MEISR (TM) Forms: Measure of Engagement, Independence, and Social Relationships

Available in packs of 5, these are the 24-page forms needed to conduct the Measure of Engagement, Independence, and Social Relationships (MEISR™) assessment.

Young children grow and learn when they participate fully in everyday routines and activities. Assess this critical dimension of child development with the MEISR™, an easy‐to‐use tool for creating a snapshot of the functional behaviors of children from birth to 3 years of age.

A rich learning opportunity for both families and professionals—and an ideal starting point for talking to parents about their child's functioning—the MEISR helps build an understanding of a child's engagement, independence, and social relationships within the context of common family routines. Completed by caregivers and easy to use with them during home visits, the MEISR helps paint a picture of the child's functional abilities and highlights future learning opportunities.

With the results of the MEISR, you can

• Start important conversations with families about their child's participation in everyday activities
• Support child engagement—an important prerequisite to learning
• Empower families to enhance natural learning opportunities
• Help families choose functional skills to address within the IFSP
• Help your team determine Child Outcome Summary (COS) ratings
• Develop individualized intervention priorities

How It Works
The MEISR asseses a child's functioning within 14 everyday routines. With the guidance of an early intervention professional, parents or caregivers complete the MEISR in just 45 minutes, scoring each item with a 1 (child does not yet do this), a 2 (child does this sometimes), or a 3 (child does this often or has progressed beyond this). Basic scoring can be done by the caregiver or the caregiver and the professional together. MEISR items are helpfully crosswalked with

• the functional outcomes of engagement, independence, and social relationships
• the five developmental domains required on IFSPs
• the three federal child outcomes

When the MEISR is complete, it provides a snapshot of the child's functioning relative to age expectations and the demands of daily routines. Based on scoring of the MEISR, families and professionals work together to identify what priorities to include in the IFSP. The MEISR can also be used to monitor the child's progress at 6‐month intervals, adjusting goals as needed.

Assess a child's functioning within 14 routines:

• Waking up
• Toileting/Diapering
• Meal Times
• Dressing Time
• Hangout – TV – Books
• Play With Others
• Nap Time
• Outside Time
• Play by Him‐ or Herself
• Bath Time
• Bedtime
• Going Out
• Groccery Shopping
• Transition Time

Ideal for use with the Routines‐Based Interview (RBI)! Are you using the RBI to help families decide on outcomes and goals? The MEISR can inform and enhance this process. Give the MEISR to families ahead of time to prepare for your RBI with them, use a blank MEISR to help you ask detailed questions, or complete the MEISR during or after the RBI to help quantify the information the family provides.

Robin McWilliam is the originator of the Routines‐Based Model, implemented in 10 countries and many states in the U.S. He is a professor of special education at The University of Alabama, where he founded and directs the Evidence‐based International Early Intervention Office (EIEIO). He is also the founder and leader of the RAM Group, an international community of practice fostering the Routines‐Based Model. He has formerly been a professor of pediatrics at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, a senior scientist at the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute, and a professor of education at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. McWilliam's research centers on infants, toddlers, and preschoolers with and without disabilities, with a specific focus on child engagement, service delivery models, and collaboration with families. He has provided consultation, training, and technical assistance across the United States and in some countries overseas on providing early intervention in natural environments and on the Engagement Classroom Model. His Routines-Based Interview (RBI) is a widely used method of assessing families' needs and developing individualized family service plan (IFSP) outcomes and individualized education program (IEP) goals.

Dr. Naomi Younggren is currently the Part C/Comprehensive System of Personnel Development (CSPD) Coordinator for the Department of Defense Army Educational and Developmental Intervention Services (EDIS) Early Intervention Programs. She is also an independent consultant focusing on early intervention and preschool processes and best practices and has served as a consultant with the Early Childhood Technical Assistant Center (ECTA). She is a developer on the Universal Online Part C Early Intervention Curriculum workgroup, a longstanding member of the Division for Early Childhood, a member of the RAM Group Early Intervention Consultants, an adjunct early childhood faculty member with Central Texas College – Europe Campus and has recently joined the Lead Inclusion team. Naomi's 30 years of experience in early childhood special education include being a direct provider working with children with disabilities and their families in early intervention and preschool programs, providing technical assistance, developing early intervention guidance and training materials, and serving in a program development and leadership capacity.