Page 108 - Meeting with Children Manual

CHILD AND YOUTH READINESS SCALE

4. Positions

(Child’s ability to hold his/her own views as separate to parent views. Child does not collapse personal experience
of being with each of his/her parents)
Low Moderate High
1 2 3 4 5

Child’s ability to hold Child/youth intermittently makes a Child/youth is able to hold
his/her own views as statement about what appears to be a his/her own experience of the
separate to parent views. parent view. Child makes a comment, other parent regardless of the Child
Child does not collapse but then contradicts the statement pressure to join a side with one
personal experience of (directly or indirectly in an art or parent against another. Score:
being with each of projective activity). Or, he/she makes Child/youth can identify how /5
a comment but withdraws the his/her parents should behave
his/her parents
comment later in the meeting. and he/she has advice for how
his/her parents could stop
fighting and how they could get
along for instance
.
5. Child/Youth Role in Family:
(The possible roles children play in family are: peacemaker, communicator, parentified child, caretaker, manager,
decision-maker, identified problem, etc. – See an attached list)

Low Moderate High
1 2 3 4 5

Child/youth plays a significant role Child/youth intermittently plays Child/youth is free to
in family that influences one or a significant power role in engage in his/her
more of the following: adult family. There are times when normative child Child
decision-making, care-giving the role is diminished and the development as related to Score:
(emotional or practical) for one or child/youth can continue with focusing on self, school
both parents, main communicator normative child development and friends and /5
between his/her parents, caregiver roles community. Child/youth
of siblings, is the identified problem is not burdened by taking
in the family, divides parents by on significant adult roles
sharing opposite and inaccurate in the family system.
stories about each to the other, etc.

6. Child/Youth Level of Distress:
(The emotional/psychological or physical upset noted during a child meeting; the lower the score the greater the
distress)
Low Moderate High
1 2 3 4 5

Child/youth demonstrates Child/youth demonstrates Child/youth does not generally
emotional/ behavioral distress a moderate level of distress. The view the problems/ issues as Child
and expresses his/her distress child/youth may become sad or his/hers. Child/Youth is not Score:
directly either verbally or angry, for instance, during an carrying the distress for the
through projective activities activity but may recover during family system and has found a /5
throughout the meeting. Child another activity. The child/youth way to appropriately process
may become teary, anxious or can express some upset, but does the family stress and change.
shutdown, for example. not appear overwhelmed by Child/youth is not
Immobilization during a his/her circumstances. overwhelmed by his/her
meeting may occur. circumstances.
Child/youth may appear
generally overwhelmed.

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© 2014 Lorri A. Yasenik Ph.D. Private and Confidential.