Policies and Procedures

Assessments

Gesell Program in Early Childhood believes that all children deserve the right to and opportunity for appropriate educational experiences during the early years.  Gesell Program assessments do not discriminate on the basis of language, race, ethnicity, or economic status.  Furthermore, the Program discourages the practice of excluding children from school programs on the basis of any assessment or screening tool.

The Gesell Early Screener (GES), the Gesell Developmental Observation-Revised (GDO-R), or any single instrument, should never be used as the sole determinant of a child’s placement in school.  In making educational decisions for a child, multiple assessments, including parent observations, teacher observations, medical history, and a portfolio of a child’s work should be used to make decisions about a child’s educational requirements.

More about Assessments

The GDO-R is a standardized assessment designed to provide educators and parents important information about a child’s development.  The child’s responses to various tasks provides an indication of the child’s Developmental Age and an overview of maturity, strengths, and weaknesses in relationship to learning academic skills.  We do not set policy or provide recommendations surrounding issues of retention, placement, or readiness “scores” in association with the GDO-R. Gesell materials should never be used for academic tracking, labeling, or high-stakes decisions.

Tools for the Assessment

The GES/GDO-R can identify a child who may be at risk for developmental delay, but cannot identify nor diagnose any disease or condition of disability.  Performance Level Ratings of Concern on any of the strands of the GES/GDO-R may signal an area to monitor for periodic re-screening or for referral for specialized evaluation.  Gesell materials are not intended to be used to identify possible special needs children. In order to obtain valid results, the GES/GDO-R must be administered in its entirety for the age band for which the tasks were designed.  This includes the use of the two complementary measures, the TQ and the PQAny other use of the GES/GDO-R is not endorsed by Gesell.

Examiner Qualification

Only examiners who have attended a Gesell Program 3-day training workshop within the last five years are qualified to administer and score the Gesell Developmental Observation-Revised. Certification gained through the 3-day workshop allows examiner's to utilize the GDO-R in their professional and personal setting. Examiner's obtaining Qualified Examiner status are permitted to administer the GDO-R beyond their immediate setting and may charge a fee for services rendered. For more information regarding the Qualified Examiner process and requirements please contact us.

Cancellations

Gesell Cancels: Gesell Program reserves the right to cancel training events due to low registration or other unforeseen circumstances up to two weeks of the start date.  In the event of a cancellation, registrants will be notified and every effort will be made to find an alternative location or date that suits the needs of the registrant.  When this is not possible, registrants will receive a full refund. 

Substitutions: Participant substitutions may be made in writing 5 business days prior to the start of a training event. 

Transfers: Participants transfers to a future workshop may be made in writing 5 business days prior to the start of a training event.

Participant Cancels: A cancellation must be received in writing by the training registration deadline to receive a full refund. Cancellations after this deadline will be transferred to a future, comparable training.

Accommodations and Travel

Participants are responsible for arranging their own transportation, meals and lodging.  Additional information to assist with travel plans will be included in the registration confirmation packet.  However, we highly advise participants to contact Gesell to confirm their workshop is scheduled to be held before arranging any lodging or travel plans.  Gesell Program will not refund any previously booked lodging or travel reservations should any professional development opportunities with Gesell be cancelled.

Tax and Education Credits

Note: The IRS allows an income tax deduction for educational expenses (including enrollment fees and the cost of travel and lodging) for courses taken to maintain or improve skills required in your employment or business.  Educators, please call the Program for information about obtaining CEUs or college credits for attending our workshops.