Product Description:
The Munroe- Meyer Institute provides numerous interdisciplinary clinics with the goal of providing specific services and diagnosis to families of children with disabilities. This model has frequently been shown to serve as an effective means of providing diagnosis and treatment planning for children with disabilities and special health care needs. The Munroe-Meyer Institute is uniquely positioned as the UCEDD (University Center of Excellence in Developmental Disabilities) in promoting this model.
In 2005, the AUCD (Association of University Centers on Disabilities) and MCHB (Maternal Child Health Bureau) featured the Family as discipline and sponsored a meeting of LEND (Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities) Family Faculty from across the country. One of the outcomes was the promotion of family traineeship within the LEND program. The challenge was to define the role that family trainees would play in their specific programs. One of those roles to be determined was the family trainee discipline in the interdisciplinary clinical setting. Given that the interdisciplinary clinics main feature is to bring several professional perspectives, the question emerges how to bring the family perspective to that milieu. In numerous studies, (Parish, et. al, 2008) & (Fujiura, et. al, 2000), found that families with children with disabilities and special health care needs commonly presented needs beyond the scope of interdisciplinary clinical services. A literature review was undertaken to review the available means designed to assess the myriad of needs families were presenting, again, outside the scope of the interdisciplinary clinical modus. A broad survey of current research, child service organizations and government programs was done in order to determine the current state of practice in family assessment. Based on this data and other information, common areas of need were determined through a comparative process with the result being areas of need common across the sources of information.
The Clinical Family Assessment is comprised of statements that target these areas of concern and is intended to augment the diagnostic and clinical information emerging from the interdisciplinary experience.
