Measuring Intervention Results for
Infants, Toddlers, and Preschoolers
Using Individual Growth and
Development Indicators (IGDI's)
Charles R. Greenwood & Dale Walker
Juniper Gardens Children’s Project
University of Kansas
http://www.igdi.ku.edu
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Current IGDI Development
Workgroup
Charles Greenwood, Judith Carta, Dale Walker,
Jay Buzhardt and Barbara Terry
Original development team:
Judith Carta, Charles Greenwood, Dale Walker
Jane Atwater, Gayle Luze, Deborah Linebarger,
Carol Leitschuh, Ken Parsley, Annessa Staab,
Gabe Cline, and Susan Higgins
©Juniper Gardens Children’s Project, University of Kansas
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Today’s Presentation
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What are IGDIs for infants and toddlers?
Why use them?
What outcomes do they measure?
What website support is available?
How are they used at the Individual, Program, and
State Levels?
How can they guide intervention and monitor
progress over time?
How can you start using them through an IGDI
partnership
Discussion and implications
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What are IGDIs?
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Measures that provide helpful
information about children's and
parents' growth toward socially
valued outcomes and that guide
intervention decision making
©Juniper Gardens Children’s Project, University of Kansas
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The most well known and
widely used IGDIs are
Pediatric Growth Charts
• Reflect progress toward desired
outcomes
• Chart individual progress
• Evaluate individual progress
relative to benchmarks
• Used by medical practitioners and
parents
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An IGDI Example: Growth in Early
Expressive Communication
Child’s
Observed
Trajectory
36 Mos
Expectation
Normative
Trajectory
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Early Communication Indicator
General Outcome: “The child uses gestures, sounds, words,
or sentences to convey wants and needs or to express
meaning to others”
OSEP Outcome: “Use of appropriate behaviors to meet
needs”
Constructs:
Prelinguistic
Communication
Spoken
Language
Key Skills: Gesture Vocalization Single Words Multiple Words
©Juniper Gardens Children’s Project, University of Kansas
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General Administration
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Administration Procedures
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Toy-play setting with familiar adult
as play partner
6-minute testing sessions
Play partner’s role is to facilitate
play and follow child’s lead
Set-up/clean-up/put away
Toy Form A: House
Toy Form B: Barn
Alternate Toy Forms
Observational Recording
Procedures
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©Juniper Gardens Children’s Project, University of Kansas
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Why use IGDIs?
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Linked to important outcomes (e.g., OSEP outcomes)
Standardized
Authentic
Quick and easy to administer by practitioners
Reliable and valid
Repeatable
Identify children in need
Monitor intervention results
Key skills rather than comprehensive skills measured
Promote excellent communications with parents
Website support, data entry, and reporting
Individual data roll up to program- and state-level summaries of
progress
©Juniper Gardens Children’s Project, University of Kansas
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IGDIs are alternative to
existing measures that are:
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Not direct measures of child performance
Based on conceptual frameworks that do not embrace
early intervention
Not designed for early interventionists; require specialized
expertise,
Too time intensive
Insensitive to short-term growth, the very information
that early interventionist can act on
Insensitive to early intervention effects
Difficult to understand by early interventionists and
parents
©Juniper Gardens Children’s Project, University of Kansas
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Outcome Indicators for Infants
and Toddlers
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Early Communication Indicator (ECI)
Early Movement Indicator (EMI)
Early Social Indicator (ESI)
Early Problem Solving Indicator (EPSI)
Indicator of Parent-Child Interaction
(IPCI)
www.igdi.ku.edu
©Juniper Gardens Children’s Project, University of Kansas
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Outcomes Infant/Toddler IGDIs
Address
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Communication
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Movement
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“The child moves in a fluent and coordinated manner to play and
participate in home, school, and community settings.”
Social
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“The child uses gestures, sounds, words, or sentences to convey
wants and needs or to express meaning to others."
“Child interacts with peers and adults, maintaining social
interactions and participating socially in home, school, and
community."
Problem Solving
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“Child solves problems that require reasoning about objects,
concepts, situations, and people.”
©Juniper Gardens Children’s Project, University of Kansas
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What OSEP outcomes do they
measure?
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Child Outcome 1: Positive social emotional skills
(including positive social relationships)
Child Outcome 2: Acquisition and use of knowledge
and skills (including early language/communication
[Part C] and early literacy [Part B preschool])
Child Outcome 3: Use of appropriate behaviors to
meet their needs
Parent Outcome 1: Know
Parent Outcome 3: Help their children develop and
learn
©Juniper Gardens Children’s Project, University of Kansas
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Individual Growth and Development Indicators (IGDIs)
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Infants and toddlers (www.igdi.ku.edu)
Preschoolers (http://ggg.umn.edu)
Early elementary school
(http://dibels.uoregon.edu)
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What Does the Literacy
Connection Look Like?
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What website support is
available?
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The Public IGDI Home Page
Automated
password update
Descriptions of all IGDI measures. What they
measure, how they’ve been tested, and how to use
and score them
Printable forms for conducting and scoring
assessments
Training requirements for certification, training
videos, PowerPoint presentations, etc.
Reports and presentations of IGDI research,
descriptions, and training materials
Send us questions using an online form or give us a
call
©Juniper Gardens Children’s Project, University of Kansas
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What You Can Do With the Password Protected
Data System: Data Entry & Assessor Personnel
Edit and add children
to the system
Edit, add, browse,
ECI data (Primary
and Reliability)
Child reports
Update your account
©Juniper Gardens Children’s Project, University of Kansas
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What You Can Do With the Data System:
Program Coordinator/Director
Child and Program
Reports
Edit program
Add, modify, delete users
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What You Can Do With the Data System:
Project Director (Multiple Programs)
Child and Program
Reports
Add/Edit all programs
Add, modify, delete users
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How are they used?
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Individual Reports
Program Level Reports
Project (State) Level Reports
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Individual Child Report
Click “Reports” Link
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Select a Report
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Expected Rate of Progress
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Delayed and Unresponsive
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Key Skill
Elements
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Key Skill
Elements
Contin.
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Full Program Report
Click “Reports” Link
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Select a Report
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Program Description
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Program Description
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Program Description
Proficiency Status
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Program Description
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Program Description
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Full Project Report
Select a Report
Click “Reports” Link
©Juniper Gardens Children’s Project, University of Kansas
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Within Project, Program
Comparisons
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Total Communication Rate
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KSEHS
Original
Beacons
EPIC
10
5
0
1
3
5
7
9
11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39
Age at Test
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Project Description
Proficiency Status
Proportion of Children on Target
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Using IGDI Data for DecisionMaking about Individual Children
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IGDIs Lead to Improvements
in Intervention
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Can give interventionists a focus for their
efforts
Can help interventionists “see” when they’re
making a difference
Can help interventionists know more quickly
when a change is necessary
Can help administrative staff understand when
programs need improvements
©Juniper Gardens Children’s Project, University of Kansas
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Use within an Intervention
Decision-Making Model
Individual
Growth &
Development Monitor
Indicator
(IGDI)
Identify/Validate
Need
Generate
Options
Exploring
Solutions
Families
AssessEvaluate
Implement
ment
Intervention
Intervention
Monitor
©Juniper Gardens Children’s Project, University of Kansas
What Individual Monitoring
Achieves?
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Doing quarterly assessments on each
child allows progress monitoring
Seeing if any individual falls above or
below age benchmark
Taking action if child falls below the
benchmark
©Juniper Gardens Children’s Project, University of Kansas
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During quarterly monitoring
If child scores… And….
Then…
Slightly below
average
No other concerns
Continue quarterly
monitoring
Slightly below
average (-1 SD)
Other concerns
Begin monthly
monitoring
Below average
(-1.5 SD)
No other concerns
Begin monthly
monitoring
Below average
(-1.5 SD)
Other concerns
Go to Exploring
Solutions
On Target
No other concerns
Continue quarterly
monitoring
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©Juniper Gardens Children’s Project, University of Kansas
Deciding to Change a Child’s
Intervention
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Make decisions on more than one
assessment point
Use other data and information from
parents and other caregivers
Check that assessment is representative
of the child’s functioning
Consider that child may already be
receiving Early Intervention (Part C)
©Juniper Gardens Children’s Project, University of Kansas
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©Juniper Gardens Children’s Project, University of Kansas
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During monthly monitoring
If child…
And….
Then…
Continues to score
slightly Below
Average
No other concerns
Continue monthly
assessments
Continues to score
Slightly Below
Average
Other concerns
Go to Exploring
solutions
Continues to score
Below Average
No other concerns
Go to Exploring
Solutions
Returns to On
Target
No other concerns
Return to quarterly
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Using the ECI to monitor
before and after intervention
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Implementing and Evaluating
Interventions
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Promoting Communication:
Arranging the Environment
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Designing the
environment to
promote
communication
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Having books to read in
quiet, comfortable area
Regular routines
Displaying pictures at
child’s eye level
Provide opportunities for
exploring environment
©Juniper Gardens Children’s Project, University of Kansas
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Following Child’s Lead
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Noticing and talking
about the child’s
interest, activity, or
materials
Using child’s interest to
provide opportunities
for communication
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Adult: “ I’ll dance with you.”
Describe child’s actions
Allow child to direct
activities
Give choices
©Juniper Gardens Children’s Project, University of Kansas
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Commenting and Labeling
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Describing actions,
toys, activities
Children hear talk
about actions and
hear labels
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Comment on what
the infant is playing
with
Talk about the
pictures in a book
©Juniper Gardens Children’s Project, University of Kansas
Teacher: Mmm. Milk
Teacher: Keysha is
swinging.
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Caregiver’s self evaluation of using these
language promoting interventions
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Complete self evaluation form to
document use of intervention
©Juniper Gardens Children’s Project, University of Kansas
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©Juniper Gardens Children’s Project, University of Kansas
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Evaluating and monitoring
intervention effectiveness
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Continue administering ECI monthly
Look at Key Skill Elements and Total
Communication to check that they are moving
toward benchmark
Look at the slope of communication progress
to determine if the slope is increasing
Look for evidence that intervention has
increased communication?
If progress is not at expected rate, examine
intervention and make necessary changes
©Juniper Gardens Children’s Project, University of Kansas
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Key Skill Element: Single
Words
Marks
Intervention
Start
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Using ECI Data for DecisionMaking about Programs
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For groups of children, ECI
data can tell us…
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How children in our program are performing
relative to benchmark on communication
outcome.
Whether our program is moving children toward
important outcomes.
When to consider modifications in program.
When we institute a change in the program,
whether it makes a difference in percentage of
children who are on-target.
©Juniper Gardens Children’s Project, University of Kansas
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Which children are currently
off-target?
Child Name
Risk Status
Randall, Donnie
Slightly Below
Tarantino, Quentin
Slightly Below
Pitt, Brad
Below Average
Leary, Timothy
Below Average
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Identify children who are not
on-target
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Are there more/less than the previous
month?
What might account for this?
What strategies are in place for offtarget?
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Language promoting strategies?
©Juniper Gardens Children’s Project, University of Kansas
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Examine the percentage of
children who are on-target
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Possible questions...
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How does this vary by age group?
What might account for differences by
age?
What types of changes might you make as
a result of this information?
©Juniper Gardens Children’s Project, University of Kansas
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Looking at program data by
age group:
Age Group
On Target
Slightly Below
Average
1-11
Months
11
100%
0%
12-23
Months
16
94.1%
24-35
Months
Below
Average
Total
0%
11
100.0%
1
5.9%
0%
17
100.0%
19
90.5%
0%
2
9.5%
21
100.0%
36-47
Months
7
77.8%
1
11.1%
1
11.1%
9
100.0%
Overall
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91.4%
2
3.4%
3
5.2%
58
100%
©Juniper Gardens Children’s Project, University of Kansas
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How does program group data
change from one month to the
next?
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Looking at program data
quarterly
Age Grp
Percentage of ON-TARGET
Qtr 1
Qtr 2
Qtr 3
Qtr 4
1-11
Months
11
100%
11
100%
11
100%
11
100.0%
12-23
Months
16
94.1%
17
95.9%
17
95.9%
17
100.0%
24-35
Months
19
90.5%
20
95.5%
20
95.5%
21
100.0%
36-47
Months
7
77.8%
7
77.8%
7
77.8%
9
100.0%
Overall
53
91.4%
57
94.5%
57
94.5%
67
100%
©Juniper Gardens Children’s Project, University of Kansas
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Questions to ask if program is not
meeting your expectations:
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Are high quality language-promoting
strategies being implemented?
Is the program being delivered at the
expected levels of intensity, duration?
Are children/families participating at
appropriate levels?
Are additional levels of supports,
resources, training necessary?
©Juniper Gardens Children’s Project, University of Kansas
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We want you….
As an
IGDI
Partner!
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How can you start using them?
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Talk to us about establish an IGDI
partnership
©Juniper Gardens Children’s Project, University of Kansas
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Expectations of the Partnership
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Programs will serve as a place to gather
data for instrument validation, norming,
and scaling up
Programs are recipients of results gathered
through the Website.
Program staff will be interactive partners to
help shape instruments through feedback
Programs will become proficient in the use
of infant/toddler IGDIs.
Programs are knowledgeable about how
data can improve and inform their practice.
©Juniper Gardens Children’s Project, University of Kansas
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Discussion and Implications
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IGDIs are measures for interventionists
They have good technical adequacy
The are scalable through website technology
We are testing the uses and benefits of individual,
program, and state level progress data
We are planning and conducting intervention
sensitivity studies
We are planning predictive validity (precursor skills)
studies (e.g., the literacy connection)
We are planning studies of the effects of using IGDIs
on child outcomes
©Juniper Gardens Children’s Project, University of Kansas
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For More Information
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carta@ku.edu
greenwood@ku.edu
walkerd@ku.edu
http://www.igdi.ku.edu/
©Juniper Gardens Children’s Project, University of Kansas
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