Rather than maintain perspective on the events that surround and involve us, we often get swept up by the dance. Consider the experience of dancing on a dance floor in contrast to standing on the balcony and watching other people dance. Engaging in the dance, it is nearly impossible to get a sense of the patterns made by everyone on the floor.
Motion makes observation difficult.
Indeed, we often get carried away by the dance. Our attention is captured by the music, our partner, and the need to sense the dancing space of others nearby to stay off their toes. As we talk about programs for infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families we use words such as collaboration, family driven, family focused, etc. These words suggest that we are participating with others, that we are in active relationship, that we value partnership and interdependent relationships. Within this context, the question of whether existing evaluation approaches used in the fields of education, health and social services will suffice emerges.