Haley Burns

HDFS 421 In-Class Activity

Communicating Assessment Results with Parents

Student Names:

Instructions: Write out what you would say to the parents in each scenario

Case 1: Jacob

You are the lead teacher of a full-day preschool classroom of three and four year old children. Jacob is
one of the oldest children in your class, and he has begun to pick on a new child, Samuel, who is one of
the youngest boys in your class. You have made systematic observations of Jacobs behavior. Three days
this week you noticed Jacob take toys from Samuel; once you saw him shove Samuel down in the
sandbox, and once he pushed Samuel off of a tricycle. All of these incidents have been in the afternoon.
You believe that Jacobs behavior is escalating, and feel it is necessary to talk to his parents. Please write
out what you would say to Jacobs parents.

I just wanted to touch base regarding Jacobs behavior in the classroom. Jacob displays great behavior in
the morning, and has been a joy to have in class. He has really taken on the role of the oldest child in the
class, and has been a great asset to our classroom. As you may already know, our class gained a new
classmate, Samuel. I have noticed some abnormal behavior from Jacob since Samuel joined. There were
three days this week I noticed Jacob take toys from Samuel, push Samuel off his tricycle, and one
instance of pushing Samuel down in the sandbox. We encourage a classroom community where we can
play together in a safe manner. Samuel does not display any actions that may encourage these
behaviors, and I have noticed that all of Jacobss challenging actions occur in the afternoon. I wanted to
connect with you to see if you have noticed any behavior changes at home, particularly in the afternoon,
or have any ideas why his behavior has altered. I would like to get him back to positively interacting with
other students, and I am confident it can be fixed with extra support and redirection. Please let me
know any ideas you might have so we can further discuss how to address and fix this situation together.
Thank you!

Changes: I added the other behavior listed above that Jacob did, as I missed one the first time. I also
added our classroom community goal in having a safe atmosphere there the children can play. This lays
out the expectations for the children and so the parents are aware.

Case 2: Lucy

You are the lead teacher of a toddler classroom, working with children 18 months to 3 years old. You
screen childrens developmental milestones in your class every 3 months so you can identify any risk of
developmental delays or disorders. During the last two screenings, Lucy, a 2 year old, failed both the
social and communication domains on your screening tool. You have observed her regularly and noticed
that she spends most of her time playing alone in the block corner. She rarely initiates interactions with
you or the assistant teachers, and you have never seen her initiate interactions with other children. You
are concerned that she might have an Autism Spectrum Disorder, but you cannot evaluate her any
further or refer her for further evaluation without her parents permission. Please write out what you
would say to Lucys parents.

As Lucys lead teacher in the toddler classroom, I wanted to update you on Lucys progress. Lucy is a joy
to have in class, and is a great addition to our classroom. Lucy spends a lot of her time playing blocks
and sorting the different colors. As lead teacher, I screen all of the childrens developmental milestones
every 3 months to assess their progress. In looking at Lucys results, she passed _____ and ____ domain.
With that, I have also noticed that she is below average for her age group in the social and
communication domain. I have also observed that Lucy spends much of her time alone with little
interaction with others. I just wanted to touch base and see if this behavior is normal for her at home,
and see if you have anything to add that you think would be beneficial to address. Because of Lucys
below average social and communication domain scores, it is recommended that Lucy is further
evaluated so we know how to best support her. With that being said, I need your permission to take the
next step to have Lucy further evaluated by a specialist. If you have any further questions or comments,
please do not hesitate to ask!

Changes: While I initially started this conversation in a positive way, I thought it would be beneficial l to
add the domains that she did pass to start. I feel like that this way, the parent is able to see Lucys
successes. I also added the part requesting their permission. This is important, because the parents
would not know otherwise that I need their permission to further assess their child.