Observation/Assesment Parental Consent
 

I would like to start using some observation and assesment tools in my program. Specifically, I would like to have new parents complete an ASQ (ages and stages questionnaire) and I would like to use the DRDP (desired results developmental profile) two times a year for each child to help me asses their progress and to help me personalize the curriculum. In order to do this I will need parental consent. I would like to add a blurb in my handbook about these observations/assessments but I'm not sure how to word it. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

You need permission? Who knew. I don't use the ASQ yet but I do use DRDP and I've never asked parents for permission. I just told them I would be assessing the children and told them where they were, where they are now, and what my goals were.

I don't get consent. I just tell them what I am doing. Never had one have an issue though.
You aren't doing anything invasive, and as long as you don't share with anyone other than the parents, there is no problem.

Maybe there's confusion between assessing a child yourself, and having an outside party come in to assess/evalute? Because here we do need permission for the outside evaluation.

I don't think parent consent is required for a DRDP if they are enrolled in your program (after all, school teachers are required to do them); in my Observation & Assessment, Curriculum, and Student teaching classes we only had to get consent because we were sharing information with our teachers and peers (anonymously) but because most of the students who were employees at large centers or students who had to go to the school center to do it (outside party).

I would just let the parents know that you have decided to do them and that they will help you to better formulate the perfect curriculum to fit their child's needs and probably explain what it is, how you use it, why/how you think it will benefit their child, and that you will share the results with them in a conference.

I also plan on using a DRDP and here is what I would put (haven't added yet)

"As part of my personalized and unique curriculum for your child, I will be using a Desired Results Developmental Profile, also known as a DRDP, to document and measure their stages of development. This is a tool used by many educators to chart the progress of their students development and help them create more relevant curiculum. There are DRDPs for every developmental stage, I will use the one that best describes the developmental age of the child, example for my 3-5 year old I will be using the Preschooler addition. There is no 'perfect score', it's all based on the child's mastery of skills and helps me to see what level of development they are at for each category and which areas of development they need more support in. I am not trained to diagnose learning disabilities, developmental delays, or gifted abilities in children. I use this only for the purpose of creating your child's curriculum and sharing your child's progress with you. If you have concerns about your child's development, you are more than welcome to share the DRDP with your child's doctor but it is not to be used as a sole source for diagnosing delays, gifted abilities, or other special needs."

Thanks. This is what I was looking for. Not so much permission from the parents, I guess I just wanted them to be aware that I will be doing this type of observation. After each section in my handbook I have parents initial to acknowledge that they have read the information. Thank you

Originally Posted by Starburst:
I don't think parent consent is required for a DRDP if they are enrolled in your program (after all, school teachers are required to do them); in my Observation & Assessment, Curriculum, and Student teaching classes we only had to get consent because we were sharing information with our teachers and peers (anonymously) but because most of the students who were employees at large centers or students who had to go to the school center to do it (outside party).

I would just let the parents know that you have decided to do them and that they will help you to better formulate the perfect curriculum to fit their child's needs and probably explain what it is, how you use it, why/how you think it will benefit their child, and that you will share the results with them in a conference.

I also plan on using a DRDP and here is what I would put (haven't added yet)

"As part of my personalized and unique curriculum for your child, I will be using a Desired Results Developmental Profile, also known as a DRDP, to document and measure their stages of development. This is a tool used by many educators to chart the progress of their students development and help them create more relevant curiculum. There are DRDPs for every developmental stage, I will use the one that best describes the developmental age of the child, example for my 3-5 year old I will be using the Preschooler addition. There is no 'perfect score', it's all based on the child's mastery of skills and helps me to see what level of development they are at for each category and which areas of development they need more support in. I am not trained to diagnose learning disabilities, developmental delays, or gifted abilities in children. I use this only for the purpose of creating your child's curriculum and sharing your child's progress with you. If you have concerns about your child's development, you are more than welcome to share the DRDP with your child's doctor but it is not to be used as a sole source for diagnosing delays, gifted abilities, or other special needs."

Originally Posted by Starburst:
I don't think parent consent is required for a DRDP if they are enrolled in your program (after all, school teachers are required to do them); in my Observation & Assessment, Curriculum, and Student teaching classes we only had to get consent because we were sharing information with our teachers and peers (anonymously) but because most of the students who were employees at large centers or students who had to go to the school center to do it (outside party).

I would just let the parents know that you have decided to do them and that they will help you to better formulate the perfect curriculum to fit their child's needs and probably explain what it is, how you use it, why/how you think it will benefit their child, and that you will share the results with them in a conference.

I also plan on using a DRDP and here is what I would put (haven't added yet)

"As part of my personalized and unique curriculum for your child, I will be using a Desired Results Developmental Profile, also known as a DRDP, to document and measure their stages of development. This is a tool used by many educators to chart the progress of their students development and help them create more relevant curiculum. There are DRDPs for every developmental stage, I will use the one that best describes the developmental age of the child, example for my 3-5 year old I will be using the Preschooler addition. There is no 'perfect score', it's all based on the child's mastery of skills and helps me to see what level of development they are at for each category and which areas of development they need more support in. I am not trained to diagnose learning disabilities, developmental delays, or gifted abilities in children. I use this only for the purpose of creating your child's curriculum and sharing your child's progress with you. If you have concerns about your child's development, you are more than welcome to share the DRDP with your child's doctor but it is not to be used as a sole source for diagnosing delays, gifted abilities, or other special needs."

I love your letter. Can I steal it?