Functional and Meaningful Outcomes
Big Idea — What are Functional and Meaningful Outcomes?
Functional and meaningful outcomes are designed to target a child’s behavior and skills that support engagement, participation, and interaction within everyday activities and routines, based upon the family’s priorities. When part of the RBI process, family outcomes may be developed as well. The outcomes are designed to be observable, measurable, and developmentally appropriate. Early Intervention and Special Education professionals use this process for children with disabilities, but Early Childhood educators and providers may use this practice for setting goals/outcomes for child development in other settings (e.g., behavior outcomes). In this module you will find a video detailing how to build functional and meaningful outcomes, as well as printable resources and links to support learning about this practice.
Try it — An Overview of How to Use the Content of this Module
1. Trainers — You can use the video and resources to enhance your trainings.
2. Practitioners — You can use the video and the resources to build your understanding of functional and meaningful outcomes, review your outcome development practices, or use this module to help support colleague or family understanding of the practice.
3. Families- You can use the video and resources to better understanding the practices that used to support your child and family.
4. Early childhood teachers and early care providers- You can review the video and resources to build your understanding of using functional and meaningful outcomes when working with young children.
Review: Robin’s Presentation
Robin McWilliam describes the 7 steps for building functional child outcomes from a family’s list of priorities, resulting from an RBI.
Functional Outcomes steps include:
1. Read the short-hand version of the outcome from a family-centered, functional needs assessment (e.g., RBI) (e.g., eating and chewing).
2. Find out what routines this affects (lunch, dinner, restaurants).
3. Write “Child will participate in [the routine(s) in question]” (e.g., Darcy will participate in lunch and dinner times and at restaurants).
4. Write “by ________ing”, addressing the specific behaviors (e.g., by chewing her food and moving food from side to side with her tongue).
5. Add a criterion for demonstration the child has acquired the skill (e.g., We will know she can do this when she eats one cup of food in this manner).
6. Add another criterion for generalization, maintenance, or fluency, if appropriate.
a. Across routines, people, materials, places, etc.
b. Over time (see following step)
c. Rate of behavior (e.g., one time at lunch, one time at dinner, and one time at a restaurant)
7. Over what amount of time? (e.g., in one week)
Whole Outcome:
Darcy will participate in lunch and dinner times and at restaurants, by chewing her food and moving food from side to side with her tongue. We will know she can do this when she eats 1 cup of food in this manner, one time at lunch, one time at dinner and one time in a restaurant in one week.
Resources
