Describing a Child's Present Abilities

Once the family concerns and priorities have been established, the IFSP meeting facilitator should offer or solicit a brief summary of how/why this child is eligible for special services in the community. This should be a very brief statement of the public school MDT's eligibility criteria /category (not a label). Here are some examples:

Missy is eligible for services and services coordination under the state special education category of "developmental delay" because she presents notable delays in her walking and talking at age 28 months.

Romeo is eligible for services under the state special education category of "other health-impaired "because he has a long history of breathing and heart problems associated with his very low birth weight and diagnosis of bronchopulminary dysplasia. These conditions are often associated with possible delays in motor and play development in young children.

Kendra is eligible for free public school services under the state special education category of " hearing impairment" because recent audiological examinations confirm a severe, bilateral sensori-neural hearing loss.

The summary should include mention of the MDT-identified primary areas of concern. For example:

The MDT suggested that Missy be considered for early intervention services that would focus on her overall play, motor and intellectual development.

Or,

The MDT recommended early intervention services for Romeo's family so they could learn how best to maximize Romeo's developmental potential at home despite his frequent illnesses, hospitalizations and interference of tubes and medications in his daily care and routines. In addition, they felt Romeo might benefit from some brief period of physical therapy to improve his overall muscle tone.

Child's Abilities and Strengths

The facilitator should mention or solicit a description of the child's abilities and strengths in all areas of development. These include: communication, movement (fine, gross), socialization, critical thinking (cognition), vision, hearing, health, and self-help (adaptive). A statement of ability in each area should be noted on pages 4, 5, and 6, of the IFSP form. For example:

Despite her hearing loss, Kendra showed age-appropriate abilities in walking and problem-solving tasks. She also socializes with her siblings and parents some very functional communication such as finger pointing and facial expressions. Intellectual abilities are unknown at this time, but described as not significantly delayed.

It is estimated that this background/foundation portion of the meeting should take no more than 10-20 minutes. This is not the time or place to review in detail the specifics of testing and MDT observations; that should have occurred prior to this IFSP meeting.