Developing the IFSP:

Essential Content

Page 3 of 13

Overview of developing IFSPs with families

Once a child’s eligibility for early intervention has been established by a Local Infants and Toddlers Program in Maryland, an individualized family service plan (IFSP) is developed.

The following overview gives a summary of the critical steps in developing an IFSP with a family.

Revisit a family’s priorities, concerns, and resources. Review data collected during a child’s evaluation/assessment. Identify functional outcomes with parents. Select measurable criteria to define when an outcome has been achieved. Describe strategies for achieving each outcome. Discuss which formal and informal supports/services can assist families to achieve desired outcomes. Once an IFSP is implemented, assess progress towards achieving family/child outcomes as well as overall family satisfaction with their participation in early intervention.

1. Revisit a family’s priorities, concerns, and resources. Parents’ comments about family and child interests, their resources, and their priorities for the activities and routines in which they want their child to participate guide the conversation for selecting IFSP outcomes and family/child supports and services. This discussion should begin with a planning conversation with families in preparation for a child’s evaluation/assessment.

Family/community activities and routines are the context for natural learning opportunities in which young children develop social competence, master their environment, and acquire information and experience. In preparation for the IFSP, explore with families where a child and family spend their time, along with the activities they do in these places, would like to do, or improve upon (Rosenketter & Squires, 2000). A routines-based interview can guide this discussion (McWilliam, 1992; in press).

2. Review data collected during a child’s evaluation/assessment with families. A comprehensive evaluation and assessment collects information from multiple sources about a child’s and family’s interests, strengths/resources and challenges/concerns. These sources include quantitative tests, as appropriate, and qualitative methods such as natural observation of a child with family members in familiar situations. This data is helpful when determining how to enhance a child’s participation in specific family and community activity settings.

3. Identify functional outcomes with parents. Outcomes are the changes that families would like to see for their children or themselves as a result of their participation in early intervention. Functional outcomes, written in language understandable to each family, identify the desirable knowledge, skills and/or behavior that a child or family members will acquire to ensure a young child’s successful participation in daily life (Pretti-Frontczak & Bricker, 2000). Functional outcomes promote a child’s (McWilliams, 2002):

Social competence, including:

• understanding and expressing emotions
• forming friendships
• interacting with family members/peers becoming a member of a social group
  
  

Mastery over environment, including:

• caring for one’s self
• navigating spaces and places
• using tools, toys and objects purposefully in specific activity settings

Engagement for learning, including:

• focusing on information from body/environment
• adapting to familiar and novel situations in specific activity settings

4. Select measurable criteria to define when an outcome has been achieved. Criteria enables all team members to know when an outcome is achieved to the satisfaction of parents. Criteria must be measurable, i.e., can be seen or heard in a specific context, and specifies how frequently a family hopes a certain action or behavior will occur.

5. Describe strategies for achieving each outcome. Strategies clarify how intended outcomes will be achieved; not which early intervention services will be provided. Effective strategies build on a child’s and family’s interests and surroundings and involve routines/activities, materials/toys/pets, interactions, hobbies/leisure and one’s environment. They should identify how early intervention providers and other community resources will support family members to reach intended outcomes as well as specify the actions family members will take. Talking about strategies with families provides an opportunity to think about the places and spaces where a child can practice and generalize skills, and leads to discussing which formal and informal community resources can be used to reach desired outcomes.

6. Discuss the formal and informal supports/services which can help families achieve their desired outcomes. Before listing early intervention services on the IFSP, it is important to ask “Who has the expertise to support family members in achieving specified child and family outcomes?” rather than trying to decide whether a child needs therapy and/or special instruction (Hanft & Pilkington, 2001). Family members and early intervention providers should discuss the variety of formal and informal supports and services that can be helpful to families and children in reaching desired outcomes (Trivette, Dunst & Deal, 1997).

7. Once an IFSP is implemented, assess progress towards achieving family/child outcomes as well as overall family satisfaction with their participation in early intervention. Progress and family satisfaction can be informally assessed on an ongoing basis by considering these questions with family members:

• How much progress is a child/family making toward attaining desired outcomes?
• Are family members satisfied with this progress, and their participation in a Local Infants and Toddlers Program?
• How will modifications, if needed, be made in services and supports?

A periodic IFSP review must be held every six months or sooner, if requested by a family to review progress and revise outcomes as necessary. In addition, an annual meeting must be held to evaluate the IFSP, and revise its provisions, as appropriate.

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