Peer-reviewed article
Role of multidimensional evaluations in the support of school trajectories of children with mild to moderate intellectual disability
Touil N, Curie A, Reymond M, Subtil F, Roche S et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This French study examined 118 school children aged 5 to 13 years with mild to moderate intellectual disability to understand how multidimensional evaluations can support their education. Children were assessed using cognitive tests, adaptive behavior scales, and behavioral rating tools, with 57.6% attending regular schools and 42.4% in adapted schools. The study found that children in regular schools had higher IQ scores and less severe adaptive behavior difficulties than those in adapted schools, and that adaptive behavior assessment was more useful than cognitive testing alone for personalizing educational support.
Key points
- 118 children with mild to moderate intellectual disability were evaluated using standardized multidimensional tools including cognitive, adaptive, and behavioral measures
- Children in regular schools had higher mean IQ scores (57.5) compared to those in adapted schools (43.5)
- Adaptive behavior profiles were more informative than cognitive scores for differentiating children's skills and needs
- Multidimensional evaluation allows for optimization and personalization of educational support
- 60.2% of participants were male, and 44.1% were aged 6 to 9 years
Limitations
This is a descriptive cohort study without a comparison or control group, so it cannot demonstrate causal relationships or the effectiveness of using multidimensional evaluations compared to other approaches. The study only includes French children and may not generalize to other contexts.
Abstract
Introduction There is a lack of objective evaluation with validated tools in school children with intellectual disability (ID). Standardized and validated tools, allowing children evaluations and follow-up, exist but are poorly used. Our action-study wishes to develop evaluation practices to better adapt to the specific needs of children with ID. Objectives We evaluated the multidimensional profiles (cognitive, adaptative and behavioral) of children with ID attending regular or adapted school system. Methods School children, aged 5 to 13 years old, with mild to moderate ID were enrolled in this French cohort study. The multidimensional evaluation consisted of a school evaluation grid proposed by the French educational system, a scale of school needs (GEVA-sco), an intellectual assessment (WISC IV), a behavior adaptative scale (Vineland II) and a behavior rating scale (the French Nisonger Child Behavior Rating Form (Nisonger CBRF)). The results of this multidimensional assessment were analyzed. Results Between November 2014 and June 2016, 121 children were enrolled, 3 children were lost to follow-up. Analysis was performed on 118 children. Seventy one (60.2 %) were male. Fifty-two (44.1%) were aged 6 to 9 years. Sixty-eight (57.6%) children were in regular schools and 50 (42.4%) in adapted schools. Children in regular schools had a higher mean IQ score (57.5) than children in adapted schools (43.5). The adaptative behavior profile of children in regular school is less severe than in children in adapted schools. Conclusions Multidimensional evaluations allow optimizing and personalizing support. Evaluation of adaptative behavior is more informative than cognitive profile which does not differentiate between children skills Disclosure No significant relationships.