Early Intervention Evaluations (Playlist)

In this playlist, Dr. Cate Crowley walks Early Intervention Evaluators through critical steps in conducting an Early Intervention evaluation considering current federal law, state regulations, clinical judgment, and evidence-based practice.

Early Intervention Evaluations- Module 2a- Standardized Test Misuse

Early Intervention Evaluations- Module 2a- Standardized Test Misuse

In this module, Cate will review city and state regulations, federal law, research-based practice in her discussion of what makes a linguistically and culturally appropriate EI evaluation. She will look more closely at commonly used Early Intervention assessments for areas of bias that may lead to misdiagnosis if used with children of diverse backgrounds and experiences.

Early Intervention Evaluations- Module 1- Law, Regulations and Policies

Early Intervention Evaluations- Module 1- Law, Regulations and Policies

In this first module, Cate discusses current NYCDOH laws and regulations regarding requirements for Early Intervention evaluations. She explains that, according to current regulations, evaluators are not required to use norm- and criterion-based tests in all EI evaluations. She talks about what is “significant enough” to require early intervention in New York City, and introduces the importance of using detailed clinical observations and informed clinical opinion in determining a child’s eligibility for services.

Early Intervention Evaluations- Module 2b- Standardized Test Misuse

Early Intervention Evaluations- Module 2b- Standardized Test Misuse

In this module, Cate continues discussing current issues of misuse of current standardized EI assessments. She then examines across-test inconsistencies across tests like the REEL-3, the Rossetti, Bayley-III, E-LAP, Brigance, DAY-C, amongst others. Finally, Cate will take a deeper look at the validity and reliability of these common assessments, and caution evaluators to rely on more than a standard score in determining disability eligibility for children before the age of three.

Early Intervention Evaluations- Module 3- Case Study

Early Intervention Evaluations- Module 3- Case Study

In the third module of this series, Cate looks at the NYSDOH Communication and Motor Clinical Practice Guidelines and uses case study videos of young children to demonstrate how detailed observation and informed clinical opinion can be powerful tools in doing an EI evaluation. Using observation of real children’s behavior, she guides the viewer through the steps for distinguishing a child eligible for EI services from a child in the wide range of “normal”.