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Study Guide

Sample Selected-Response Questions
Field 30: Special Education: Severely and Profoundly Disabled

Practice Questions

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Subarea I–Understanding Students with Severe and Profound Disabilities

Objective 0002: Demonstrate knowledge of physical/medical conditions commonly associated with severe and profound disabilities.

1. Studies indicate that severe lead poisoning in young children is most likely to result in:

  1. diabetes.
  2. cognitive disabilities.
  3. deafness.
  4. infantile autism.
Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
Correct Response: B.
Objective 0005: Demonstrate knowledge of the physical, psychological, and social functioning of students with severe and profound disabilities.

2. It would be most important for a teacher to do which of the following when implementing an activity designed to develop the social skills of students with autism (e.g., having a group of students with autism cook a meal together and then eat together)?

  1. Provide minimal intervention to allow for independent problem solving.
  2. Communicate to students clear expectations for their behavior during the activity.
  3. Ensure that all students involved in the activity exhibit similar social characteristics and levels of social maturity.
  4. Have students develop their own set of individual and group goals for the activity.
Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
Correct Response: B.

 

Subarea II–Assessing Students and Developing Individualized Education Programs (IEPs)

Objective 0009: Demonstrate knowledge of procedures for assessing the social/emotional development and functional living competence of students with severe and profound disabilities.

3. A functional skills assessment for a high school student with mental disability should include an evaluation of the student's:

  1. cognitive development.
  2. vocational skills.
  3. motor development.
  4. academic aptitude.
Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
Correct Response: B.
Objective 0010: Demonstrate knowledge of procedures for developing and implementing Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) for students with severe and profound disabilities.

4. Use the graph below, which shows the average weekly number of aggressive behaviors displayed by Martha in the first half of the school year, to answer the question that follows.

A graph with a vertical and horizontal axis.

The left end of the horizontal axis is labeled Baseline, and has values marked from 1 to 3 in increments of 1. At an increment of 1 after value 3, there is a dotted vertical line extending from below the horizontal axis to the top of the vertical axis. To the right of the dotted line, the horizontal axis is labeled Time in weeks. Starting at an increment of 1 to the right of the dotted line, the horizontal axis has values marked from 4 to 13 in increments of 1. The vertical axis is labeled Frequency of Behaviors, and has values marked from 10 to 50 in increments of 10. The graph has 2 data plots, each with multiple data points connected by straight lines. The first plot is to the left of the dotted vertical line, with 3 data points, at (1, 40); (2, 30); and (3, 35). The second plot is to the right of the dotted vertical line, with 10 data points, at (4, 35); (5, 20); (6 and approximately 32); (7, 40); (8, 45); (9, 40); (10 and approximately 32); (11, 30); (12 and approximately 37); and (13, 40).

One of Martha's IEP goals calls for decreasing the number of aggressive behaviors she exhibits per week by 50 percent. After collecting baseline data, Martha's teacher begins implementing the proposed intervention strategy, while continuing to count the number of aggressive incidents each day. Based on the results in the graph, which would be the most appropriate step for the teacher to take next?

  1. Continue to implement the program and collect data, since it is too early to assess the current program's degree of success.
  2. Request a conference with Martha's parents and school administrators to discuss placing Martha in a more restrictive educational setting.
  3. Consult with Martha's parents and school psychologist to develop a new intervention strategy because the current strategy is ineffective.
  4. Revise the data summary form to focus on daily data, since the weekly averages do not accurately reflect the student's actual behaviors.
Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
Correct Response: C.

 

Subarea III–Promoting Student Development and Learning

Objective 0011: Demonstrate knowledge of ways to establish a positive and productive learning environment for all students.

5. Jason is a 17 year old who is blind, has severe cognitive disabilities, and attends a self-contained classroom. Assessment data show that he needs limited physical assistance but that he can perform most basic self-help skills without prompting. Based on these data, to which of the following professionals should Jason be referred for assistance in learning to locate appropriate materials independently in a classroom?

  1. orientation and mobility instructor
  2. adaptive equipment specialist
  3. physical therapist
  4. adaptive physical education instructor
Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
Correct Response: A.
Objective 0012: Demonstrate knowledge of ways to promote the cognitive development and academic achievement of students with severe and profound disabilities.

6. Barbara is a 14 year old with spastic quadriplegia who uses a wheelchair and has not yet developed verbal expressive language. Which of the following would be an appropriate way for her special education teacher to assist the content-area teacher in adapting test-taking materials for Barbara's use?

  1. Demonstrate how to incorporate visual prompts into Barbara's tests.
  2. Review verbal prompts developed for Barbara.
  3. Use a photocopier to enlarge all test materials.
  4. Present the test questions so that Barbara can answer by shaking her head.
Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
Correct Response: D.
Objective 0015: Demonstrate knowledge of ways to promote communicative and language development in students with severe and profound disabilities.

7. When a student with no consistent expressive communication begins to vocalize and gesture during a familiar activity, the teacher should do which of the following?

  1. Reward the student's quiet behaviors positively.
  2. Overcorrect the response by having the student repeat a targeted sound.
  3. Reinforce the student's efforts positively.
  4. Ignore the student's behavior until targeted sounds are attempted.
Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
Correct Response: C.
Objective 0016: Demonstrate knowledge of ways to promote self-care, home-living, and community skills in students with severe and profound disabilities.

8. During functional living skills instruction, a teacher plans to teach a young student with autism to brush his teeth and comb his hair. Which of the following instructional approaches is most likely to be effective for teaching these skills?

  1. total task approach
  2. natural consequences
  3. backward chaining
  4. peer modeling
Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
Correct Response: C.
Objective 0017: Demonstrate knowledge of ways to promote prevocational skills, vocational skills, and transition readiness in students with severe and profound disabilities.

9. In a vocational program, which of the following techniques would be most appropriate for teaching a 20-year-old student with a severe cognitive disability how to assemble pens?

  1. providing the student with step-by-step written instructions
  2. having the student learn component skills by performing the task
  3. explaining the process in a classroom lecture
  4. showing a filmstrip that illustrates all the steps in the process
Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
Correct Response: B.

 

Subarea IV–Working in a Collaborative Learning Community

Objective 0019: Demonstrate knowledge of ways to promote strong school-home relationships.

10. During a conference with the parents of a student with profound needs, the special education teacher should:

  1. avoid giving a realistic appraisal of the student's potential because it might upset the parents.
  2. use technical terms whenever possible to give the parents confidence in the teacher's abilities.
  3. provide the parents with an accurate description of the student's present level of performance.
  4. assure the parents that the school will plan the student's educational program and tell them that they do not need to be involved.
Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
Correct Response: C.
Objective 0020: Demonstrate knowledge of ways to encourage school-community interactions that enhance learning opportunities for students with severe and profound disabilities.

11. A community vocational rehabilitation center is most likely to provide which of the following to an adolescent with profound disabilities?

  1. remedial classes in basic academic skill areas
  2. occupational counseling, training, and placement services
  3. corrective exercises to develop specific physical skills
  4. appropriate prosthetic devices for his or her orthopedic impairments
Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
Correct Response: B.
Objective 0021: Demonstrate knowledge of the history and philosophy of special education, key issues and trends, roles and responsibilities, and legal and ethical issues relevant to special education.

12. According to IDEA, which of the following is a right guaranteed to students with physical disabilities?

  1. use of nondiscriminatory testing and evaluation methods and procedures
  2. access to any programs and classes offered to nondisabled students
  3. removal of architectural barriers within the school environment
  4. free provision of all adaptive equipment related to the disability
Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
Correct Response: A.