Appendix D
Objectives, Definitions, and Examples of Conjoint Needs Analysis Interview
Objectives
Social Opening
Main Points
• Establish a friendly supportive
atmosphere.
Examples
• Position chairs in such a way that parents and
teachers are close to each other and can make eye
contact easily.
•
Smile.
• Use nonverbal communication to convey interest in
parents and teachers.
• Demonstrate interest for the
consultee.
•
“How is the new baby, Ms. Martinez?”
• “I heard you’ve had the flu. How are you feeling
now?”
Open Up Dialogue
• Re-emphasize the attitude that
everyone’s input is vital.
• “Thanks for coming back in today. I’m really
hopeful that together we will come up with some great
ideas!”
• Continue to use inclusive
language.
• “We talked about a lot of Kimmie’s strengths and
some of her difficulties at home and school. We agreed
that our main concern was her difficulty following
instructions the first time given, and that happens at both
home and school.”
•
Discuss Information
Collected/Set Goals
Discuss steps of the meeting.
• “Today we will look at the information you have
been collecting, discuss what may be contributing to
Pablo’s difficulties, and work together to come up with a
plan to help him.”
• Restate the definition of the
priority.
• “The concern that we are dealing with is Jorge not
completing homework at home, and not turning it in on
time. We defined ‘completing homework’ as ‘finishing
all assigned problems or projects and placing them into
his backpack at least one night before they are due.’ We
defined ‘turning in homework’ as ‘placing completed
homework pages on Mr. Montgomery’s desk on time,
the day it is due.’
•
• “Thanks for collecting the information we discussed.
Let’s take a look at what you saw at home.”
Discuss information collected.
• “I see that Cixin argued with you each morning
before school, but Monday there were 4 arguments,
whereas other days there were one or two.”
• Set jointly determined,
developmentally appropriate goals
based on information collected.
• “It seems as though Jason is getting into fights on the
playground approximately 4 times per week. At home,
he initiates a fight with his brother at least once each
day. What would be a reasonable goal for him? The
goal should be one that is achievable and within his
control.”
Determine Other Events
Occurring in the
Environment (Antecedents,
Consequences, Sequential
Events)
Determine Hypotheses for
the Behavior
• Discuss what is happening
before and after the priority
behavior, as well as specific
patterns that occur, during the
focused time/setting.
• “What did you notice that happened before Steven
started crying on these days?”
• Emphasize this information will
help to understand why this
behavior is happening and how
changes can be made
• “If we can uncover some patterns related to Casey’s
anger outbursts, we will be in a better position to know
how to structure an intervention plan to address them.”
• Summarize information
gathered, as well as what happens
during the focused time/setting
(organize and summarize relevant
information such as attention that is
given, key people that affect the
occurrence of the behavior, skills
needed to perform the desired
behavior).
• “One common thing that you observed at home and
school is that Erin has more problems controlling her
temper when she is overly tired.”
• Discuss reasons why the
priority behavior is happening.
• Given what we discussed about the common
situations or patterns to Pepe’s noncompliance, why do
• “Oftentimes we see patterns in what might be
‘setting off’ certain behaviors, such as people the child is
with, time of day, day of the week, certain academic
subjects, or other patterns that are common. Sometimes
we can identify predictable things that happen before or
after behaviors that are important. What patterns did you
notice related to Sam’s tantrum behavior?”
• “Tammie rarely starts her work when instructed by
her teacher, and takes several minutes to start homework
at home. In the classroom, her peers ask her if they can
help, and at home, she receives one on one attention
from one of her parents.”
you think he’s having difficulty following instructions?
• “It seems like Kat’s delays starting work gains a lot
of attention from her peers and from her parents. Do you
agree?”
Determine
Actions/Intervention
Strategies
• Select a focus for change based
on why the priority behavior is
happening.
• “Since Ricardo’s challenges with comprehension
seem related to his limited fluency in oral reading, it
would make sense to focus on increasing his fluency and
accuracy.”
• “Austin does not speak at school and seems to get
his needs met through gestures and head nods. It will be
helpful to focus on the way that people respond to his
nonverbal requests as one way to encourage speech at
school.”
• Restate child, teacher and
family strengths.
• “Charley is a good athlete and really likes playing
sports! That could be helpful when we are developing a
plan to help him with social skills.”
• “You spend a lot of time reading with Stephanie.
That will really help her.”
• Jointly develop a plan across
home and school, building on these
strengths.
• “What if we used Jon’s interest in sports in a
program where he could earn 5 extra minutes to play
basketball for using self-control on the playground? At
home, we could try something similar. What might
work at home?”
Collect Information
Meet Again
• Write down a summary of steps
of the plan for parents and teachers.
• “I’ll write down the steps on this form. It might be
very helpful for you to look at this everyday, and
possibly even place a checkmark on the line next to the
step whenever you complete it.”
• Provide an opportunity for
parents and teachers to ask
questions.
•
• Model plan procedures if
necessary (either immediately
during the interview, or at a time
and place that is agreeable to the
consultees).
• “This is what ‘effective commands’ look like. Why
don’t you pretend to be Joey and I’ll demonstrate.”
• Re-emphasize the rationale for
collecting information.
• “It will be important to continue keeping track of the
time it takes for Austin to complete his homework. In
this way, we can see how he is doing with the plan
compared to before the plan was put into place, and
evaluate the progress he is making toward his goal.”
• Provide parents and teachers
with charts to record information.
• “You can use the same forms and procedures as you
have been using. Here are some extra copies.”
• Discuss steps of the next
meeting; establish time and place to
• “When would be a convenient time for us to meet
again, to review how the plan is working?”
“What questions do you have about the plan?”
• “Would it be helpful for me to come into the
classroom and demonstrate how to use dialogic reading
with a small group of students?”
meet.
Closing
• Summarize what was
accomplished at the meeting,
emphasizing consultees’ expertise,
strengths, and how this information
will help the child to be successful.
• “We accomplished a lot today! We developed a plan
to read to Jesse every night at home, using prompts and
questions about the pages. At school, you will do
rhymes, word games, and songs to focus on sound
awareness. This should help her increase her vocabulary
and understanding of basic sounds, as she develops early
reading skills.”
• Inform consultees that they are
free to contact you with questions
and concerns and remind them you
will communicate frequently to see
how the plan is going.
• “Please feel free to call me anytime with questions.
I will touch base at the end of this week to see how it is
going.”