Tag: Individualized Education Program

Posted in Eleanor Cawley, M.S., OT

Annual Review will be here before you know it–Create Balanced Assessments!

Posted on by Eleanor Cawley

That’s right!  Annual review season will be here in just a few months.  You should start writing your annual reviews shortly.  During annual review, it is prudent to get a student’s feedback on what is working and what is not working.  Make sure that you have a way to gain that additional information.  An interview is always helpful to provide insight on a student’s ability to function not only in the classroom but also at home.  Parents so often paint a different picture of a student’s abilities at home.  Students can behave differently at home.

This is the time to put all your ‘ducks in a row.’  When assessing your students, make sure to have a balanced assessment with some type of real-life [authentic] assessment.  This often means having a rubric to demonstrate how a student’s progress has been judged and the data that supports the student’s progress.

Think about interviewing your student to learn about his or her insights into their skills. Did you ever think about providing your student with a satisfaction survey?  This is quite eye opening.  By developing a rapport with your students, you have the opportunity to create a report that is quite inclusive of all their skills and their opinions.  Listening to and including your student’s opinions leads to better goal development, better outcomes and improved compliance with recommended strategies.

Engage your students in every way possible to participate in collecting data and the development of their IEP.  You will go a long way in developing the respect and the trust of your students.

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Posted in Eleanor Cawley, M.S., OT

The Student Interview

Posted on by Eleanor Cawley

The Student Interview Cover

The Student Interview has been something that I have used when assessing students for occupational therapy for some time now.  I have found that by providing a structured interview, that the student could complete independently, allowed the student to provide information in such a way as not to be embarrassed. Although the student knows that the document will be reviewed later, it is much less stressful to check that box and to know what will be discussed; like a celebrity preparing for a television interview.

The Student Interview explores the following areas:

  • Orientation
  • Activities
  • Activities of Daily Living
  • School Skills
  • Technology
  • Self-Regulation
  • Includes open-ended questions regarding the student’s current programming
  • The student’s wants and needs
  • Student Satisfaction Survey- Yes even your students should give feedback- It can be eye opening.

The Student Interview also includes a rubric to assess the responses to the checklist questions.  While not a developed verbatim, it allows the therapist to get an overview of the student’s perception of his or her own abilities.

As a student begins his or her transition into the real world, it is our obligation to help our students to become participants in the development of their IEP and contribute in any way that they can.

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