Consistency between Provision, Outcomes and Functioning Needs in Statutory Documents for Young Children with Developmental Disabilities in England

TY - JOUR

T1 - Consistency between Provision, Outcomes and Functioning Needs in Statutory Documents for Young Children with Developmental Disabilities in England

AU - Castro-Kemp, Susana

AU - Gaona, Carolina

AU - Grande, Catarina

AU - Palikara, Olympia

PY - 2020/11/26

Y1 - 2020/11/26

N2 - Background: It is widely accepted that early childhood intervention for children with disabilities should address the assessment-intervention cycle holistically. Documenting both assessment and intervention is important to support provision effectively. In England, the official document that describes needs and provision for children with special educational needs and disabilities is the Education Health and Care plan. This document requires inter-professional collaboration and a focus on children’s holistic participation, rather than diagnosis. Aim: To examine the consistency between provision, outcomes and needs of young children with disabilities in England, as described in their Education Health and Care plans. Methods: The plans of 68 young children were examined and the relationships between documented needs, outcomes and provision actions analysed. Results: provision is more related to children’s individual needs, than to their diagnoses, when needs are described in sufficient detail; interdisciplinarity leads to higher quality documentation of provision and outcomes. However, more needs to be done to support professionals in developing higher quality needs descriptions and interdisciplinary collaborations. Implications: Training and interdisciplinarity with a common language between professionals have the potential to improve currently observed challenges regarding consistency between provision, needs and outcomes.© 2020, Elsevier Ltd. The attached document (embargoed until 26/11/2022) is an author produced version of a paper published in RESEARCH IN DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES uploaded in accordance with the publisher’s self-archiving policy. The final published version (version of record) is available online at the link. Some minor differences between this version and the final published version may remain. We suggest you refer to the final published version should you wish to cite from it.

AB - Background: It is widely accepted that early childhood intervention for children with disabilities should address the assessment-intervention cycle holistically. Documenting both assessment and intervention is important to support provision effectively. In England, the official document that describes needs and provision for children with special educational needs and disabilities is the Education Health and Care plan. This document requires inter-professional collaboration and a focus on children’s holistic participation, rather than diagnosis. Aim: To examine the consistency between provision, outcomes and needs of young children with disabilities in England, as described in their Education Health and Care plans. Methods: The plans of 68 young children were examined and the relationships between documented needs, outcomes and provision actions analysed. Results: provision is more related to children’s individual needs, than to their diagnoses, when needs are described in sufficient detail; interdisciplinarity leads to higher quality documentation of provision and outcomes. However, more needs to be done to support professionals in developing higher quality needs descriptions and interdisciplinary collaborations. Implications: Training and interdisciplinarity with a common language between professionals have the potential to improve currently observed challenges regarding consistency between provision, needs and outcomes.© 2020, Elsevier Ltd. The attached document (embargoed until 26/11/2022) is an author produced version of a paper published in RESEARCH IN DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES uploaded in accordance with the publisher’s self-archiving policy. The final published version (version of record) is available online at the link. Some minor differences between this version and the final published version may remain. We suggest you refer to the final published version should you wish to cite from it.

U2 - 10.1016/j.ridd.2020.103815

DO - 10.1016/j.ridd.2020.103815

M3 - Article

SN - 0891-4222

VL - 108

JO - Research in Developmental Disabilities

JF - Research in Developmental Disabilities

M1 - 103815

ER -