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Evaluation Report

Below is an evaluation report written for a child who I assisted with the entire assessment process. I first saw him at an early childhood screening and helped administer the screening test. During this screening, he struggled to complete any of the activities showing a need for assessment and possible evaluation. His parents showed concern during the screening and were scheduled for an in-home assessment to see if he would qualify for Early Childhood Special Education services. During the whole process I assisted in administering the assessment at his home, and additional evaluation sessions at the Early Childhood Center. The results of the evaluation showed that he qualified for services and would begin attending a self-contained preschool classroom several days a week.

I. Background Information:

A.J was referred from preschool screening and was seen for the intake in the family home with his step mother present. A.J lives with his father and stepmother as well as a younger half sister. His step mother is pregnant and due the middle of November. In reviewing A.J’s early developmental history, there are possible concerns of drug exposure prenatal. He was born 7 weeks early and was hospitalized for 8 weeks after birth. His step mother reported that he used his first words around the age of 2 and currently uses 3 word sentences. A.J has no difficulties in large muscle activities but some small muscle activities are more difficult for him. A.J’s parents have concerns about his language and report being able to understand about 50% of his speech. They report that his doctor also has concerns about his development. The Early Childhood Special Education team will conduct a comprehensive evaluation.

II. Review of Existing Data and Current Assessment Results

Intellectual

A.J was administered the Mullen Scales of Early Learning in November 2010. The Mullen Scales of Early Learning is a standardized assessment that consists of 4 cognitive scales. The Visual Reception Scale tests performance in processing visual patterns. Primary ability areas are visual organization, memory, sequencing, and spatial awareness. The Fine Motor Scale provides a measure of visual -motor ability and reflects the expressive side of visual organization. The items involve visual discrimination and motor planning and motor control. The Receptive Language Scale measures ability to process linguistic input. The primary abilities covered in this scale are auditory comprehension and auditory memory. The Expressive Language Scale measures the ability to use language productively. The primary ability areas covered are speaking ability and language formation including the ability to verbalize concepts.

	Raw Score	T Score	Percentile	Category
Visual Reception	38	43	24	Average
Fine Motor	28	20	1	Very Low
Language Comp.	29	30	2	Very Low
Expressive Language	27	27	1	Very Low

 

A.J’s Cognitive T score sum was 120 which is a standard score of 63 and is at the 1st percentile. This means that A.J had difficulties with many of the items on the assessment. A.J came willingly to the test session and separated easily.

In the area of visual reception, A.J was able to sort spoons and blocks and match letters and pictures in different positions. He could match by color and shape but had difficulties when matching by size. For example, he matched all red circles and all yellow circles but could not sort them between small/big. He had difficulty with remembering hidden pictures and objects.

In the area of fine motor, A.J was able to screw and unscrew a plastic bolt and stack six blocks but was unable to string beads. He had difficulty with paper pencil tasks that would be expected of his age. He was able to make circular shape but was unable to imitate horizontal or vertical strokes and used an immature grasp.

In the area of communication, A.J knew body parts and could identify pictures of a baby eating, sleeping and washing. He could tell the function of objects such as car, scissors and chair. A.J knew the prepositions in and under, but not behind, in front of or besides. He could identify sixteen vocabulary words, used 3-4 word sentences and used pronouns such as “I” and “you” in his speech. He was unable to count or answer questions such as “what do you do when you are thirsty”.

A.J had difficulty with pre-academic skills such as counting and color recognition. A.J needed two sessions to complete the cognitive assessment since he had difficulty staying on task.

Based on the results of the assessment, A.J shows a significant delay in basic concepts that would be typical for his age. These include number concepts, direction following and answering questions.

Communication:
This information is written by the Speech Pathologist.

Motor:
This information is being inserted by the Occupational Therapist and is not yet completed.

Functional:
His parents report that A.J eats well, uses utensils and recently has been toilet trained but continues to have frequent accidents. A.J sleeps well but does get up sometimes in the night. He is mostly able to entertain himself when alone.

Sensory/Health/ Physical Status
A.J’s parents report he is healthy, is taking no medications and has had no chronic illnesses. He passed a vision and hearing test at screening.

Emotional/Social/Behavioral Development:
A.J’s parents report that he has difficulties sharing with his younger half-sister and has shown aggression toward her. During the cognitive, communication and motor assessments A.J needed frequent redirection and reinforcements.

I. Classroom Observations
A.J was observed on October 27, 2010 by R.D. and Andrea Bockenhauer at his home where he lives with his father. He was 3 years 9 months at the observation and quickly gained rapport with the observer. The observer provided him with a set of dishes and food props and he showed an ability to use imaginative pretend play while making “hot chocolate” for the observer. He was able to match the same color cup and plate as well as differentiate between the concepts of big/little and same/different. He communicated with the observer using 4-5 word sentences, though he had some difficulties with pronunciation of some sounds (ex: p sound for the letter f). When baby dolls were presented he showed a sequence of events by giving the baby milk, then covering it up for nap. He initially did not follow a 2-step direction when but when asked to direct the actions onto the doll he followed 50% of the time. When gross motor skills were observed, he was able to stand on his right foot for 3-4 seconds without assistance, and attempted to catch a ball but did not respond when asked to kick the ball. He was able to build a 6 block tower before it fell to the ground. When drawing on paper, he held the crayon with an immature three finger grip and produced circular patterns across the paper but could not copy a line or circle. He easily completed a 5 piece puzzle. Overall during the observation A.J had a higher than typical activity level and a lower than typical attention span. He appeared to change the subject by making dinosaur noises when unsure of a question

II. Interpretation and Summary of results
A.J has a developmental delay and is in need of special education and related services. His present level of performance shows a delay in cognitive skills, communication skills and motor skills as tested by the Mullen Scales of Early Learning, Preschool Language Scale and Peabody Scales of Motor Development. . A.J scored in the 1 percentile on the Mullen Scales of Learning showing a significant delay in cognitive development. He scored in the 12th percentile on the Preschool Language Scale demonstrating a considerable delay. His educational needs that derive from the disability are supported by an observation at his home and parent reports. Under the Minnesota rule for eligibility, A.J qualifies for special needs services based on the information collected in the Mullen Scales of Learning, Preschool Language Scale, observations in his home and parent reports, A.J is eligible for services through the Centennial Early Childhood Special Education Program. He is eligible because he has a delay of -1.5 SD or more below the mean in the developmental areas of cognitive development and communication development.