Myth Busting IEB Accommodations with Dr. Claire Yorke

Claire Yorke, guest · [06:11]So I would take up on the dyslexia part, first of all, because that is what we're seeing as a psychologist assessing for accommodations. We're seeing more and more of that. I think sometimes if you track back, children are given an identification of dyslexia very early on, sometimes without chance for response to intervention. So when they're identified as dyslexic without having had the benefit of possibly speech therapy or remedial therapy, sometimes it's, it's given a higher profile than, than maybe it needs to, to be given for that child. And you see as they move along and, and they work through their supportive interventions, sometimes that, label of dyslexia is no longer as, as relevant. But, you know, obviously for children who are definitely dyslexic, we know that Dyslexia is for life. And for that reason, I think it would be, I think it would be sounder to look at a, a full battery of assessments and not rely on just a single screening to, to give that diagnosis, so that you can see the full, the full range and see where they are positioning on that level or at what risk ratio they are for dyslexia. So I think that's, that's something that's becoming, from my perspective, from my personal assessment, View is becoming more and more of a, of a factor that needs to be sometimes re-looked at, explained to parents that, as you say, whilst dyslexia is for life, if it isn't actually dyslexia, or is it a learning barrier, where do we, where do we position with that? And if you are looking at dyslexia, at what rate and at what level is that dyslexia? Is it severe or is it mild? And that big decision needs to be taken in cognizance of more than just a single screening.

Gershom Aitchison, host · [08:11]You've touched on something which I feel quite strongly about, and so does Jax, and that is once we have the label, we stop building the skills because we've got an excuse not to do it. For example, reading. Kids with dyslexia say, I can't read. You can learn to read. It's a mechanical process. It's just very difficult, and it requires a lot of energy for you to do so. Just because you might get an accommodation of a reader during the exam as you go into the FET phase of your schooling, as an adult, you're still required To read. and yes, you can get a lot of, text-to-speech and, and vice versa, but it doesn't mean that you can't read. It just means it's a lot more difficult. And it's, it's quite, disheartening to see kids giving up on learning those skills because they are being told that they can't. Is, is, is any truth in that, in that thought process?

Claire Yorke, guest · [08:59]I think a, a true dyslexic will maybe plateau in the level that they can read and the fluency with which they can read, but typically children sometimes stop, as you say, if given the label before the plateau has been reached. And that's, that's always the, a caution in saying dyslexic, therefore don't try anymore. Sure. So, you know, my, my take would be reading is a skill. and if you have mastered parts of it, if you are good at word reading or you may be good at the decoding, try and run with your strength and develop a, As far as you can, given that skills can sometimes be improved with good, good, practice and interventions. So yeah, I would go with you that sometimes children with the label of dyslexia, opt out earlier than necessary. But on the other side, there are some children that haven't been diagnosed as dyslexic and have really experienced huge difficulties that do need the clarification of where they are in the dyslexic rating.

Gershom Aitchison, host · [17:55]Then we've got additional time, which we have covered. It's given for a lot of accommodations.

Claire Yorke, guest · [18:01]It is given for a lot of accommodations, and, as I mentioned, it is the most frequently given. Okay. It's also the most contentious because it can give a child an advantage, and that is not the purpose of accommodations. So typically with, with additional time, it's, it's given in increments of five, ten, and fifteen minutes with, a, a new look at being able to give more time for severe visual and, and hearing difficulties and some others which are itemized and, and listed by the department and also by the examination boards like the IEB and Sakai.

Gershom Aitchison, host · [18:42]And that's generally five, ten, or fifteen minutes per hour for an exam paper. So if the child was writing a three-hour exam paper, they would get at most forty-five minutes, so they'd be able to write for three hours and forty-five minutes.

Claire Yorke, guest · [18:53]That's right, Gershom, that's, that's how it's given.

Gershom Aitchison, host · [18:57]braille examination papers I think is pretty self-explanatory. braille word processor, that's pretty self-explanatory for kids who are blind to be able to type. Then we've got computer concessions. Which in my mind is one of the biggest contentions. I think every teenager would love that, and I think they deliberately start writing untidily so that they can get a computer accommodation.

Claire Yorke, guest · [19:17]For untidy handwriting, the first look at accommodations would be, do they need a handwriting sticker, whereby the marker is, going to take the time to decipher what they've, what they've written. Right. So that would be your first take for untidy writing. if it, if it is beyond what a handwriting sticker would Be able to accommodate and have in their scope, then you start looking at a computer. And you'd also look at a computer, sometimes for physical barriers, and you would also look at a computer where their work rate is just not functional when they're handwriting, but is functional when they are, typing or on the computer. So again, the computer isn't given to allow an unfair advantage.

Claire Yorke, guest · [29:20]So a separate venue is, is no longer guaranteed to be just you in a room, just the child in a room. It's a separate venue or a smaller venue to be more realistic. So you have children that are working on portals that will be grouped together, all having the benefit of a reader via the portal. again, other children that, that typically need it are the ADHD candidates that feel they would work better with, with less distractions. and yeah, it's, it's separate venues, quite a contentious issue in schools, just from resource perspective in terms of physical resource, where do we put all these children and, human, yeah, human resource in terms of staffing all the separate venues. So I think the fact that it's been acknowledged that it may be a smaller venue and not a separate venue is, been well accepted.

Gershom Aitchison, host · [30:21]Yeah, I think it's one of the things that is also being contentious for us. So computers and the separate venues and exemption from Afrikaans are the three biggest, bugbears because the kids want to use computers. It's easier for them. They want to be exempt from Afrikaans and a separate venue because it just feels nicer to be in your own little cocoon working. And obviously for kids that have readers or scribes or need to articulate that would distract other students, then we would find a separate venue. But as you say, it's very difficult to find the manpower. Also, the IEB requires a camera for us to be able to monitor the examination centers. And this is one of the things I spoke to the IEB, the IEB about, and that was, what is the intention behind it? And coming to the understanding that it was to take a, a child out of a 300 or 100 room, size room where kids are writing an exam, and you've got three invigilators walking up and down to a smaller space where they are less distracted. So we do have venues now that if a kid is needing to be Not be distracted that we put them facing a wall, that they're not seeing other, not physically seeing other learners, but there might be three or four or five learners in that one room where they're not seeing each other, but it, it fulfills that accommodation as well.

Claire Yorke, guest · [31:34]For me, it's always trying to make it possible for the child within their own profile to work to potential. So that's why I think a smaller venue and the, the spin-offs that you are, are putting in for that in terms of placement in the room would work well. That would be my personal take, as long as the child is being able to work to their full, full potential.

Gershom Aitchison, host · [31:59]Claire, that's a great segue to have a conversation around some of the difficulties that we face within our professional opinion, and that is of a headmaster, an academic custodian, as it were, and an educational psychologist who is looking at a child's educational profile within that academic environment, and that of the parent's expectations, because the parent will always have very Very good expectations or should have good expectations of their child, but does it meet what is physically possible or mentally possible? And sometimes those expectations might be my child needs a bit of a free ride, and one of the questions I always have for guys doing the work that you are is how do you manage parents whose expectation is accommodations? You get a sense that this is about making my, my child's life easier, for example, or when you're giving the feedback on the reports and the child thinks this is a straight-A student and you're going, your child is a solid C student, and with the accommodations, that's the potential that we should be working towards.

Claire Yorke, guest · [32:58]I think in terms of, of managing parents and, and their understanding, first of all, on the accommodation process, that is something that often requires discussion, and, possibly one of the things that repeatedly comes up is that we all want your child to work to, to full capacity. And the, the Numbers on the intellectual, on the intellectual score rate and on the academic score rates doesn't always mean the ceiling for them. We have lots of times where a child will exceed that. But again, to temper it with, is the child doing their best? Have they got good support? Is the parent supportive, or are they actually being detrimental to the child's reaching their potential? So I think that would be my starting point, is to, to see it as a whole and not to see it, the accommodation all hanging on the results. From a psychologist, but to, to make it clear that it's looked at in a, in a wider viewpoint than just that. So how the child is performing at school, are they, are they reaching their potential there? what is the work ethic like? Are

Gershom Aitchison, host · [34:16]they, are they motivated? Are they disciplined? Exactly.

Claire Yorke, guest · [34:18]What's the work ethic like? What are your teacher comments like? not just trying to squeeze it all into just one psycho-ed test battery.

Gershom Aitchison, host · [34:29]What do you see the school's role in this process? A lot of parents believe that once the, the psycho-ed has done the assessment, that those accommodations will happen, and that's in place. And a lot of the conversation I have to have with them is that's half the report. The other half of the application is evidence from the school, the teachers that are working, that needs to be endorsed by the schools, because we are working with the child all the time. What is your view on the school's role in this process?

Claire Yorke, guest · [34:58]Well, I've asked, as it is fundamental, it's never, it's never just the profile that's generated by the psychologist in the psycho-ed. It's always looked at in a broader context, and that is predominantly the school for a learner. So quite rightly so, the teacher should have input. the reports will guide, as will previous reports. Is this a trend that has been, trend of performance that's been around for several years, or is it just a flash in the pan, bad mark? so absolutely, it's looked at, at more than just being done and dusted once you've had the psycho-ed report done.

Gershom Aitchison, host · [35:41]How do you manage in your assessments, if it is clear that a child is dumbing it down, trying to underplay their ability, does that ever happen, or is there, or are there checks and balances in place within those assessments that you can You can see, is the process fallible or infallible? That's basically what I'm asking.

Claire Yorke, guest · [36:00]I think you always have to be aware of, of weaknesses in a, in an assessment area, but there definitely are ways to, to help determine if a child is manipulating. And for that reason, you'll see several examination boards Getting a child to sign that they will not manipulate the results to try and gain the accommodation that they feel they want. So that is, that is done in terms of the child taking responsibility for working honestly. also parents maybe underestimate the child's ability to read where they need to be manipulating if they want to get the outcome that they, that they desire. It's more than just writing, a spelling test. You look at it in a, in a greater context. You look at what the spelling's like. Previously, you look at it in terms of a history as well. So using that simple example, I think sometimes they, they're not aware of the complexity of, of an assessment battery and the fact that it is not just always hinged on a single solitary test.

Gershom Aitchison, host · [37:13]And I think what you've just touched on within a context, and I think The school plays the role of context as well, because you will see a child typically for a day or two while you're doing the assessment. The teachers are seeing the child for six, seven hours a day.

Claire Yorke, guest · [37:26]Absolutely. And

Gershom Aitchison, host · [37:27]understand the context within which the kid operates and what their potential might be based on that.

Claire Yorke, guest · [37:33]Absolutely. That's why it can never hang simply on a, a psychoed result.

Claire Yorke, guest · [41:42]Well, I think often the process starts in the primary schools, and there, in terms of accommodations, I would swing to the side of putting supportive interventions beyond accommodations in place, first of all, so that the parents understand that not every barrier to learning can just be dispelled with an accommodation. That often that, you need your therapies, your speech therapies, your OT therapies to precede that. And then in terms of being ready for should you need an accommodation that would be formally granted slightly later, then you need your paper trail. So any accommoda- any therapies that you've had, you would keep your reports. You would keep your documentation, should it be medical, so that you have that background history to support the need, the genuine need for an accommodation later on.

Gershom Aitchison, host · [42:38]We always say to the students, what we're giving you is a toolbox. It's important that you learn to use the tools in those toolboxes so that you can get the most out of them, and that often it is at their discretion when and how they would like to use those accommodations. We have students who do not use a scribe for mathematics, they find it too difficult. even if they've got a reader and a scribe available to them in Afrikaans, because they can't speak as well and pronounce as well, they find it easier for them to do their own Afrikaans and use their extra time. And I think that's important. Is there any advice to the students when it comes to accommodations and how they can maximize the use of it and the benefit of it once it's been given to them?

Claire Yorke, guest · [43:17]I would emphasize that Accommodations aren't always the fix-all, so they would be assisting them, but that doesn't preclude the student from needing to put the hard yards in. So they would still need to prepare for exams, they would still need to be ready for their daily lessons to get the most out of it. It's not, it's not a cop-out for good learning procedures that would go before the accommodations or along with the accommodation.