Child Find: After the Screening
What a screening tells us:
What a screening is:
- a
way to identify children who may require further
assessment to
determine if special education needs are present
or if developmental concerns impact the child
educationally
- a collaboration between Preschool
Child Find screeners, parents, and other
people with knowledge of the
child's development (i.e. preschool teachers,
other therapists, etc.)
What a screening is not:
- an
IQ test
- used to determine Kindergarten readiness
- a comprehensive evaluation
What happens after my
child is screened? Because each child
and family is unique, and because children develop
at different rates, screenings are tailored to
each situation and may have different outcomes
for each family. However, the following process
is followed to ensure that adequate information
is gathered and appropriate decisions reached regarding
the next steps following a screening.
Step 1: Screening
Step 2: Screener
scores screening instrument and determines whether
scores fall “within normal limits.” If so, screener
will recommend no further action and may provide
parents with some resources to address parental
concerns. Parents may request a rescreening after
6 months if concerns persist.
Step 3: If the
screening reveals areas of deficit or possible
concerns, Screener prepares reports using all information
gathered to be presented at the Local Screening
Committee
Step
4: Screener presents reports at the Local
Screening Committee. Parents are invited to attend
this meeting to present their concerns and interpretation
of the screening in person
Step 5: The Local
Screening Committee makes a recommendation. This
recommendation could include:
A) No further
testing
A recommendation
of "No further testing" means that the committee feels that sufficient information has been gathered
and no additional testing is needed because the
child's performance at this time is within normal
limits or does not have an educational impact.
If the parent still has concerns, however, the
parent has several options:
1) Parents can
maintain contact with Child Find to
a) gather new
information and/or ask additional questions;
b) ask for newly
gathered information to be re-presented to the
Local Screening Committee for consideration; or
c) if 6 months
have passed, to schedule a new screening appointment.
2) Participate
in Pre-Intervention Workshops for Parents available
focusing on certain topics.
B) Gather more
information
A recommendation
of "Gather more information" means that the committee feels that insufficient information exists to make
an appropriate decision about whether further testing
needs to be completed. This may mean conducting
an observation of a child at his preschool/child
care setting or obtaining reports from other professionals
who may have worked or be working with the child.
The new information is then presented to the local
screening committee to determine the need for further
testing.
c) Further testing
needed
A recommendation
of "Further testing needed" means that the committee feels that sufficient information has been gathered
and that the screening warrants further assessment
of the child's development to determine if special
education services are needed. The type of testing
that will be completed is very individualized depending
on the child's specific needs, but can include
the following areas:
Audiological
Speech/Language
Psychological
Hearing Screening
Educational
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Vision
Screening
Sociocultural
Medical
Functional Vision |
Step 6: The screener
contacts the parents to inform them of the committee's
recommendation and to answer any additional questions
the parents may have, if the parents are unable
or choose not to attend the meeting.
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