Managing Initial Interviews with Parents of a Child with a "Difference"
Parents coming to the school for their initial interview have usually already filled in a form including the child’s information, as is required by every kindergarten – information concerning health status, chronic diseases and allergies. Care must be taken to make sure that this information is not requested from the parents repeatedly. A single kindergarten employee should be responsible for the collection of personal data. This will help to create a functional relationship with the parents and will save both parties a lot of time.
Parent interviews are used to collect information on the family background of children with SEN. It is essential to respect the right of parents to decide which information is appropriate to share with the kindergarten. Parents appreciate the ability to choose how they provide that information. Some prefer written answers to lists of questions prepared by the kindergarten, others prefer direct contact with the teacher.
Many parents require partial guidance when providing the most important information. Teachers must be sensitive and respectful, but at the same time find out what they need to know about the child. The parents know their child the best and will quickly understand when teachers consider them partners in efforts to help the child. Communication with parents is useful to both sides. Tell parents why the information they can provide you with is important and how it will be used. Allow parents to also ask you questions.
Due to the scope and nature of the information gained during the initial and continuing evaluation of the child it is appropriate to ensure written consent of the parents. From an ethical standpoint this ensures the right to privacy, allowing all those who work with the children to properly communicate. Consent should include (apart from the legally prescribed consent – such as consent with the processing of personal data):• Information about the purposes the provided information will be used for, emphasizing the importance of partnership between the family and school and the role of parents in deciding on the conditions for their child’s education,
• a name/profession list of school employees – teachers and specialists who will be working with the child.
Following are question topics it is useful to know the answers to before starting a child’s education or immediately after that:
• Who are the important people in the child’s life?
• Which forms of support has the family been successful with?
• Are there any things best avoided when interacting with the child?
• Which activities, games, toys, stories, etc. are the child’s favorites?
• What does the family do to successfully motivate the child to take part in activities they do not enjoy?
• What are the child’s communication abilities – for instance what level is their speech at (for deaf children the level of sign-language communication), are they able to express their needs spontaneously or only on request, how easily do they communicate with other children and adults?
• How advanced are the child’s motor skills, do they have any limitations in orientation and movement?
• How do they manage interactions with a group of children or strangers?
• What is their emotional reactivity (are they anxious, easily excitable)?
• To what degree has the child developed an ability to play (enters into play with other children or only plays alone, has a strong preference for one type of game or toy, has problems accepting failure during play, etc.)?
• Which activities and situations does the child manage well and which situations do they need help with, for instance:
o when communicating with children and adults
o when adapting to a new regime or unexpected change in the planned program
o when taking care of themselves (when eating, dressing, using the toilet, etc.)
o in individual or collective play
o when outside of the kindergarten building