Instructions
1. Observe the entire room where this person is involved with a task such as getting dressed, eating, taking a bath or shower, resting, visiting, or sitting quietly.
2. Ask YOURSELF the following questions. DO NOT ask the questions to the person you are observing.
3. Answer each question by selecting a response number from 1- 4 in this “Four Point Response Format” (or “Yes” or “No” in the “Yes/No Response Format”). Select the response number from 1- 4 (or “Yes” or “No”) that most closely matches your observations regarding the room(s) where this person is involved with a task. If you don’t know the answer to a question, then read the rationale and instructions for that question in the “CAIS Environment Questions to Ask- Additional Instructions for Response”, or try using the intervention strategies identified for that question in the “CAIS Environmental Intervention Strategies”. They can help you better understand the question. The intervention strategies suggest ways you can modify the environment to help this person even if this person is already doing well.
A response number of “3” or “4” (or a response of “Yes” in the Yes/No Response Format) suggests this environment may meet, or nearly meet, the needs and desires of this person and accommodate this person’s cognitive strengths and needs with respect to this question.
A response number of “1” or “2” (or a response of “No” in the Yes/No Response Format) suggests this environment may not adequately support this person’s cognitive abilities or meet their needs. A response number of “1” or “2” (or a response of “No” in the Yes/No Response Format) directs you to the “CAIS Environmental Intervention Strategies” where options of specific practical intervention strategies are identified for each question in this “CAIS Environment Questions to Ask-Four Point Response Format” (and in the Yes/No Response Format). These strategies suggest ways you can modify the environment to help this person understand and respond to their environment, communicate, perform a task more easily and successfully, and feel more comfortable.
Please note: More detailed response options are available in the pdf version of the Four Point Response Format for all the Environment questions. The detail in the response options and the “Additional Instructions for Response” can help add precision to your responses.