Educational Priorities for Children with Cri-Du-Chat Syndrome.

Jones et al. (2010) asked parents of children with cri-du-chat syndrome to rank the skills they most wanted taught at school.

The survey listed nine areas such as talking, toileting, and play. Parents picked the ones their child lacked or was just starting to do.

Every parent chose goals that matched their child’s weak spots or new skills.

No single skill topped the list for everyone; priorities followed each child’s profile.

DeLeon et al. (2001) also used parent surveys in special schools, but asked about behavior problems instead of teaching goals. Both studies show parents give clear, usable answers when we ask the right questions.

Burrows et al. (2018) warned that caregiver mood and child language level can tilt survey answers. Because cri-du-chat often includes poor speech, Jones et al. (2010) parents may have over-weighted communication goals.

Bart et al. (2010) created a new parent questionnaire for preschool performance skills and proved it was reliable. Their work supports using short parent surveys like the one in Jones et al. (2010) to shape IEPs.

You can copy the nine-item priority list when you meet the IEP team. Ask parents to circle the skills their child still needs. Write goals for the circled items first; parents already said they care most about them. This five-minute step boosts buy-in and keeps therapy focused on what matters at home and at school.