Access to the General Education Curriculum for Students Who Communicate Using Only Non-Symbolic Modes

• In Event: Designing Inclusive Assessments From Foundations to Interpretation

Abstract

Despite federal laws requiring all students with disabilities to have access to the general education curriculum and participate in statewide assessments (Every Student Succeeds Act, 2015; Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 1997), it has been challenging to meaningfully include students who communicate using exclusively non-symbolic modes. This paper describes an approach to developing and implementing an alternate assessment system designed to promote access for non-symbolic communicators. We present evidence about how these students can demonstrate what they know and can do relative to grade-level alternate academic standards and discuss implications for assessment design and access to the general education curriculum.

Authors

• Meagan Karvonen, University of Kansas

• Nami Shin, University of Kansas

• Karen Erickson, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill