The opinions of the teachers working in the guidance and research center on the educational evaluation and diagnosis process of individuals with severe and multiple disabilities

Within the scope of this research, it was aimed to determine the opinions of the Counseling Research Center teachers regarding the educational evaluation and diagnosis process of individuals with severe and multiple disabilities. In this qualitative study, the holistic single case study design, one of the types of case studies, was used. 8 volunteer teachers, who were selected by the criterion sampling method and who were working in 3 different Counseling Research Centers in Antalya province participated in the study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the participants who participated in the study, and the data obtained as a result of these interviews were analyzed with content analysis. In this study, the process of Educational Evaluation and diagnosis was tried to be considered in every aspect as much as possible. According to the results obtained, it was determined that there were differences between the medical diagnosis and the educational diagnosis of individuals with severe and multiple disabilities. It was determined that there was no difference between the educational assessment and diagnosis of individuals with severe and multiple disabilities and other special needs. It was understood that the assessment environments where the assessment of individuals with severe and multiple disabilities were made and the formal and informal assessment tools used in the assessment were not suitable for these individuals and it was determined that the assessment of these individuals took between 30 minutes and 1.5 hours. It was found that the personnel involved in the evaluation process had insufficient knowledge and skills related to these individuals, and therefore they had difficulty in evaluating these individuals. It was understood that individuals with severe and multiple disabilities were placed in educational environments based on diagnosis, not on performance, during placement processes in educational environments. It was determined that the educational environments that these individuals could benefit from were insufficient. In addition, since it is believed that individuals with severe and multiple disabilities cannot receive education due to their physical disabilities, it has been determined that the decision of homeschooling or home care was taken for these individuals due to the unavailability of educational environments and negative attitudes in the educational environment It has been concluded that individuals with severe and multiple disabilities should be evaluated with teamwork and that many disciplines should be included in this team according to the individual's needs. Considering the obtained findings, it was determined that individuals with severe and multiple disabilities experienced negativities in all stages of the educational evaluation processes and diagnostic processes, and suggestions were made for these negativities.