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As a TVI, I am always looking for ways to encourage all members of each team to share observations and information when assessing students with multiple disabilities. I have found the Basic Skills: Infused Skills Assessment from Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (TSBVI) to be especially useful and I created three Google forms (with permission from TSBVI), so that all members of the team can respond and the results can be compiled. This is a great way to be sure that all of the information is collected in one place, and each member of the team can fill it out at a time that works best for them.
The introduction to the assessment notes that “The Basic Skills Infused Skills Assessment is 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.”
The assessment is divided into different areas: Social Communicative Interactions, Emotional Development, Senses/Motor Skills, Basic Concepts, and Representation and Cognition. Each of these categories has a list of skills arranged in a hierarchy of development from lowest to highest.