Interview Process

Introduction

The current interview process is in regards to a child who is four years old and was diagnosed with autism when he was two years old. Children with autism often display deficits in language, social interaction, behaviors, and sensory and perceptual processing (Case-Smith & O’Brien, 2010). Therefore, the purpose of the current interview is to investigate the child’s overall needs, strengths, and weaknesses in regards to the child’s specific condition to gain an in-depth understanding of the child.

The goal of the interview is to collect thorough information about the child to allow the practitioner to gain an understanding of the child and parent’s needs for therapy. Furthermore, the interview facilitates rapport between the practitioner and the child and parent and expresses the practitioner’s desire to understand and empathize with the child. It is important to establish a relationship with the child and the parent to allow for an open discussion and a successful intervention. The practitioner should establish proper eye contact and engage with the child properly to gain the child’s trust during the interview process.

Structure of interviewing

The structure of the interview is made available so there are smooth transition within the interview. The questions are phrased in an open-ended form to promote more conversation with the client and allows the practitioner to gain more information about the client. The questions in the interview are directed to the parent due to the young age of the child and the child’s diagnosis of autism. Furthermore, according to Stone and Hogan (1993) “parents offer an unique perspective on the child's behaviors, one that is acquired over time and across different contexts and...

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...exhibit are unhealthy and practitioners should seek information about the specific behaviors that are harmful to the child. Often, children with autism display tantrums due to change in routine. If the practitioner does not seek information regarding these types of behaviors, then it may halt progress in the intervention.

Closing

In the last section of the interview, the practitioner needs to transition smoothly to the end the session (Crepeau et al., 2009). It is important for the practitioner to identify the child and parent’s goals and clear up any questions the client may have regarding the interview and the future sessions. The practitioner and client collaborate together to establish goals that are of primary to the needs of the client. Practitioners need to clarify any questions the client may have and provide information about the future sessions.