VIDBE-Q Volume 67 Issue 3
quickly complete an activity. However, formal direct tasks that exist today are not
analogous to the more complex utilization of EF skills in everyday life (Barkley,
2012; Barkley & Murphy, 2010) and may be a reason why differences or needs of
students with VI are not as evident in the tasks as they are on the rating scales as
compared to sighted peers.
Rating scales and interviews provide secondhand information and responses
can be influenced by the perceptions of the informant. These methods, however,
allow for an evaluator to access information about how well a student uses their EF
skills within the context of everyday life, in more complicated situations with
many more contributing factors. Unfortunately, they do not necessarily correlate
well with direct tasks, causing some to question what they are truly measuring; as
mentioned, they also assume that EF skills develop the same way and are used
similarly across all children. A multi-method approach that integrates information
from several sources may very well be best.
Considerations for Functional Assessment and Observation of EF Skills
While not a formal assessment measure, teachers can design functional tasks
within their instruction that will provide them insight into their student's ability to
engage EF skills. A formal score or normative comparison will not be elicited, but
as mentioned earlier, these are often not very useful, and not necessarily crucial for
