Assessing Child Status and Progress

1. Determining Child Status and Progress Sandi Harrington, MA Program Supervisor/Educator Norfolk Infant Development Program Infant & Toddler Connection of Virginia

2. Benefits • Requires us to talk about functional behaviors, not test items • Incorporates the parents as active and knowledgeable participants • Looks at all settings and situations • Bridges the gap between assessment tools and real life Infant & Toddler Connection of Virginia

3. Benefits • Is more meaningful to families • Prepares the family for setting IFSP outcomes – thinking about skills they want their child to have to function in their daily family life • Guides us towards discipline-free, contextualized goals Infant & Toddler Connection of Virginia

4. Talking with Families • Determining child progress requires we use the family’s expertise and knowledge of their child across settings and situations. • Our discussion becomes inclusive with the family as an equal source of information for assessment purposes. Infant & Toddler Connection of Virginia

5. Talking with Families • One of the biggest shifts in practice, for many systems, was the move to compare the children in Part C to their same age peers. Infant & Toddler Connection of Virginia

6. Talking with Families • Looking at children in the frame of same age peers allows us to have authentic, honest discussions with families about their child’s strengths and needs. • We need to be comfortable with reporting strengths AND areas of delay, while being family friendly. Infant & Toddler Connection of Virginia

7. Thinking Functionally • Not just… • Know how to make eye contact, smile, and give a hug • Know how to imitate a gesture when prompted by others • Use finger in pointing motion • Show a skill in a specific situation • But does he/she… • Initiate affection toward caregivers and respond to others’ affection • Watch what a peer says or does and incorporate it into his/her own play • Point to indicate needs or wants • Use a skill in actions across settings and situations to accomplish something meaningful to the child Infant & Toddler Connection of Virginia

8. The Three Child Indicators

9. Children have positive social relationships • Involves: • Relating with adults • Relating with other children • For older children- following rules related to groups or interacting with others • Includes areas like: • Attachment/separation/ autonomy • Expressing emotions and feelings • Learning rules and expectations • Social interactions and play Infant & Toddler Connection of Virginia

10. Questions to Consider • How does the child communicate her/his feelings? • How does the child interact with parents, grandparents, siblings, other children, childcare workers, etc? • Consider progression of social development Smiles – holds out arms to be picked up - Likes to look at faces - laughs aloud - distinction of strangers – parallel play – interest in other kids – associative play • Consider relationship with primary caregivers Soothed by caregiver - varying cries – reliance on primary caregiver – stranger anxiety Infant & Toddler Connection of Virginia

11. Children acquire and use knowledge and skills • Involves: • Thinking • Reasoning • Remembering • Problem-solving • Using symbols and language • Understanding physical and social worlds • Includes: • Early concepts – symbols, pictures, numbers, classification, spatial relationships • Imitation • Object permanence • Expressive language and communication Infant & Toddler Connection of Virginia

12. Questions to Consider • How does the child learn? • Consider progression of how children learn about their environment Mouthing toys – eyes explore toys – hands explore toys – child interact with the toys to produce noise – books / pointing to pictures – points and indicates - “what’s that” question – imitation • Consider progression and complexity of imitation How willing is the child to imitate, do you see the child acting out everyday events in their own play? Infant & Toddler Connection of Virginia

13. Children take appropriate action to meet their needs • Involves: • Taking care of basic needs • Getting from place to place • Using tools • In older children, contributing to their own health and safety • Includes: • Integrating motor skills to complete tasks • Self-help skills (e.g., dressing, feeding, grooming, toileting, household responsibility) • Acting on the world to get what one wants Infant & Toddler Connection of Virginia

14. Questions to Consider • How does child let caregiver know what she/he wants? • How does child get to his/her toys? • What does the child do to participate in her/his own care? • Consider motor skills • How does child get to toys – rolls, crawls, walks, climbs, runs • How does child use hands to manipulate toys & food – raking, pincer grasp • Consider self-help skills to take care of her/himself • Dressing – helps with dressing, takes off some clothes, puts/attempts to put some clothes on • Toileting – tells when wet/soiled, attempts to use the toilet • Feeding – finger feeding, spoon dexterity • Consider communication skills • How does the child tell the caregiver when she/he is hungry, thirsty, needs changing Infant & Toddler Connection of Virginia

15. Determining a Rating • To determine a rating, we must first understand what would be considered age appropriate development across all 3 indicators • Once we have a pictures of that in our mind, we can use the decision tree to come to a conclusion Infant & Toddler Connection of Virginia

16. Using Evaluation/Assessment Information to Inform the Rating • Evaluation/Assessment information can assist in deciding how close a child’s functioning is to typical • Evaluation/Assessment information should be used to inform the rating decision, but needs to be placed in proper context Infant & Toddler Connection of Virginia

17. Using Evaluation/Assessment Information to Inform the Rating • Example: • A child learning to sign will not “pass” items related to speaking • If the child can sign to accomplish the same outcome one might through speaking (e.g., take action to meet needs), the fact that the child “fails” some assessment items is not relevant and should not enter the rating. Key point: Evaluation/Assessment results are how a child performs on a selected set of items. No more. No less. Infant & Toddler Connection of Virginia

18. Decision Tree • The decision tree is the tool that will help us to make determinations of each child’s status and progress – if we use the decision tree correctly, we will be able to have a high degree of consistency across IFSP teams Infant & Toddler Connection of Virginia

19. Decision Tree • Go to www.infantva.org • Virginia’s System for Determination of Child Progress • Click on “Decision Tree” Infant & Toddler Connection of Virginia

20. Indicator Ratings • The team determining the rating needs to reach consensus on a number between 1 and 7. • Descriptions are given for numbers • 7 – Completely • 5 – Somewhat • 3 – Emerging • 1 – Not Yet • Score 2, 4, or 6 if the child’s functioning is “in between”. That is, the child functions with more skill than the lower number, but not quite as described in the higher number. Infant & Toddler Connection of Virginia

21. Determining a Rating • A few things to keep in mind: • There are many different ways that children can function effectively • Effective functioning that takes forms that are less common should not receive low ratings, unless the pattern of behavior relied on may interfere with future development Infant & Toddler Connection of Virginia

22. The Take Home Message • Indicators are not primarily about data. • It is about doing good things for children and families, • And using data as a tool to help programs and providers know whether what they are doing is making a difference Infant & Toddler Connection of Virginia

23. For More Information www.the-eco-center.org Note: Many of the slides and handouts were developed from information on this Early Childhood Outcome (ECO) Center Website. Infant & Toddler Connection of Virginia