Ecological Assessment

My Ecological Assessment of Danielle Sanchez (pseudonym) began on August 22, 2000 at Westview High School, 10850 W. Garden Lakes Parkway in Avondale, AZ. This was the first day that I had contact with her. By the tenth day, I felt we had developed a good relationship. My classroom observations of Danielle showed me that she is talkative and personable. She is attractive, taking care in wearing cosmetics. Sometimes during class, she checks and adjusts her make-up. Generally, Danielle is socially and behaviorally appropriate in class, although she often makes pessimistic remarks about herself, others, and life.

Danielle is a senior with specific learning disabilities in math calculations and reading comprehension. She was evaluated at 7 years old and was placed in the learning disabilities program at her local elementary school. Her early developmental history is normal. Danielle has asthma and takes Provenil as needed. At this time she has consistent attendance at school.

Danielle has a great interest in music and becoming a singer. She shares that she watches television only for the music videos. Her idol is Brittany Spears. She says that she eats and sleeps music. She is taking a piano class at school. However, she states that it isn’t what she thought it would be. She is required to read notes and it is hard for her. She has a keyboard at home but doesn’t practice. She’d rather sing. Still, she realizes that learning to read music will help her to become a better singer. Understanding written music is very mathematical, an area of need for Danielle. Maybe an emphasis on playing an instrument isn’t the best focus for her. Since a church choir is out of the question for Danielle, perhaps forming a school glee club or choir might be more helpful in fulfilling her musical priorities and needs.

When I discussed the possibility of meeting with her family in their home for an informal interview, Danielle readily suggested that I visit that afternoon or “anytime” and she gave me her home phone number and mother’s name. My phone call to her mother, Irene Sanchez, proved interesting. After I introduced myself and discussed my purpose for calling, Irene went on to explain that Danielle was unhappy at school and that the other students were “picking on her.” I told her that her openness told me that she was a concerned parent, but perhaps Danielle’s teacher of record would be able to help her further. We had a conversation for about an hour and set up a meeting time, Tuesday, September 26^th at 1:30. Irene was firm about the time because she babysat toddlers and did not want to wake them from their naps.

The home is in a middle-class, older neighborhood with ranch-style houses. The Sanchez home has a neat yard and looks kept up. Irene met me at the door and invited me inside. The home was organized and clean with new carpeting and furnishings. We sat in the kitchen at the table. At the back of the house was a playroom with many preschool toys where two preschoolers played quietly. Another slept on a palette in the living room.

Irene is like her daughter. She talks easily and openly, without prompting. Irene told me that she enjoys babysitting and that the children keep her going. She cares for up to 7 children a day. One of the children that she watches is her great-grand baby. Danielle also helps with the daily childcare. Irene receives payment for caring for the children. Her successful business is through word-of -mouth. She has been babysitting in Phoenix for 15 years.

Prior to this, while living in California, Irene cared for foster children. During this time Danielle came into her life. Danielle was only 11 days old. Irene became attached to Danielle and so she and her husband decided to adopt her. Danielle and her family have had no contact with the birth family. Danielle chose to try and contact the birth mother when she was sixteen. However, there was no response to the letter that she wrote. Irene is aware of a half-brother of Danielle’s who is 25 years old and lives in California. He has never tried to contact Danielle, either.

Irene has other children: a married, 41-year-old daughter and two sons, 37 and 39 years old. The two sons live close, in Glendale. The family gets together occasionally for celebrations, such as birthdays. Since the oldest daughter was 23 when Danielle was adopted, she still has some “jealousy” of Danielle. Irene shares that this may be due, in part, to the fact that Irene plans to give the house to Danielle after she is gone. She feels that, “her own kids won’t be around for her.” She admits she is “overprotective of Danielle.

Irene is a widow. She lost her husband 6 years ago from cancer. He had been ill for three years before he passed away. Irene took care of him herself at home. She prides herself in maintaining and keeping a home. Because she is in her sixties and has had a small stroke recently, she places importance on having a home. It is also obvious that the loves and cares for Danielle.

Even though the immediate family may not be very supportive, both Danielle and her mom have male friends who support and care for them. Irene’s friend visits her regularly and helps with household repairs. Danielle’s friend is in the music industry and supports Danielle in her desire to become a singer. Mom assures me that both men are gentlemen.

Another resource that is in the near future is Danielle receiving her driver’s license. Danielle has a car, but needs to pass the test for a license. Irene feels someone neutral needs to teach Danielle to drive. Irene says that she has had paid instructors to work with Danielle in actual driving practice, but it was unsuccessful because the instructor was not consistent with sessions. A driver’s education course in the school, college, or community would be an appropriate activity for Danielle.

Interviewing and Communication Skills

Reflection

During the ecological assessment completed with the Sanchez family, I used many of the interviewing skills I had learned and practiced in Dr. Reese’s SPE 318 Families-School Collaboration class for the spring 2000 semester at ASU West. These skills included attending skills, active listening and questioning skills.

In order to begin my ecological assessment, I first developed a relationship with the students in my class through effective communication. The attending behavior I employed was maintaining eye contact with the students. I also used attentive body language. That is, I used open posture while leaning in to listen to what the student had to say. I used other communication skills, as well. I gave warm greetings, used student’s names and asked relevant questions. As a result, I feel that the students had a sense that I was interested in them and really cared about them.

Since I had developed a good repertoire, asking for a volunteer to help me with the ecological assessment assignments wasn’t difficult. Danielle agreed readily. She shared her phone number and then I asked what would be the best time to call.

My first contact with Mrs. Irene Sanchez, Danielle’s mother, was by phone. After about an hour of conversation, we set up a meeting time convenient for Mrs. Sanchez. By letting the parent take the lead in the conversation, I felt our initial contact went well.

Arriving at the home, Mrs. Sanchez answered the door. After introducing myself, she asked me to come in. She also asked that I call her Irene. When she questioned me about where we should sit, I said, “Whatever’s most comfortable for you.” So she directed me to the kitchen table. I explained the purpose of the visit briefly and then answered some questions that Irene had about my background and my schooling. When I asked Irene to tell me about her family, she halted, so I suggested that she begin wherever she wanted. This seemed to work fine. We progressed easily through the stages of her family life raising Danielle.

Throughout the interview I used the attending skills of eye contact, open body posture, leaning in, and head nods. The active listening skills that I used were encouragers such as, “umhum,” paraphrasing and checkouts. I recall that I furthered responses through closed questions, such as, “When did you move to Arizona?” I also used open questions. For example, “So, how did your family like Phoenix?”

Irene and I visited for about an hour and a half. The conversation wasn’t strained and I felt it could go on as long as I stayed. However, I had initially agreed with Irene about a time frame and so, I gave her a reminder ten more minutes before I had to leave. I summarized my notes about the visit, highlighting the strengths of the family. The time factor worked out because I wanted to wait for Danielle to come home from school so that I could thank her and her mom for sharing their family story with me.

One improvement I would make would be for me to take my voice-activated cassette recorder to any further interviews. I had used one exclusively last semester. It helped to make active listening easier and seemed to make the atmosphere more relaxed. Furthermore, by using a recorder, I did not have to rely on the limitations of notes for my assessment write up. Another area where I would have liked to change was to let the family decide when the meeting would close. I would have preferred to have all family members present, also. This way, the family would feel that I was truly there for their needs and was receptive to hearing their story. A follow up visit would be a good plan in a similar situation.