Where do most people have difficulty following the protocol of the Routines-Based Interview? The end. The biggest mistake is interviewers confusing the starred items, which were concerns or things the family would like to see happen in the next 6 months, with outcomes. Confused interviewers read the starred items and ask parents which ones they want to put down as outcomes. No! A good interview ends up with many more stars than outcomes. Furthermore, stars are often repeated. For example, if the child doesn't communicate during breakfast, the interviewer or note taker marks a star next to his or her note about this. If the same issue comes up at lunch, another star. So stars or so-called concerns aren't outcomes.
After reading the concerns, which we train people to do in boom-boom-boom fashion, meaning quickly and without elaboration, we set the notes aside, take out a blank piece of paper or the blank form from the Protocol, and ask the parents what they want us all to work on. The parents' answers are the outcomes. We make sure we get the routines where they'd said they wanted to see that skill, but we don't, at that point, get much more. We're trying to finish up the interview, and this outcome selection takes about 20 minutes.
To help remember how the interview ends, here are three very short, very lame silent cartoons.
Beginning of the End
End of End Part 1
End of End Part 2
