Role of Screeners

In Week Two, we focused on the important role observations play in the assessment of young children. From conducting observations professionals working with young children may have some areas of concern about a child’s development. When this happens, they often use a developmental screener as the next step in ensuring a child’s success. Screeners are a “brief assessment to identify possible problems that may later be further evaluated using more extensive and more accurate assessment” (Howard, V. F., & Aiken, E., 2015, p. 149). In this discussion, we will look at the connection between observations and screeners, the purposes of screeners, and including families in the screening process.

To prepare for your discussion, you will need to read the case study in the introduction of Chapter 5 and watch the Observation, Screening, Assessment, and Documentation (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. video.

Using both the Observation, Screening, Assessment and Documentation video and Chapter 5 of your course text as support, discuss the following:

• Explain the relationship between observations and screeners in the assessment of young children. Include at least two specific examples of how they are connected.
• Discuss how the information shared in the video does or does not align with the screening process shared in the case study in the introduction section of Chapter 5 of the course text. Include at least two specific examples to support your thinking.
• Based on your understanding of the purposes of screeners, how will you use screening in your current or future work with young children? Make sure to include specific examples that are connected to the purposes of assessment shared in the video and the course text.