My area of interest (as stated before) is not yet determined exactly. I am interested in many things however. Right now one of my interest lies in the evaluation process. My question earlier was concerning effective ways to prepare for an evaluation. I would like to stick to this question for now. As I am preparing for my first "practice" evaluation I find myself looking for answers to this question. What I am doing to prepare is to make notes of what it is that I will need during the evaluation. I will make copies today of the test forms to use, and this weekend I will take the test (that I will administer) home to become familiar with. I have asked my instructor many questions in order to prepare myself. We observed our classmates Wednesday administer some tests during their "practice" evaluation also. That in itself helped me to prepare. I have also read through the manual of the test my partner will administer so that I am familiar with recording. I feel I can be prepared with the known process, what I don't know is what the client will be like. Will he be having a bad day? Will he be excited to be here? What are some effective ways to comfort a client, etc.
Michelle

For the most part, my area of interest , is still up for grabs. I am still trying to find that one thing. Maybe I don't have to find just one?!?! The areas that come to mind right now are working with people (young or old) with a hearing impairment. I really liked the observation we watched the other day. I could actually see myself doing that and enjoying the heck out of it. Another area I am interested in is the diagnostic evaluation. We have all just started the journey of assessment. The tests we have looked at or discussed seem pretty neat. I mean, administering them will be hard(confusing) at first, but still exciting. I may nnt cnow how to actually administer a test during an evaluation, but the thought or idea of me doing that is exciting. I think it is the idea that we will actually be obtaining the information ourselves. I am looking forward to our practice evaluations.

An essential question for me might be something like: What are the most effective steps in preparing for a diagnostic evaluation?

I know that a case history form is useful information for a starting point. In our labs we do pre-staffing- role play. This really helped me to get an idea about what might really take place. Discussing the information with my other classmates( or co workers) also provides you with more information or tips. Thinking of possible situations that might arise might prepare me for the "unexpected". These are just a few ideas that I know of, I am sure there are many more.

I don't know how someone that has been doing evaluations for a while prepares, or even how someone that is new to the field prepares. These are things that I hopefully find out, and can relate to later in my own situation.

Michelle