Presuming Competence for Students with Complex Access Needs

This is the second course in our Inclusion Series. This course is focused on the core element of presuming competence for the inclusive education of students with complex access needs. The content in this training aligns with the information in Chapter 1 of Cheryl M. Jorgensen's book (2018), It’s More Than “Just Being In:” Creating Authentic Inclusion for Students with Complex Support Needs.

The learning objectives for this training are:

• Define the least dangerous assumption.
• Identify prerequisite skills necessary prior to prescribing an augmentative communication system for a student.
• State at least five reasons why presuming competence is the least dangerous assumption we can make about a student’s capabilities when unbiased and valid assessment data are not available.
• Provide five examples of how student competence is constructed through supports that they are provided in the classroom.