Inclusive ECCD: - Consultative Group on Early Childhood Care and ...

INCLUSION Coordinators’ Notebook, Issue 22
Box 2—An Early Childhood
Screening Tool
■Parents and other caregivers who are part of
the child’s daily life can do this level of screening.
You know that the child might have a problem in these areas when the child
exhibits some of the following behaviours:
Hearing If the child
■ does not turn towards the source of new sounds or voices
■ has frequent ear infections (discharge from ear, earache)
■ does not respond when you call unless he can see you
■ watches your lips when you speak
■ talks in a very loud or soft voice
■ does not talk or talks strangely
Seeing If the child
■ is often unable to find small objects which he has dropped
■ has red eyes or chronic discharge from eyes, spots on the eyes, a cloudy
appearance to eyes, or frequently rubs eyes and says they hurt
■ often bumps into things while moving around
■ holds head in an awkward position when trying to look at something
■ sometimes or always crosses one or both eyes (after six months of age)
Talking If the child
■ does not say mama (or equivalent) by 18 months of age
■ cannot name a few familiar objects/people by age 2
■ cannot repeat simple songs/rhythms by age 3
■ is not talking in short sentences by age 4
■ is not understood by people outside the family by age 5
■ is talking differently from other children of the same age
Understanding If the child
■ does not react to own name by age 1
■ cannot identify parts of face by age 3
■ cannot answer simple questions by age 4
■ cannot follow simple stories by age 3
■ seems to have difficulty understanding things you are saying,
when compared to other children of the same age
Playing If the child
■ does not enjoy playing simple waving games by age 1
■ does not play with common objects (e.g., spoon and pot) by age 2
■ does not join in games with other children by age 4 (e.g., catch, hide
and seek)
■ does not play like other children of the same age
Moving If the child
■ is unable to sit up unsupported by 10 months
■ cannot walk without help by age 2
■ cannot balance on one foot for a short time by age 4
■ moves very differently from other children of the same age.
Source: Early Childhood Care and Education–A Trainer’s Manual,
University of the South Pacific, 1995 (pgs. 13–15)
■ Assessment
Assessment generally occurs after screening, and
should be an ongoing process for looking at the
child in greater depth. If a screening indicates there
is a potential problem, assessment should follow in a
timely way. An assessment is a profile of the child’s
motor, cognitive, and psycho-social abilities. The assessment
should be comprehensive and include a variety
of measures (sometimes using standardised
tools, such as an appropriate adaptation of the Denver
Development Assessment). While screening can
be done in a group, assessment is a much more individualised
process. Assessment requires a more highly
trained individual than screening, and when
possible it should be done by professionals.
Although assessment is complex, it is important for
the development of inclusive programmes. It is necessary
in order to evaluate the child’s development and
to help parents and caregivers plan appropriate activities.
Through assessment, children’s needs are identified
and strategies developed to meet those needs; the
process should help demystify the child’s disability for
all those who are a part of the child’s life.
The commitment within inclusion is to address diversity
within a given setting. Therefore, it is important
to begin with the assumption that it is necessary
to assess each child’s development. While not feasible
in many Majority World settings, in fact, all children
should be assessed, at least at a minimum level,
in order to determine their individual needs.
As with screening, there are a variety of issues associated
with assessment.
Early assessment is important. For children
with Established Risks and those with some Biological
Risks (e.g., low birth weight), early assessment (starting
around eighteen months of age) is important,
since it can lead to early intervention, which, in turn
can lead to a prevention of delayed and debilitated
development.
Assessment needs to be seen as a process.
There should be a focus on the assessment process as
well as the outcome of the assessment; it should involve
the ability to observe, note, interpret and plan. The
process needs to be designed to allow those doing the
assessment to understand the child’s behaviour in the
context of their daily life.
Bruder (1997a) refers to the process as taking an
“ecological inventory”. This she defines as “an inventory
of the sequences of skills needed by the child to
participate in a variety of natural environments…. It
gathers information that has relevance to enhancing
the child’s and family’s quality of life by examining the
child’s strengths and competencies as he or she interacts
with people and objects in his or her age-appropriate
environment. This information is vital to ensuring
that intervention for the child focuses on important
and functional skills that are integrated across
developmental domains.” (4)
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