Find a child between the ages of 0 – 8 with special needs that is currently receiving services. You will interview the family and complete a one-hour observation of the child at their home or school. You will then submit a written 2 – 3 page summary of the interview and observation. Your paper will be in paragraph form using APA guidelines. For APA guidance please see the Purdue Owl (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. website or use the Hartnell Panther Lab (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. for assistance.

Observation instructions:

Observations must be objective. This means recording only what you see and hear without indicating your thoughts.

All Observations should include:

date
age
Setting
Physical description of the child
language and behaviors observed.
Observations record actual words and/or sounds a child says during the observation time. All children’s words have quotation marks around them. If a child says “spitsketti” instead of spaghetti, put quotes around the words and phonetically spell what the child said during the observation. An effective way to start an observation is to describe what the child looks like and what he/she is wearing.

Interview Instructions:

Interview a family of a child with a developmental disability.

Ask the parent to describe life with a special needs child.
Have the parent identify how the family has been able to access services authorized by public law for their child.
Include such items as: diagnosis, age of onset, therapies or special services the family is accessing, their story of diagnosis (cycle of denial), family dynamics, special expenses, caregiving arrangements, and any issues they have dealt with specific to the child with special needs.
Use the questions as a guide to complete the interview.