Callier-Azusa (G)

Designed specifically for students with deaf-blindness by an interdisciplinary team who had many years of experience with this population. It is also appropriate for assessing most students with severe handicaps and is especially valuable for students with visual and/or hearing impairments.

Age Range: 0-10

Assessment, Instruction

Carolina Curriculum

An assessment and intervention program designed for use with young children from birth to five years who have mild to severe disabilities.

Age Range: 0-5

Assessment

Checklist of Adaptive Living Skills (CALS)

CALS measure adaptive living skills in examinees from birth to age 40+. Typical administration time is 60 minutes.

Age Range: 0-40+

Assessment

Communication Matrix

An assessment tool designed to pinpoint exactly how an individual is communicating and to provide a framework for determining logical communication goals.

Age Range: 0-18

Assessment

Developmental Assessment for Severely Handicapped Children (DASH-III)

Criterion-referenced measure of specific skill levels in persons of all ages who have severe and/or multiple physical/sensory disabilities, including persons with severe and profound intellectual disability and autism spectrum disorders.

Age Range: 0-21

Assessment

DIBELS: Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills

DIBELS are a set of procedures and measures for assessing the acquisition of early literacy skills from kindergarten through 8th grade.

Age Range: 5-11

Assessment

Early Literacy Engagement Progress Monitoring Checklist

Identifies very small changes in early literacy behavior and the adaptations and considerations that teachers should make. The booklet included in the packet gives detailed information on the 12 indicators and adaptations and considerations to support skill development.

Age Range: 3-22

Instruction

Early Literacy Skill Builders

Reading skill curriculum targeting all National Reading Panel components; natural progression from Pathways to Literacy.

Age Range: 5-8

Assessment

Enderle-Severson Transition Rating Scales ESTR-III

A transition rating scale that provides assessment leading to narrative descriptions of strengths, areas of participation with assistance, and areas of nonparticipation in five transition areas: Employment, Recreation and Leisure, Home Living, Community Participation, and Post Secondary Education. Developed for learners with MORE disability.

Age Range: 16-22

Instruction

Equal: Mathematics Curriculum for Students of Differing Abilities

Equals is real math instruction for students with disabilities.

Age Range: 5-22

Assessment

Every Move Counts (EMC)

A sensory based approach to communication and assistive technology for individuals with significant sensory motor differences, developmental differences and autism.

Age Range: All

Instruction

First Author Writing Curriculum

A comprehensive writing curriculum that guides educators to teach beginning writing skills to students with special needs including autism.

Age Range: 5-22

Assessment, Instruction

Functional Academics Curriculum for Exceptional Students (FACES)

Each module contains instructional activities, and a portfolio section can be used as a checklist of skills, available through your regional TX CAN specialist

Age Range: 5-21

Assessment, Instruction

Functional Academics: A Curriculum for Students with Visual Impairments

Designed for teachers and instructors who work with a very special group of adolescents, age 12 years and older, for whom the developmental or academic approach is no longer effective, and have basic academic skills at a kindergarten through second grade level.

Age Range: 12-21

Assessment

Functional Assessment and Curriculum for Teaching Everyday Routines

The primary purpose of FACTER is to assess and instruct students with moderate to severe developmental disabilities. FACTER addresses the student’s ability to perform typical everyday "routines" and helps to identify instructional needs.

Age Range: 10-18

Assessment

Functional Communication Profile - Revised

The FCP-R yields an overall inventory of the individual's communication abilities, mode of communication (e.g., verbal, sign, nonverbal, augmentative), and degree of independence. The FCP-R is appropriate for individuals who range between mild and profound deficits.

Age Range: 3-21

Assessment

Functional Educational Evaluation

This comprehensive manual provides information for determining a student's knowledge, understanding, and functional skills in pre-academic, academic, and/or vocational areas. It outlines methods for obtaining more information than is possible through traditional evaluations. The manual includes a CD containing implementation forms.

Age Range: All

Assessment, Instruction

Functional Independence Skills Handbook

FISH is targeted toward people with developmental disabilities, but this program would also be beneficial for children in the early grade levels or anyone with cognitive deficits, school age through adult. It is a criterion-referenced series of 421 tasks.

Age Range: 5-21

Assessment

Functional Skills Assessment (used with the FEILA Curriculum (Active Learning))

Consists of a book (The FIELA Curriculum: 730 Learning Environments), a catalog of activities and a velcro board which is used to organize the child's week. FIELA Curriculum offers a variety of level appropriate activities for children with multiple special needs.

Age Range: 0-18

Assessment

Hawaii Early Learning Profile (HELP)

HELP 0-3 is widely recognized as a comprehensive, on-going, family centered curriculum based assessment process for infants and toddlers and their families. HELP 3-6 (2nd Edition) is a comprehensive, on-going, curriculum-based assessment for use with young children and their families. HELP 3-6 complements and extends the skills of HELP 0-3.

Age Range: 0-6

Assessment

Home Talk

An assessment tool designed for use by parents and care providers of children who are deafblind and who have other disabilities. Its purpose is to help you participate more actively in the planning of your child's educational program. HomeTalk is designed to provide a broad picture of your child's skills, special interests, and personality.

Age Range: 3+

Assessment

Informal Assessments for Transition Planning

Combo kit includes assessments for Postsecondary Education and Training, Independent Living & Community Participation, Employment & Career Planning

Age Range: 16-22

Assessment

Infused Skills Assessment

A very effective tool for analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of students with visual impairments who may also have cognitive and behavioral challenges. This assessment begins at a developmentally young, non-verbal skill level, and progresses up to higher cognitive functions, while remaining appropriate for students in life skills programming.

Age Range: 3-21

Assessment

INSITE Developmental Checklist

This checklist assesses the areas of gross motor, fine motor, self-help, cognition, social, emotional, communication, vision, auditory, and tactile development. The checklist has illustrated examples based on normal development with adaptations for children who are MSI.

Age Range: 0-6

Assessment

Inventory for Client & Agency Planning (ICAP)

Assesses adaptive and maladaptive behavior and gathers additional information to determine the type and amount of special assistance that people with disabilities may need.

Age Range: 3-30

Assessment

Life Centered Education (LCE) Competency Assessment Batteries – Transition Curriculum resources

LCE combines instruction with related assessment items and contains a progressing tracking and reporting function that covers daily living, interpersonal, and employment skills.

Age Range: 16-21

Assessment

Literacy Starters Teacher Guide

This Intervention Planning Tool provides an overview of indicators of growth in reading. Use the tool to determine beginning reader’s profile, locate reading interventions and track progress across the school year.

Age Range: 10-22

Assessment

MacArthur-Bates Communication Development Inventories: Words & Gestures

The first part of the CDI: Words & Gestures prompts parents to document the child’s understanding of hundreds of early vocabulary items separated into semantic categories such as animal names, household items, and action words. The second part of each form asks parents to record the communicative and symbolic gestures the child has tried or completed.

Age Range: 8-18 months

Assessment

The Oregon Project (OR Project) – Sixth Edition

A comprehensive assessment and curriculum designed for use with children birth to six who are blind or visually impaired.

Age Range: 0-6

Assessment

Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory (PEDI)

Assesses key functional capabilities and performance in children ages 6 months to 7 years. PEDI is also useful for older children whose functional abilities are lower than those of seven-year-olds without disabilities.

Age Range: 0.5-7

Assessment

Person Centered Planning or MAPS

Use of a person-centered planning process with young adults with disabilities as they go through transition can unite formal and informal systems of support. By combining resources and working intentionally toward a common goal, families and professionals can achieve more positive outcomes for youth with disabilities, while at the same time putting long-term community supports in place.

Age Range: 3-22

Assessment

Personal Preferences Indicators: A Guide to Planning

The Personal Preference Indicators are not checklists, but are a guide to accessing information about the person’s preference. The items listed are intended to be used as cues or prompts to remind you about important subjects to bring up in your informal talks with the person. These informal conversations can give you a base line of preferences from which to begin planning.

Age Range: 16-22

Assessment

Picture Interest Career Survey

PICS is a quick way for people to identify occupational interests by using pictures of people at work rather than text-based items.

Age Range: 16-22

Assessment

Reading-Free Vocational Interest Inventory – Third Edition

A nonverbal measure of vocational interests of users from Grade 5 through adult. It uses illustrations of individuals engaged in different occupations to measure the vocational likes and dislikes of students and adults who have intellectual disabilities or learning disabilities, are struggling readers, or anyone who prefers a pictorial display. No reading or writing is required.

Age Range: 13-22

Instruction

Readtopia

Designed to bring first-hand experiential learning into the classroom, so students can bridge the gap between learning through reading, and learning through experiencing.

Age Range: 10-22

Assessment

School Function Assessment (SFA)

SFA measures student performance of functional tasks that affect the academic and social aspects of an elementary school program. SFA facilitates collaborative program planning for students with various disabling condition in the age range of Kindergarten through grade 6.

Age Range: 5-12

Assessment

School Inventory of Problem Solving Skills

A general survey that covers Basic Skills, Ways to Gain Access, and Ways to Use Objects.

Age Range: 3-5

Instruction

Start to Finish Online Library

Brings many of the most important books of all time to older students reading at elementary school levels. A wide selection of engaging books aligned to state standards. Reading is supported with professional narration, word- and sentence-highlighting, and built-in physical accessibility features.

Age Range: 10-22

Assessment

Stepping Out: Community Based Instruction Assessment and Curriculum

A community-based instructional program for students to achieve independence outside of school.

Age Range: 12-22

Assessment

Supports Intensity Scale

SIS measures the individual’s support needs in personal, work-related, and social activities in order to identify and describe the types and intensity of the supports an individual requires. SIS was designed to be part of person-centered planning processes that help all individuals identify their unique preferences, skills, and life goals.

Age Range: 16-22

Assessment

Syracuse Community -Referenced Curriculum

Serving learners from kindergarten through age 21, this field-tested curriculum examines the role of community living domains, functional academics, and embedded skills, and includes practical implementation strategies and indispensable information for preparing students whose learning needs go beyond the scope of traditional academic programs.

Age Range: 5-21

Assessment

Transition Planning Inventory – Second Edition

Provides school personnel with a systematic way to address critical transition planning areas that are mandated by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004 and to account for individual students preferences, interests, strengths, and needs. There is a modified TPI form for students with significant disabilities.

Age Range: 14-21

Instruction

Unique Learning Systems

The award-winning Unique Learning System is a one‑of‑a‑kind program designed specifically to give students with complex learning needs meaningful access to the general education curriculum.

Age Range: 5-18

Assessment

uPAR

uPAR gives you data that shows the way each student learns best—and the specific level of text that can be understood by each student when listening (with a reading accommodation) compared to independent reading.