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

Young children grow and learn when they participate fully in everyday routines and activities. Assess this critical dimension of child development with the MEISR(TM), an easy‐to‐use tool for creating a snapshot of the functional behaviors of children from birth to three 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 14 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.

In this comprehensive MEISR manual, you'll discover how to:

• introduce the MEISR to families
• implement and score the MEISR
• interpret results accurately
• review the MEISR with families and develop individualized intervention priorities
• integrate the Routines‐Based Interview (RBI) with the MEISR
• use results of the MEISR to inform federal child outcome reporting
• monitor your program's effectiveness with the help of data from the MEISR

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

Make the MEISR a part of your early intervention program, and you'll have a powerful tool that helps families enhance natural learning opportunities and support their child's engagement.

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.

Ms. Stevenson is a supervisor and team leader of a larger team of service providers using the MEISR at the Multnomah Early Childhood Program. She serves as Associate Director for Evaluation for the Routines-Based Institute Certification Institute, the Routines-Based Home Visiting Certification Institute, and the Collaborative Consultation to Childrenâ (TM)s Classrooms Certification Institute. She has been working in early intervention and special education for 20 years.

Dr. Boavida is a researcher at Centro de Investigação e Intervenção Social (CIS-IUL), ISCTE-Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (ISCTE-IUL), Portugal, and a member of The RAM Group, a global group of individuals with expertise in the Routines-Based Model. As a physiotherapist and an educational psychologist, she has a path of practice and research in early childhood intervention and collaborates with different institutions, providing parent workshops, professional training and workshops, and team supervision. Her main interest focus on professional development in recommended and evidence based practices, particularly with the Routines-Based Model for Early Intervention Birth to Five.