What role does the family play in the assessment process? Specifically, give an example of how families can be involved in the program monitoring and evaluation process for a child with a delay in gross or fine-motor skills or another developmental delay.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Family plays an important role in the program monitoring and evaluation process. In general, families provide a wealth of information and support in the assessment process by forming collaborative relationships with practitioners. One way that families assist in program monitoring and evaluation is by providing feedback regarding their satisfaction with their child’s progress. Families can share information about their child’s daily routines and what they see improving or not improving. For example, if a child is working on using eating utensils during meal time, families can report on what developments they see happening with their child during family meal time. Families can also monitor their child’s behaviors and reactions in multiple environments, such as how their child handles meal time at home, in public places, or in other environments such as at school. Families can then make recommendations to educators and practitioners for new skill development or needed changes in current practices. Family involvement can also promote the acquisition of new skills outside the learning environment such as teaching children how to use other methods of eating (e.g., when it’s appropriate to eat with your fingers, how to use chopsticks, how to hold a coffee mug versus a plastic cup).