Assessing Young Children Chapter 2 Developing Parent Partnerships in Assessment

Terms to Know Parent perspectives - what can they be? Parent questionnaires - get useful data Parent interview - gaining perspective Parent Reports - part of the assessment process Behavioral Questionnaires -child oriented Parents rights- respect

Appreciating the Parent Perspective Global view of the parents perceptions of responsibilities and priorities Focusing on best practices within the scope of the parent perspective Parent knowledge of child’s development, learning patterns, & education Cultural group values, language and social class Parent preferences for food, nap, activities, toys

Team Work Working as a team, creating partnerships. It takes a village to raise a child Communication levels & frequencies: consistent, reliable, informative IDEA – Creating an Individual Family Service Plan (IFSP) PL 101-476 (940142) family's priorities, concerns, lifestyles, and routines

IFSP Information Gathering Service Networking service coordination specialized instruction speech and language services physical therapy (P.T.) occupational therapy (O.T.) family training and counseling assistive technology devices and services audiological services health services necessary to benefit from other early intervention services medical services for Birth to Three diagnostic or evaluation purposes only nutrition services nursing services psychological services social work services vision and mobility services transportation necessary to receive other services that are included in the IFSP other services and supports

Parent Questionnaires Enrollment Applications or Questionnaires Status Past history Personal habits Cultural preferences Opportunity to describe the child Prepare parents in advance for an interview or meeting Develop team environment Additional information/education for parents about system Include, respect, & empower parents

Behavior Assessments Avoid the use of the word “problem”., if you must refer to the behaviors use the word “challenges” Try to determine the environment most likely to trigger the behaviors Remember A B C Try to use open-ended questions to allow more comprehensive answers that provide additional clues Be aware of parent limitations in reading, writing, critical thinking See developmental chart

Constraints of Questionnaires They are subjective, not objective measurements Language or culture barriers “albatross” metaphor Are not standardized. They may be published but not have any normative data behind them. Information gathering only

Observations by Parents Child activity descriptions Questions/concerns about “normal” development Understanding developmental or behavioral differences Using the Hawaii or IFTI

Interviews Offer to make them reciprocal- I’ll aske then you ask. Make them frequent- informal parent conferences Make them descriptive with details – reward parent for improving observation with how necessary they are Providing support for “quality time”

Parent Education Programs Parent meeting- they need motivation too Parent “need to know” items + direct contact Family System Theory – viewpoints of the family as a living organism within the environment Engagement not stigmatization

Collaboration Positive, supportive, “listening with both ears” environment. Asking question- listening to answers. Repeating the answers to ensure that you heard it correctly. Learning priorities Respecting constraints Confronting misperceptions “I promise I will not believe what I head about your home from your child if you promise not to believe what you hear about our classroom”

Parent’s Rights Child Find Prior written notice Parent/guardian written permission Sharing assessments results (F2F) IFSP Due process- right to appeal Able to seek external evaluations Participation is the MDS and the IEP.