Transdisciplinary Assessment: Making it Possible!

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Transdisciplinary Assessment Making it Possible!

• Adrienne Frank MS, OTR
• Barbara Hanft MA, OTR, FAOTA
• Toni Linder EdD

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Rationale Why do a transdisciplinary assessment?
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TD assessment is.

• Sensitive to child/family life
• Dynamic
• Functional
• Flexible
• Collaborative

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Rationale. Sensitive to child/family

• TD assessment is an ecological approach- looks at
  a child within the context of his/her family.
• Parents are active members of the team, involved
  before, during, after their childs assessment

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Rationale. Sensitive to child/family

• TD assessment uses strategies during the
  assessment process that lead to developing
  effective intervention strategies.

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Rationale. Dynamic

• TD assessment fosters a holistic review of a
  childs strengths and needs in all areas
• rather than a piecemeal approach with each
  discipline independently assessing a separate
  area of development

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Rationale Functional

• Play-based, transdisciplinary assessment examines
  how a child functions in a typical situation,
  rather than a contrived test situation, leading
  to more valid results.

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Rationale Functional

• Recommendations are functional and lead to daily
  intervention plans that build on the childs
  strengths and learning style.

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RationaleFlexible

• Transdisciplinary assessment can support
  cultural, linguistic, and experiential
  preferences for children and families.

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Rationale Collaborative

• Knowledge/expertise of all team members,
  including families, is integrated to best
  understand a childs
• Skill level
• Learning style
• Interaction patterns
• Contexts for development
• Intervention objectives/strategies

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What does a TD assessment look like?
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Observations of child Natural or Naturalistic
Settings

• At home
• In the community
• At a center

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Observations of child interactions

• With caregivers
• With siblings
• With peers
• With adults

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Observations of child Engagement

• Toys, materials
• -sensory materials
• -manipulatives
• -construction toys
• -fine and gross motor
• -art materials
• -dramatic play
• -books
• Routines

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Characteristics of a quality Transdisciplinary
Assessment
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TD Assessment Process

• Pre-assessment home visit
• Pre-assessment planning meeting
• Assessment
• Post-assessment meeting
• Identification of family concerns, resources
  priorities
• Plan development
• Report writing
• Post-assessment debriefing

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• How an assessment is completed defines whether or
  not it is transdisciplinary-
• Teaming
• Planning
• Format
• Strategies
• Interpretation

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Teaming

• Team members represent varied expertise (family
  and min 2 disciplines).
• Families are equal partners who make decisions
  about their assessment role and format.

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Teaming

• All team members engage in teaching and
  learning, continuously sharing expertise across
  disciplinary boundaries.
• this role exchange provides in-service training
  for one team member to begin implementing an
  IFSP/IEP in consultation with other members.

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Teaming

• Extension Self-directed study
• Enrichment Understanding basic terminology
• Expansion Making program judgments

• Exchange Demonstrating techniques under
  supervision
• Release implementing under supervision
• Support backup or therapies

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Teaming

• Plan for and set up learning
• Outline steps
• Explain why
• Emphasize important aspects
• Show in real-life situations

• Provide practice with hands on
• Give feedback on critical points
• Offer support and back up
• Ask for questions
• Follow-up

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Preassessment Planning

• Planning with families helps ensure that
• A familys questions are answered,
• Family members understand their role,
• Decisions are made about how, when, and where the
  assessment takes place.

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Preassessment Planning

• Families may choose to
• Decide how they would like to prepare
• Select assessment procedures
• Provide familiar toys or activities
• Observe their child in varied situations
• Share information about their childs behavior
• Identify childs strengths/abilities and familys
  concerns related to development

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Preassessment Planning

• Identify what they want (outcomes)
• Answer questions about their child family
• Ask questions about assessment process
• Observe childs behavior during assessment
• Show typical interactions with their child
• Try out intervention strategies
• Identify discrepancies
• Provide feedback about the assessment

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Preassessment Planning

• Planning with providers-
• helps orient or prepare team members to the
  assessment process and their roles.

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Assessment Format

• Assessment includes observation of the child
• in his/her familiar environment
• interacting with familiar people, toys, and
  objects
• in daily life contexts (e.g., home and/or
  preschool classroom).

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Assessment Format

• Team members simultaneously observe child,
  gathering a similar base of information.
• Discussion afterward helps the team develop
  reliability among assessors.

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Assessment Format

• During a play-based observation, one team member
  (or one member at a time) follows the childs
  lead.
• Often a parent demonstrates typical child
  behaviors and interactions.

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Strategies

• Open-ended questions are used to gather
  information about child and family
• preferences and
• daily routines.

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Strategies

• Assessment strategies include interactions
• to elicit higher levels of development and
• to try out possible interventions.

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Interpretation

• Assessment results are discussed with the
  family as soon as possible after the assessment,
• using a strengths-based approach focusing on
  what the child does well and the next steps in
  development.

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Interpretation

• Descriptive data, related to a child and familys
  typical settings and desired outcomes,
• rather than domain specific skills that lead
  to discrete services by various disciplines
• is used by the team to set priorities and
  develop IFSP/IEP

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Interpretation

• All team members communicate their
  observations conclusions,
• to make decisions about functional outcomes and
  EI supports and services
• in one integrated report.

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Interpretation

• Examples of functional outcomes
• He is currently doing. And therefore he is ready
  to ..
• OR he is ready for more.
• In order to develop.she will benefit from..
• Activities to encourage.include
• Adaptation of will allow her to..

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Challenges and strategies
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