For this assignment, I had the opportunity to work with a family I babysit for.

The

household consists of Jake (not their actual name), Mom, and Dad. The family has done a

fantastic job supporting their son in his interests and strengths and finding ways to help him

through any difficulties he has. I completed the ASQ-3 and the ASQ: SE-2 by interviewing the

family and observing the child while he played. These two tools helped the family, and I

pinpointed any family concerns and what was going well for them.

Jake is two years old and enjoys playing video games, soccer, and baseball, as well as

with the neighborhood kids. Jake's strengths include caring a lot about his family and friends and

trying to help them if they are upset. Another strength is his curiosity about the world; he always

asks questions and wants to experience new activities. An area of growth that we determined

from the assessments was his inability to express his feelings and the pickiness of food for meal

times. We conducted the ASQ-3 first, and Mom preferred that I fill out the form and ask the

questions. Jake mostly had yes or no answers to the communication section questions. Jake

scored sometimes in repeating three-step directions and using past tenses. For the other

questions, he does a phenomenal job communicating his activities, asking questions, and

requesting a want/need. In the next section, gross motor, he scored yes or sometimes for all the

skills. He excels in throwing balls because he is a very active and involved baseball player,

which is one of his favorite activities. Mom shared with me that he is sometimes hesitant to

climb on playground equipment if no adult is helping him, which is why we scored him as

sometimes for question 2 in the gross motor section. Mom believes that he is physically able to

climb and go down the slide; he is just not confident in his skills. We also noticed that his left

side is easier for him to balance than his right side, which is why we put sometimes for question

6. In the next section, fine motor skills were his second strongest area. For question 4, we put it
sometimes because it was noted that he tends to ask for help with buttoning and does not try

himself. Mom typically does it for him, which she said she needs to stop doing because she

understands it is not helping him. Problem-solving was the highest-scored section for Jake. We

put "yes" for all the questions. Mom and I discussed how we believe Jake learns best from

auditory input and visual support. When we worked through the questions the section asked, he

radiated confidence when he had verbal instructions and different color items. The last section,

personal-social, was his lowest area and a concern area for the parents. For question 1, we put

never, because mom typically prepares Jake's meals and snacks when he communicates that he is

hungry. Mom also expressed again that she is having difficulty letting him prepare his meals but

understands that it is an essential skill for him to practice. Jake does not enjoy brushing his teeth,

which typically ends in a meltdown for the family. Jake also usually has to be prompted to wash

his hands after using the bathroom or before eating. The assessment highlighted Jake's strengths,

areas of concern, and how their mom's involvement can impact his skill level.

Afterward, we conducted the ASQ: SE-2, the social-emotional section, in which mom

requested that I fill out the document and ask her the questions. The assessment showed Jake's

various behaviors and how well he communicates with his peers. There were a few questions that

mom expressed some concern about in terms of how Jake responds to situations. Question 25,

"Does your child destroy or damage things on purpose?" we circled sometimes because Mom has

been having to remind him to use his words more often than usual, which is a skill she wants to

improve. We also noted on the assessment that when asked to complete certain (brushing teeth,

cleaning up toys) tasks, he becomes frustrated, and there is a bit of resistance. While it doesn't

happen all the time, Mom would like this not to happen and would prefer him to use his words.

The assessment also showed us that Jake is hugely in tune with other's feelings and emotions and
is a happy kid. Mom also shared that she doesn't think he is hyperactive compared to his peers

and has excellent safety awareness (crossing the street, not listening to strangers, etc.). With the

two assessments, we can conclude that Jake’s development is on track and we have resources

available for him to work on the concerns we discussed.

After completing the assessment, Mom and I discussed how Jake was doing and what she

wanted to be different. I emphasized how unique and talented Jake was; she should be proud of

everything he has done and how she has supported him. The main concerns were feeding and

expressing our emotions. I recommended providing options for Jake; that way, he feels like he is

in control of what he eats and is not forced to eat anything he doesn't want. In my opinion, he

was eating a decent amount of food with variety, so I was not concerned about his diet. Mom

wants him to have the same meals that she and his dad were having, which I do not think is

realistic at this age—some of the stuff I am not particularly eager to eat. I provided the

suggestions and told her to update me on the progress. The next concern was his use of words

when he got upset. I recommended to their mom that Jake be introduced to meditation or

breathing exercises he can do if he becomes upset. Another tool that could be utilized is an

emotion board, with pictures of different emotions, and Jake can move a magnet to the emotion

he is feeling. After determining the emotion, he and Mom can discuss why he feels that way. The

last recommendation that I provided for Mom was to set up an area in the house where Jake

could decompress if needed. The room could have a tent, beanbag, dimmable lights, or fidget

tools that he could play with. For brushing his teeth I recommended using a brush that lights up

or has a time for how long he needs to brush for. I also recommended that he could brush his

teeth while he’s in the bath or shower, so that way he does not have to do it before bed. At the
end of the conversation, I thanked Mom for allowing me to go through this assessment together

and for how proud I was of Jake's progress.

 Reflection

Overall, this assessment went very well, and the mom and I gained great insight into

Jake's development. One success of the interview was that the mom noticed there were actions

she could take to improve the communication between her and Jake. Mom was open and honest

about their struggles, which helped guide me to the recommendations I provided. Mom was also

very open to suggestions on how to help her son, which made some difficult conversations go a

bit smoother. As a student, I had the opportunity to practice this assessment, which initially

intimidated me, but it was straightforward to navigate. I also could piece together tools and skills

I have learned from other classes and my internship to provide recommendations to Mom, which

I also felt uneasy about. Lastly, I could listen to mom's concerns, show empathy and

understanding, and then offer possible solutions for the future. From the interview, I felt that

Mom didn't believe she was doing a good job supporting Jake, so I tried to be sensitive with the

questioning. While the assessment went well overall, in the future, there are things I would do

differently. I was nervous to ask hard or uncomfortable questions because I did not want Mom to

think I was judgmental or invasive. This is a part of the assessment that needs to happen, and it is

a skill that I need to practice more on. Next, I wish I had explained the assessment in a more

parent-friendly way so the mom better understood the evaluation. She needed clarification about

some of the questions and why they were relevant. I was nervous, so I knew I was fast and using

jargon. Lastly, in the future, I would do this assessment on a family I did not know because I felt

like mom was also hesitant to say anything negative to me since we already had a relationship

before the assessment.