Behavioral Observation and Screening Flashcards

________is when a child care worker recognizes and notes an identifiable performance or behavior and uses instruments such as checklists, anecdotal records, and running records. These instruments are used to measure progress against a standard and to share results with assessment experts.

_________means an instrument intended to identify and monitor typical development or possible developmental delay. Screening programs are not diagnostic, and are not based on
whether a child has passed a certain curriculum.

How do we identify the child who is lagging behind his age-mates?

By actively paying attention through a program of regularly scheduled screening and appropriate follow up when necessary

How can we identify children with developmental delays earlier in life rather than later?

By observing them and conducting developmental screening with infants, toddlers, and preschoolers

Why do we need this course?

This course is required by Florida Statute 402.305 which describes “Licensing Standards: childcare programs”

Part of the reason we are in this class is because ____________the said we must complete it

The Florida Legislature

Early detection of problems allows timely referral for .

The caregiver’s attention can be focused on activities that __________the child’s skills.

Increased volume and quality of information is available to parents regarding in-the-home activities that________typical development.

Screeening provides a common reference point and basis for interaction for______, ______,and _______development specialists.

Why do we use the analogy of a window when we discuss brain development?

When a window is open, air and other things have free access to the space within, but, when the window is closed, nothing can get through the window.

We learn throughout our lives, but it seems that there are early periods during which our brains most easily acquire the basic foundations for later ________development.

If we miss an early window of opportunity, some later development is more difficult or even sometimes _________ compromised.

When we discover that a child is struggling with a developmental task, we can involve that child in activities and exercises that place _______emphasis on the skills he needs to acquire

Do a child’s family members know what they are looking for?

No
For example: do you think a Dad knows how many words his child should be able to say at age two or three –or- does a Mom know when to expect her child to be able to stand on leg for five seconds…….Probably not.

Who is in the best position to detect early problems and provide parents with accurate, timely information about their child’s development?

The caregiver who sees the child often

Most caregivers understand basic child development

Development in young children occurs_______ and typically progresses in_________

Early childhood educators must recognize not only the existence of general stages and ________
of development, but also the enormous
that __________there is between children. It is quite typical to see a variation in the patterns and timing of growth and development.

Skills are acquired in a_________.

A sequence or pattern of development consists of predictable_______ along a developmental pathway that is common for the majority of children.

refers to the changes in body shape and proportion. It includes changes in weight, height, head circumference, visual perception, hearing, etc.

refers to a child’s ability to move about and control various body parts. Examples include grasping, rolling over, sitting up, hopping on one foot, etc.

Cognitive Development and General Knowledge

refers to the child’s intellectual or mental abilities. It involves finding, processing, and organizing information, and using it appropriately. It includes such skills and activities as discovering, interpreting, sorting, classifying, and remembering information.

Language and communication

refers to a child’s ability to express himself verbally and to receive and understand the verbal communication of others. It also involves a child’s ability to learn vocabulary and grammar, and includes reading, writing and the ability to construct an understanding of things around them.

Social and emotional

a broad area that focuses on how children feel about themselves and their relationships with others. It refers to children’s individual behaviors and responses to play and work, activities, attachments to parents and caregivers, and relationships with siblings and friends.

Approaches to learning

refers to how skills and knowledge are acquired through the three qualities of eagerness and curiosity; persistence and creativity and problem solving.

We will also use age-level expectancies, which represent a_____________ (rather than an exact point in time) when specific skills will be achieved.

Age expectancies for specific skills should always be interpreted as approximate ________in a range of months.

Again, it is _________and not age that is the important factor in evaluating a child’s progress.

First general observational guideline for caregivers to follow as they assess the development of children in their care.

First, know what to expect.

awareness of normal development tasks can help reassure you that a child’s behavior is “normal” and can alert you to when it is likely to change again.

Second general observational guideline for caregivers to follow as they assess the development of children in their care.

Second, observe a child over a period of time.

Be careful not to judge development based on one day’s observation. Remember, all of us have a bad day occasionally.

Third general observational guideline for caregivers to follow as they assess the development of children in their care.

Third, keep in mind that difficulties in a single area are not necessarily cause for alarm.

Rather, it may be an indicator that a child is experiencing some stress in his or her life that needs to be examined further.

_______are good tools to guide your observations and to record them.

________are short, factual narrative descriptions of a child’s behavior. They should be fact- based and should not include judgments.

_________are similar to anecdotal records. During a specified period of time (for example, 15 minutes), the person who is observing the child writes everything the child does and says. This tool is especially helpful in looking at social behaviors. They can be targeted to a very specific behavior like a child’s ability to play well with other children.

Record only _______.

Record every _______– don’t leave out anything.

Use ______ words that describe but do not judge.

Record the ______in the order they occur.

The observer must be totally ._______

Do not try to observe more than _______at a time.

Do not influence the child’s_________by your presence.

Make sure there is________for the observation

Make sure that _______are kept to a minimum.

Use an area that is_______to the child.

Make sure you build a relationship with the______and the _______.

allows you to interact with children directly and ask them to do certain things.

you do not hide the fact that you are observing a child’s actions.

the observer is concealed behind a screen or a 2-way mirror and does not interact with the child.

when the children are not told that they are being observed.

6 developmental domains used in screening

Physical health motor development cognitive development and general knowledge language and communication social and emotional approaches to learning

A useful first-level screening program should be practical for assessing large numbers of children, and do so:

developmental screening instruments

focuses on observation and provide initial information that can facilitate learning

measure knowledge or skills a child has learned

brief screenings that target social-emotional issues

brief achievement type screening geared to screen whether a child is ready to benefit from a special program

assessments based on children’s work in the classroom focused on measuring a child’s performance

example of a multi-domain instrument

The Brigance Diagnostic Inventory of Early Development

Parents write a narrative of their child’s skills as they have observed them, and then professional child care providers convert this information into measurable information. The Ages and Stages instrument is an example.

A child is compared to others who are similar to him in age and level of development. The Battelle Developmental Inventory falls into this category.

A child’s emotional state in a variety of situations is tested clinically.

The Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ)

Categories: Standardized-Norm Referenced, Parent Assessment, Multi-Domain Ages: 4 months to 60 months

The Ages and Stages Questionnaire system is a low-cost, reliable way to screen infants and young children for developmental delays during the first 5 years of life. Parents complete a simple, illustrated 30 item questionnaire at designated intervals in their natural environments to ensure valid results. Each questionnaire takes about 10-15 minutes and covers five key developmental areas: communication, gross motor, fine motor, problem solving, and personal/social.

Battelle Developmental Inventory, Second Edition (BDI-2)

Categories: Standardized-Norm Referenced, Multi-Domain Ages: Birth to 7 years, 11 months.
The Battelle Developmental Inventory is a developmental assessment for young children. It states its purpose as “screening, diagnosis, and evaluation of early development and measures the following areas: personal-social, adaptive, motor, communication and cognitive ability.”
The complete inventory takes 1-2 hours but the screening test takes 10-30 minutes. It is a screening designed to be administered by staff. It is also available in Spanish.

Categories: Standardized-Norm Referenced, Multi-Domain Ages: 0 to 90 months
The Brigance system uses nine separate forms, approximately one for each 12 month age range. The Brigance Screens tap speech-language and general knowledge, and for the youngest age group, social-emotional skills. The K and I Screens measure reading and math skills. The Infant and Toddler Screens come with a small box of material while the remaining screens require only blocks and crayons.
The test is designed to be administered in an educational environment and can be administered by paraprofessionals

Early Screening Inventory-Revised (ESI-R)

Categories: Standardized/Norm Tested
Ages: 3 to 6 years.
The Early Screening Inventory-Revised is a brief developmental screening instrument individually administered to children from 3 to 6 years. The Inventory is available for two age groups. The Early Screening Inventory for Pre- School (ESI-P) covers ages 3 to 4 1⁄2 years. The Early Screening Inventory for Kindergarten (ESI-K) covers children ages 41⁄2 to 6 years. Both include a parent questionnaire.

Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS)

Categories: Standardized/Norm Tested Ages: Kindergarten to 6th grade
The Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) are a set of standardized, individually-administered measures of early literacy development. They are designed to be short (one minute) fluency measures used to regularly monitor the development of pre-reading and early reading skills.
The measures were developed upon the essential early literacy domains discussed in both the National Reading Panel (2000) and National Research Council (1998) reports to assess student development of phonological awareness, alphabetic understanding, and automaticity and fluency with the code. Each measure has been thoroughly researched and demonstrated to be reliable and valid indicators of early literacy development and predictive of later reading proficiency to aid in the early identification of students who are not progressing as expected. When used as recommended, the results can be used to evaluate individual student development as well as provide grade-level feedback toward validated instructional objectives.

Florida Kindergarten Readiness Screener (FLKRS)

is administered to assess the readiness of each child for kindergarten. The FLKRS includes a subset of the Early Childhood Observation System (ECHOS) and the first two measures of the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) for kindergarten (Letter Naming Fluency and Initial Sound Fluency) to gather information on a child’s development in emergent literacy.

sound screening tools are :

Reliable
Valid
Free of bias

what types of activities support skills development at 48 months