Definition of Cognitive Development is to be manifested during the developmental period and be determined through the demonstration of all the following behavioral characteristics:
1. Development at a rate at or below approximately 2 standard deviations below the mean as determined through intellectual assessment.
2. Scores approximately within the lowest 6 percentiles on a standardized test in reading and arithmetic. This requirement will not apply if the student is not of an age, grade, or mental age appropriate for formal or standardized achievement tests.
3. Lack of development primarily in the cognitive domain.
4. Impairment of adaptive behavior.
5. Adversely affects a student educational performance.
2. A determination of impairment shall be based upon a full and individual evaluation by a multidisciplinary evaluation team, which shall include a psychologist
• Michigan Department of Education (2013). Michigan administrative rules for special education. Lansing,
MI.
1. Three things need to happen in this section.
o Terminology – Your handout will explain important or confusing terms and concepts found in or related to the definition.
o Synonymous Names – Your handout will describe other names used for the learning challenge. That is, different states and organizations sometimes use different words for the same condition. Outlines these synonyms.
For example, Michigan uses the term Cognitive Impairment for students with low levels of intelligence; whereas, the federal government uses the synonym – Intellectual Disability. Be sure to include these various terms.
o Definition Summary – Your handout will paraphrase in user friendly language a description of the disability. This should be a comprehensive summary of the learning challenge. In most cases, this comprehensive summary will be several paragraphs in length.
You must have at least one published, peer-reviewed or edited source (i.e., not a website) for this paraphrase. Because they focus on fundamental ideas, introductory textbooks maybe more useful sources for this section as opposed to journal articles, which tend to focus on more focused/narrow ideas. APA citation is required for the sources used in Section 3