ND Affirming Assessment, Part 2:

Assesing Collaboratively

Last spring, I tested a 5th grade student named Caleb.  We had a great rapport, and he was enjoying the tasks – until I asked him to write.

Suddenly his head went down on the table and he refused to respond.

It’s not uncommon for kids to shut down in the middle of testing.  After all, we’re there because something is hard, and chances are we’ll need to make them do that hard thing.

So how do we turn this inevitable roadblock into an opportunity?

In the way I understand it, neurodiversity-affirming assessment offers us an opportunity to go beyond test scores to focus on the child’s lived experience.

The truth is, if we rely on test scores alone, we often miss critical information.

If we want the whole picture, we have to ask the child.

But what does that look like?

Engaging Kids as Collaborators

Instead, I took the booklet away and told him he could take a break.  A few minutes later, we returned to the table.  I pulled out the booklet and said,

When Caleb put his head down, I could have tried encouraging him to ‘give it his best shot,’ promising a game, reminding him of his prize at the end, or bargaining with him to get through the task.  Or perhaps I could have made a note in my report that he “refused to comply.”

“It seemed like this one was pretty difficult. I’m not saying you have to do it, but I want to understand what it was like for you when I asked you to write.”

He looked surprised. “I had a power outage,” he said.

Caleb’s insights into his shut down were particularly critical for interpreting his testing results.

When I asked Caleb for more about the “power outage,” he explained that when he’s tired or there’s a lot going on, his body has a power outage so that he won’t get angry.  Otherwise, he’ll explode.

When he put his head down, he wasn’t avoiding the task, he was avoiding an explosion.

I asked if we could brainstorm some different things that might help keep his power at an optimal level. I changed out his chair for a yoga ball so he could bounce. He began humming. He talked through his ideas aloud before starting.

Now we not only knew why he put his head down, but what helps in these moments.

Then he wrote his paragraph. It was a beautiful paragraph.

The Key Question for an Affirming Assessment

“What was it like for you when I asked you to _____?” is perhaps the most important question I ask as part of a neurodiversity-affirming assessment.

This simple question can often elicit unexpected responses such as “I’m so tired!” when the child looks fine, or “That was easy – but try doing it when there’s 30 other kids in the class!” 

The child’s insights are not only critical for test interpretation, but they help us develop affirming recommendations for what will help the child in other environments.

For example, after Caleb finished, we made a list of all the tools he had used to help keep his power at a “just right” level.  He said humming was the most helpful.  I made a note in my report:

Humming is a helpful self-regulatory strategy for Caleb, especially during challenging tasks such as writing.

Often, when we ask children directly about their experience, writing a neurodiversity-affirming report is easy. 

Put simply, in neurodiversity-affirming assessment, we’re looking for what works and describing the child’s experience.

Honoring the way a brain like Caleb’s learns and processes information is at the core of the neurodiversity movement – it should also be at the core of our assessment practices.

However, while our assessment tools help us discover a child’s challenges, they often don’t help us understand the actual lived-experience of the child.

Unless we ask.

I hope these examples have been helpful for your practice!  I’d love to hear your story.

More Neurodiversity Affirming Assessment Strategies

If you’d like to learn more about how to integrate neurodiversity-affirming strategies into your own testing practice, join us for:

 

Neurodiversity Affirming Assessment with Kids

Friday, September 27th
9am – 12pm PST
3 APA-Approved CEs

Live on Zoom.
Recording & CEs available for those who cannot attend.

As always, let us know what else you need!