Practitioner Practice Guide - Engaging in Informed Clinical Reasoning

Informed clinical reasoning is a process team members use to gather information about a child's developmental functioning in order to make decisions about the child's eligibility for intervention services. The process requires knowledge of both typical and atypical child development and involves gathering information about the child's functioning using interviews with parents and other caregivers, direct observations of the child, and review of results from evaluations and developmental assessment instruments. These elements constitute the foundation for becoming “informed” about a child's developmental abilities and needs in
the context of everyday activities or natural environments.