Where's the evidence for "evidence based" interventions and approaches?

 Following up on a question on so-called evidence-based strategies, I went down the "validity" rabbit hole. The question had to do with the validity of the Woodcock Johnson assessment when given to autistic students. I read the section within the WJ technical manual that deals with the details of the creation of the instrument. It is a general overview and discussion. It does not mention the sample used to "norm" the instruments.

I found this reference that describes the sample used to create the "norm": https://www.ux1.eiu.edu/~glcanivez/Adobe%20pdf/Publications-Papers/Canivez%20(2017)%20WJ%20IV%20Review.pdf 

Missing from the discussion of the demographics is any language that specifies that those that we would currently describe as neuro-diverse, as coming from the SPED population, or disabled people were included in the sample. In reading the dialog about how the "norm" was created, this population would have to be delimited and noted as a CV in the process. It wasn't.

There's also no discussion about the results applying across populations. They created a model of "the middle of the US" to create their norm. How many STDs from the median is my population? Don't know. As usual, it wasn't factored.

Given the above, there is ample evidence that the WJ is valid in assessing those within the normal distribution of the human population (the middle), but little to no evidence that it is valid or reliable in assessing those outside of that population. This paper outlines why: Keen, D., Webster, A., & Ridley, G. (2016). How well are children with autism spectrum disorder doing academically at school? an overview of the literature. Autism : The International Journal of Research and Practice, 20(3), 276. doi:10.1177/1362361315580962. An interesting takeaway from that paper is that one of the studies examined had WJ administered to autistic students within a Gifted And Talented Education program / general ed setting, the others have the WJ (III and IV) being administered to an unspecified population, "Of the 19 studies reviewed, eight did not provide any information on educational enrollment or placement of participants." "The lack of studies involving participants in the adolescent years was

disturbing, although it is consistent with a more general trend that has identified a lack of research relating to outcomes, strengths and needs of people with ASD in adolescence and adulthood."

Jennifer Kurth seems to be the only researcher that is focused on this area - the lack of studies in this area. In Kurth, J. A., Hagiwara, M., Enyart, M., & Zagona, A. (2017). Inclusion of students with significant disabilities in SWPBS evaluation tools. Education and Training in Autism and Developmental Disabilities, 52(4), 383-392, the authors examine the exclusion of disabled students from interventions - a discussion that I've had recently within the other spaces in my life.

Summary: there's no real evidence that these evidence-based practices work on the population of learners in the special education space ... and ample evidence that they don't work and are quite harmful. Nevertheless, the establishment often argues, this is the system as it is and we must deliver these assessments in order ___ fill in the blank ___. Given my background, it's hard to take the activist hat off.

In all of this, I'm reminded of a quote from an old professor of mine at the Univ. of Toronto - "Do we assess what we value, or value what we assess?" The WJ brings that quote to the front of my mind - seemingly valuing the assessment process and the data it produces with little consideration of the validity of the results or the harm caused by it's administration.

Now ... take any "evidence-based" assessment or intervention. Do your own research. Find the sample and the discussion of the tests of validity and reliability. Look into this data and see if there's any mention of the inclusion of the neuro-diverse community. I'll wager that you'll find nothing. We weren't included in the sample. And ... if we weren't included in the sample, the results can't be applied to our unique population. What does this mean? There's no evidence to support many of these approaches being used on us. None. Zero. Zip. Nada.

Thus, when "experts" use this term, my radar activates. I can use my university library access to quickly assess their claims. 99% of the time, I've found that their use of the term "evidence based" is a logical fallacy - false appeal to authority. They either hope we won't check .. or ... worse ... they haven't checked themselves and are simply parroting something they've heard / read.

I'll be revisiting this theme often, exposing the many ways that this term is used to marginalize our voices and sideline our advocacy. Stay tuned ... or join me. :)

Assistive technology - BeeLine Reader

 I make no secret that there's a lot of tech in my life that helps me navigate a world not designed with people like me in mind. One of those little bits of tech is a Chrome plug-in called BeeLine Reader. In terms of disclosure, I paid full price for the plug-in and have received no compensation (or offer of compensation) from the developer.

Take a look at the previous post. Notice your user experience as you read it. Now examine the image below. This is a picture of the same bit of text, but it's been rendered by BeeLine Reader.

Do you notice a difference?

According to the developers, "We use a simple cognitive trick — an eye-guiding color gradient — to pull your eyes through long blocks of text. This helps you read more effectively and maintain your focus better."

The many "diagnoses" that place me within the "spectrum" include dyslexia and dyscalculia. BeeLine Reader helps me process the dense textual world of on-line life. I'm not always in a place to use Navigator or ChromeVox. This handy little plug-in really helps.

Check it out for yourself. See how much it can help improve your online UX. :)

UDL for adults?

 In my long and circuitous journey through education, a common theme emerged - supports and assistive services were available for those under 18 with the privilege of having a support staff knowledgable in advocacy. If you didn't have such a support staff, or if you happened to be over 18, you were / are expected to be able to function effectively in a system that is not only not designed with you in mind but is often openly hostile to your very being.

I was thinking about this at various times throughout the past six months. Nevada's government imposed lockdown ruined the in-person training industry. My in-person training business worked in a space where direct, hands-on work was necessary. There is very little about what I used to do that can be effectively virtualized. Six months after the lockdown began, the industry is crushed and most of the small businesses in that space are out of business permanently. 

I tried to give it a go in the virtual world in March and April. No one was interested. The Great Reset is happening, and with it comes a complete reorganization of the Western world. The world's oligarchs have decided what's best for us, and it doesn't include vibrant and responsive small businesses. Companies like mine are gone. Companies at the top of the economic food chain gained an incredible amount of market share and shareholder value. Hopefully, if you're reading this, you're ok and safe.

As for me, I've not only lost the business but have left Nevada for good - moving back to California and transitioning to a new career ... which is actually the fulfillment of a life-long dream.

In the four months of intensive re-training to get me ready to be hired as a special education teacher, that theme resurfaced. It was as if none in the classes or events would need differentiation, or Universal Design for Learning inspired learning events. It was as if those coordinating the events never assumed that someone from the "special education population" would make it out and join them in their spaces. Yet, there I was. Here I am.

I'm not saying that each and every learning event that I've ever offered was dripping with UDL. I'm no where near perfect. But, I tried and grew as I got to know my learners. Even now, there's only so much that I can do within the LMS that I've been given to work with. Same goes for the platform that is being used for my intern work - Brightspace. Brightspace is a content management system that is trying hard to be an LMS, but lacks so much in terms of UX/UI for accommodation / differentiation.

It's my fervent wish that those who are designing learning events for adults lean heavily into UDL - and the understanding that we all learn differently. I hope for the day that LMS designers build a platform with a user-selectable UX/UI with differentiation built in. Until then, we'll plow on and hope for the best.

Introductions and Links

A bit of an introduction. 

Hi, I'm Jim (Dr. H).

I'm presently an Elementary Special Education teacher (SDC/SDP) in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Here's the introduction video that I created for this year's open house. It's important that you know that all of the opinions that I will share here are my own. Any links I share do not constitute an endorsement of any kind. I have done my best to demonetize this blog. When I share about a commercial resource, I will state my relationship to that company.

Find my autism related articles at Planet Neurodivergent, an Australian platform with a world-wide audience. (no financial relationship, just sharing information and helping an up and coming platform)

I'm working with Irish start-up AutPost to create content. I've sent over my first video (with captions, of course). For more info about AutPost, find them on Facebook. (In exchange for creating video content - about Autistics, by Autistics - I receive access to the whole site.)

My Instagram @WeeJimmy74. (I reject all influencer offers and don't sell from my IG. It's not that I'm against making money, I just don't want some corporate interest to govern what I share or how I experience the world.)

My resume site is at hoerricks.com.

I'm on LinkedIn and Twitter, though I don't check either. An up to date LinkedIn profile was required by a previous employer, but to my view LinkedIn is all corporate promotion and preening. I find Twitter to be chaotic and lack the understanding (or enough anxiety meds) to safely engage in that space. I use various messaging apps (GroupMe, Slack, Line, FB Messanger, and etc.) and despise them all. Perhaps I'm old fashioned, I still prefer email.

I've published a bunch of materials on a variety of topics over at Academic.edu. Most of the materials there are about Freemasonry, Philosophy, and Religion as I've experienced them. There are a few, older autism-related articles as well as a few with a look at a particular historical person / event. (I think they charge for full access. If you find an article that you like, and you want a copy, just ask me.)

BTW, if you're interested, my pronouns are they, them, their, or Dr. 

I can't predict when or how often I will post here. As things evolve, I may come back to edit / update this post.

I intend to use this space to save helpful links to information and tools. I say helpful - as in helpful to me. What I share may be helpful to you. It may not. If I've shared something that isn't helpful to you, and you choose to comment, please presume grace on my part and make your disagreement polite. If you can, offer an alternative and your reasons why what you're offering is more helpful to you. In this way, we can both get to know each other and grow in a healthy and respectful way.

Go easy on me. I'm autistic, non-verbal, and using this space to process a world and systems not only not designed for people like me ... but in some cases openly hostile to people like me.

:)