Communicating Assessment Results with Families

Family-centered principles are essential when communicating assessment results to families.  Whether the assessment results are shared with families during or immediately after assessment or in the future, conversations about the child’s performance should focus on the child’s strengths as well as his/her needs or challenges.  Families should have the opportunity to ask questions and share their observations about their child’s performance.

When communicating assessments results, compassion towards the family is essential. Be sure to “pair” challenges identified with something the child was doing really well and to include a positive, action statement for future planning. For example, “Janelle was really responsive and engaged when we were making silly sounds to her. Although she was not making sounds back, we feel confident that we could build her strengths in communicating reciprocally with you and other important people in her life.” It is critical that parents feel empowered to support their children and celebrate their little victories. Sharing assessment results is an opportunity to create a comprehensive picture of a child’s current strengths and opportunities for growth.

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Sharing Assessment Results with Families

Sharing results centers on the family’s concerns, priorities and needs in terms that the family will understand.  Avoid using assessment jargon and clinical terminology as that may potentially confuse families. Families must have information they can understand to make decisions and actively participate in conversations concerning their child and family.  Information about when written reports will be completed should also be discussed. Family investment and acknowledgement in intervention decisions are the single greatest predictors in the success of service delivery supporting young children with disabilities and their families. Effectively communicating assessments results is an essential step in this process.

To become more familiar with sharing results with families, complete the activity worksheet for IFSP and IEP. Once you have completed the worksheet, compare your responses to the Recommended Practices provided for IFSP and IEP.