School psychology frequently focuses only on the technical aspects associated with assessing, identifying, and treating intellectual disability. Consequently, we are trained to emphasize intellectual disability as pathology and discount the experiences of students and families. In our practice, this impacts how we conceptualize an assessment battery, consult with other educators and clinicians, construct report recommendations, and frame feedback to parents. This webinar will prepare participants to critically consider our field’s discourse about students with intellectual disability and engage in assessment, report writing, and feedback that centers students’ capacity rather than deficits.
Learner Objectives This session will help participants:
- Critically analyze traditional perspectives of intellectual disability and explore alternative models for conceptualizing disability identity.
- Understand how school psychologists’ beliefs and expectations for students with intellectual disability may inform evaluation, report-writing, recommendations, and partnership with families.
- Generate strategies that will move school psychologists towards professional practices that uplift the experiences, goals, and self-determination of students with intellectual disability.