Learning Together/Prepare to Share
Is it functional or isolated?
The three child outcomes are functional in that they refer to behaviors and skills that are meaningful for all children in everyday life. Functional outcomes represent an integrated series of behaviors or skills that allow children to achieve important every day goals. Discrete, or isolated outcomes, by contrast, are domain-specific and may ask children to show isolated skills, such as pointing or making a fist. Knowing whether children use pointing to indicate a toy preference or make a fist to grasp a crayon to draw gives us a better idea of whether children can participate in everyday activities -- identifying how children use behaviors and skills to participate in everyday activities, then, is important.
In this activity, check your understanding of functional and isolated outcomes.
