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The Process:  M.A.A.P.S. Model
A Guide for CLC Network Evaluation Services

Rationale:  Parents, school staff, and the student himself/ herself possess a wealth of information, observations, and experiential insights about the student's day-to-day functioning.  Unfortunately, this treasure trove of information frequently remains disintegrated, unconnected, and un-knit into a cohesive user-friendly profile (picture) of strengths and weaknesses that accurately interprets and makes sense of the student’s daily functioning.  At best, this abundance of “raw material” from prior teachers, reports, and tests is never fully used and, at worst, is set aside. The end result is the same...a misunderstood, misinterpreted student and confused, frustrated adults resulting in a gradual onset of disengagement.  What is needed are a “road map” and “tour guide” to understand, integrate and navigate all the information and insights.

The M.A.A.P.S. Model:
The M.A.A.P.S. evaluation model delivers a clear, user-friendly, comprehensive “road map” utilizing a three-step process that is simultaneously simple and complex.

Step One:  What Do We See?  
The M.A.A.P.S. “road map” begins with “What do we see?” in the student’s day-to-day functioning (“we” includes all adults who are observing the student’s daily functioning in a variety of environments). Step One's priority is to simply, yet thoroughly, record what people notice, hear, or see in the student’s daily functioning.  The “raw material” of Step One includes observations, not interpretations (e.g., “He ignores his homework and watches TV” is an observation; “He is just lazy” is an interpretation) made of strengths and struggles in the home, school, and community. Step One also provides an opportunity for the student to communicate the strengths and struggles that he/she is experiencing.

Step Two:  What Do We Think?
Step Two of the M.A.A.P.S. process begins the work of knowing and understanding what we “See” in Step One by a careful "behind-the-scenes" look at the 8 Neurodevelopmental Systems (“Mind”) and 11 Psychological  Systems (“Heart”).  The M.A.A.P.S. process intentionally evaluates these 19 diagnostic windows, utilizing formal evaluation tools and a deep understanding of the subtleties and complexities of these 19 systems.  The child/student’s unique profile provides the framework for an accurate and thorough understanding of what people are observing (in Step One) and what the student is experiencing in his/her daily functioning.

Step Three:  What Do We Do?  Strategies for Student Success
Step One (What Do We See?) and Step Two (What Do We Think?) provide the
basis for Step Three (What Do We Do?) -Strategies for Student Success.
The three elements/areas for change that comprise Step Three  are:
(a) Student Strategies (“Self”), (b) “Others” – Staff Strategies and Parent Strategies, and (c) “Environment” Strategies (e.g., time, space, rate, structure, curriculum, technology, etc.).  These arenas for change, intervention, and accommodation are the three pillars of a comprehensive plan and clearly define the “people’s” (student, staff, parent, others) responsibilities coupled with environmental strategies (changes) leading to student success.