Screening Children through Response to Intervention and Dynamic Performance Analysis: The Example of Partnering for Change

Early identification and intervention for children with special needs is essential for the prevention of secondary consequences. Partnering for Change (P4C) is a service delivery model that facilitates developmental surveillance and screening, thus supporting identification of children who require rehabilitation services to participate at school. Using a tiered, needs-based approach based on response to intervention (RtI), P4C therapists provide services at differing levels of intensity—from those that are universal to those that are individualized. Universal services are delivered to whole classrooms and permit therapists to monitor children’s performance and developmental needs over time. Embedded within the RtI approach, P4C therapists use dynamic performance analysis (DPA) to iteratively assess, intervene, and monitor children’s response to services of varying intensity. Specifically, P4C therapists use their clinical knowledge and skills to develop hypotheses and generate specific strategies to support children’s participation within different school contexts. Responses to any strategies that have been implemented are monitored and adjustments made until successful participation is achieved. Collaboration with, and coaching of, educators and parents supports knowledge translation and ongoing strategy implementation. In this paper, we describe RtI and DPA in their traditional forms, provide comparisons with the P4C approach, and highlight this model’s unique blending of DPA and RtI.