Why is it necessary to observe children across a variety of settings and partners in assessment?
In the SCERTS Model, the primary goal of assessment is to document a child’s profile of strengths and weaknesses for educational programming. Naturalistic observation provides information about a child’s spontaneous communication and emotional regulatory capacities in functional and meaningful situations. Such observations also provide information about motivating activities and transactional supports (interpersonal and learning supports) that have already been implemented across different partners and contexts. The abilities of children with autism spectrum disorders and related disabilities are extremely variable depending on differences in settings and partners. Therefore, to develop the most accurate and representative picture of a child’s strengths and needs, such variability must be taken into account.
