Intellectual disabilities are defined by significantly below average intellectual functioning and deficits in adaptive behaviors that manifest during development and adversely affect educational performance. Students are identified based on levels of support needed, with eligibility criteria including intellectual functioning scores more than two standard deviations below average, deficits in adaptive behaviors, and low academic achievement. Effective educational practices for students with intellectual disabilities include a functional curriculum, adaptations, direct instruction of academic and social skills, hands-on learning, assistive technology, and peer tutoring.

1. Chapter 8:
Mild Intellectual Disabilities
Adapted from a presentation by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction

2. Focus Questions
 How are intellectual disabilities defined?
 What are the primary criteria used to identify
students with intellectual disabilities?
 What are the major characteristics of students
with intellectual disabilities?
 What educational practices improve outcomes
for students with intellectual disabilities?

3. IDEA Definition
• Significantly sub-average intellectual
functioning
• Exists concurrently with deficits in adaptive
behavior
• Manifested during the developmental period
• Adversely affects educational performance

4. Levels of Supports
The AAMR recommends identifying students
based on levels of supports needed to function
effectively:
• Intermittent
• Limited
• Extensive
• Pervasive

5. Eligibility Criteria
The child must meet the criteria with regard to:
• Intellectual Functioning
• Adaptive Behavior
• Academic Functioning

6. Intellectual Functioning
The child has a standard score of 2 or more
standard deviations below the mean (<70) on an
individually administered intelligence test
• verbal ability
• either performance or nonverbal ability

7. Normal Distribution of IQ Scores

8. Adaptive Behavior
The child has deficits in measures of adaptive
behavior:
• Communication • Leisure
• Self-care • Self-direction
• Social skills • Health and Safety
• Home-living skills • Applying academic skills
• Use of community • Work
resources

9. Academic Functioning
Intellectual functioning adversely affects
educational performance as shown by achievement
tests scores in:
• Language
• Reading
• Writing
• Mathematics
creating a need for special education and related
services.

10. Primary Characteristics
Academic
• Low achievement in all areas
• Delayed language development
• Basic literacy and functional math
Cognitive
• Slow rate of learning
• Limited attention
• Difficulty remembering
• Lack of generalization

11. Primary Characteristics
Social
• Trouble understanding social interactions
• Difficulty picking up social cues
• Problems discriminating between appropriate
and inappropriate behavior
• Lack of opportunity (in segregated settings)

12. Educational Practices
• Functional vs. general curriculum
• Curricular adaptations
• Universal Design for Learning
• Assistive technology
• Direct/systematic instruction
• Hands-on “real life” experiences
• Social skills instruction
• Peer Tutoring

13. Systematic Instruction
• Task Analysis
– Break complex skill into steps
– Teach steps using prompting system
• Prompting systems
– System of least prompts
– Time delay
• Data collected to determine effectiveness