Measuring Collaborative Consultation Practices in Natural Environments

This article describes the development of the Triadic Intervention and Evaluation Rating Scale (TIERS), a 33-item instrument designed to evaluate patterns of parent, service provider, and child interactions during early intervention sessions conducted in natural environments. Twenty-eight parent-provider-child triads were videotaped in home and playgroup settings, quarterly over a 15-month period. Segments representing complete routines were selected and rated by service providers and research personnel. Scoring and scaling models were developed to evaluate the quality of triadic interactions during early intervention sessions. The TIERS (a) measured differences in providers' use of collaborative consultation strategies and parents' level of participation with service providers and their children; (b) distinguished features inherent in different sessions; (c) was easy to administer; and (d) showed appropriate psychometric properties. With additional validation efforts, this instrument may be used to evaluate the implementation of collaborative interactions between parents and early intervention service providers in natural environments.