1. Assessing Young Children
Chapter 2 Developing Parent Partnerships in Assessment

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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 (940142)
family's priorities, concerns, lifestyles, and routines

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

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

10. 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”

11. 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

12. 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”

13. 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.