My World gives children an opportunity to express how they are doing and how they feel about communicating in different everyday situations.
Verify What the Child Expressed
The information revealed when using the tool is an expression of the child’s experience. The outcome of the consultation depends on your ability to accurately record or interpret that information.
It is therefore essential to ensure that you are clear about the child’s intended meaning. You can do this by checking with the child during the conversation about what is occurring in each situation and, if necessary, how the child feels.
Use open-ended questions
Open-ended questions can also help with clarification. The questions should be worded in language appropriate to the level of each child.
For example:
- "Tell me more about how you feel in that situation."
- "What would you like to see different about this situation?"
- "What should we do next?"
- "What would be the best thing that could happen to make it easier for you to hear in this situation?"
- "I work with other children who have trouble hearing the ... (eg, teacher, other children, etc.). Can you think of some advice to give to these children that also works well for you?"
Avoid Suggestive Meanings
During this process, it is important to avoid suggesting meaning to a child and instead encourage their clarification. For example, you may request the child repeat their comment, or you can repeat the child’s comment back to them in order to check that your interpretation is correct.
When you are done using the tool with the child, a summary of their input should always be made and reviewed with the child to ensure that your understanding is correct.
At the end of the interview, you may be able to initiate a new topic of conversation with the family based on what was said in the interview.
This conversation involves talking to parents about what the scene means in terms of hearing and communication for their child, and what action you and the parents might take next.