Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Ecological Assessment
Ecological Assessment
Ecological Assessment
Introduction
This guide is to be used by educators and families to help as we work together
through the process of an ecological assessment with your child. The COACH
(Choosing Outcomes & Accommodations for Children) manual is a great resource for
educational planning for students with disabilities. Page number references from the
manual will be noted for further explanation. The COACH model has Part A, with
Steps 1-3, and Part B, Steps 4-6. Part A works through determining a students
educational program, and Part B translates the family-identified priorities into
goals and objectives.
This guide refers to the Part A: Determining a Students Educational Plan and the
first three steps of the assessment.
Step 1
Step 2
Step 3
Step 1
Family Interview
Purpose: To determine family-selected learning priorities for the student
through a series of questions asked by an interviewer
Step 2
Additional Learning Outcomes
Purpose: To determine learning outcomes beyond family priorities
Step 3
General Supports
Purpose: To determine what supports need to be provided to the student
Step 1
Family Interview
Step
Step
Step
Step
Step
1.1:
1.2:
1.3:
1.4:
1.5:
General Supports
COACH gives a simple method of documenting general supports that need to
be provided to the student. Supports allow for participation in the general
education program, and identify what other people need to do to assist the
student in broad terms. 5 Categories (p.38) of general supports are
listed as follows:
1. Personal needs (feeding, dressing, medication)
2. Physical needs (therapeutic positioning, specialized equipment)
3. Teaching others about the student (emergency situations, procedures)
4. Sensory needs (braille, batteries for hearing aids)
5. Providing access and opportunities (community, native language)
Format: checklist
Classroom teachers, special educators, related services personnel,
family members may provide general supports
Peers may also provide some levels of supports, when mutually
beneficial, respectful & appropriatecaution
Do not place in status-diminishing situations
Conclusion
COACH has been successfully used to plan educational programs for
students with disabilities. It uses research-based theory, is nonjudgmental, and uses fact-finding questions (not open-ended). COACH
allows families to select learning priorities, by providing more than one
time to address an area, and then the desired outcomes can be narrowed to
the most relevant (p.38-42).