DIR 310: Using the Functional Emotional Assessment Scale (FEAS) to Assess a Child’s Functional Emotional Capacities

The Functional Emotional Assessment Scale, published by ICDL and authored by Stanley Greenspan, Georgia DeGangi, & Serena Wieder, enables clinicians, educators, and researchers to observe and measure emotional and social functioning in infants, young children, and their families. Historically, the complexity of emotional functioning has been difficult to measure and assess. The FEAS meets this longstanding need of the field. The FEAS conceptualizes, operationalizes, and measures in a reliable and valid manner:

The full range of emotional functioning of infants, young children, and their families.

Naturally occurring emotional interactions between infants, children, and caregivers in a variety of settings, including home and school.

Both easily observable emotional behaviors and the subtle, more difficult to measure, deeper levels of emotional functioning.

This course will supplement the FEAS book to guide practitioners on how to practically use the FEAS tool. This is a practical application course that takes the knowledge in the book and helps clinicians administer, score, and report on the FEAS.

PS: A 53-page FEAS Booklet will be given in pdf format to all participants free of charge.

Gil Tippy, PsyD

Gil Tippy, PsyD, Author of Respecting Autism with Stanley Greenspan, MD, offers Evaluations, Direct Services, and Consulting to private individuals and organizations. He is the Clinical Director Emeritus of Shrub Oak International School, in Westchester County, NY. He is a Clinical Psychologist, licensed in the State of New York, with his Psychology license in California in process. He is the Chief Clinical Advisor of the Envision Center in Verona, NJ and is an Expert DIR/Floortime Provider and Teacher. He lives and has a private practice, Respectrum Developmental Services, as well as a not-for-profit, Dirty Hands Developmental Alliance, in Sonoma County, California.

Course Outcomes

• be able to identify the uses and limitation of the Functional Emotional Assessment Scale (FEAS).
• demonstrate an understanding of the administration of the FEAS.
• demonstrate an understanding of scoring and reporting on the FEAS

Program Flow

• Module One (Hours 1-2): Introducing the FEAS: Explaining the conceptualization, research, purpose, and overall function of the FEAS tool.
• Module Two (Hours 3-4): FEAS Administration: A detailed explanation of how to administer the FEAS.
• Module Three (Hours 5-6): Scoring and Reporting: A detailed explanation of the scoring and reporting process including functional uses and limitations of use.