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Case Study
Kelly Simmons
Glendale Community College EED255
April 1, 2015

Case Study:

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Kelly Simmons
I.

Subject
a. L.A.
b. 5 years, 4 months
c. Caucasian, white
d. Male

II.

Information Source
For this assignment I used A Childs Developmental Milestones,
written by ACT: Quality Professional Development for Childhood
Care and Education Professionals. I also used information gathered
from discussions with the parents during Parent-Teacher
Conferences and from my daily discussions with Grandma during
drop off and pick up.
I observed the child in a natural, classroom setting. I observed from
a distance and while sitting near the child while he was engaged
with group of children. I used video tape to record some
observations and I also made anecdotal notes with a focus on peer
interactions.

III.

Background Information
a. L.A. is a 5 year old male that lives with both of his parents. His
parents are college graduates and teachers at a local High
School. L.A. is an only child. Since birth L.A. has been cared for
by his Grandmother when his parents are at work. Prior to joining
our class, L.A. had limited experiences with peers or other
children. His social development now consists of 3 hours a day in

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Pre-Kindergarten. L.A. recently began going to the park after

class with another student approximately once a week. L.A.
engages in conversations with adults lasting less than 5 minutes
and with peers less than 3 minutes.
b. L.A. is one of the tallest children in the class of 4 and 5 year olds.
He runs and plays with others during recess often falling behind.
L.A. attends class regularly and enters the room and separates
from Grandma easily. This is typical according to the
developmental milestone chart referenced as he demonstrates
an increased drive for independence. (ACT, , pg. 6) L.A. is an
advanced reader and occasionally corrects the teacher during
read-aloud when she purposely omits a sentence or changes a
word.
c. L.A. attends class regularly and has missed approximately 5 days
due to illness. During group activities L.A. is often heard talking
or expressing his desire to do something else. During small group
instruction the children were told to sit at a table for an activity,
L.A. said I dont want to do table work! During free choice
centers L.A. is often found at manipulatives or at another center
where new materials were recently added.
d. According to the resources, A Childs Developmental Milestones,
L.A. is typically developing cognitively as demonstrated by his
ability to rote count past 20, comprehends positional concepts,
and can complete a 6-8 piece puzzle. L.A. is delayed in physical

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milestones as he can not skip, catch a ball with both hands, or

use scissors to cut a straight line. According to the resource he is
also delayed in social/emotional development as demonstrated
by his emotional responses to peers and teachers and his
difficulty with sharing and negotiating. L.A. is gifted in the area of
language as demonstrated by his reading skills, vocabulary, and
telling complex jokes.

IV.

Developmental Performance
a. L.A. has one primary key area of interest, the Manipulatives
Center. L.A. will play with the newest material added to the
center. He also is often seen playing with the Barbies. L.A. does
not dress and undress the dolls, but he is seen playing with the
Barbie shoes 100% of the time he was observed. L.A.s
secondary area of interest is Dramatic Play Center. L.A. is
observed putting on a dress, hat, and jewelry, and looking at
himself in the mirror. L.A. also plays with the stuffed animals in
Dramatic Play. More recently, L.A. has been observed at the
Writing Center makings books by stapling several pages of paper
together. His books consist of a written title and pictures with
some words or captions on the other pages. He asked me to read
his books to the class.
b. L.A. is rarely seen at the Math Center. I added new counters and
materials to the center to spark his interest. L.A. has been seen

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touching the counters while lined up to leave the room, but he

hasnt chosen the center during free choice. L.A. hasnt been
observed at Language/Literacy Center the entire school year (7
months). When asked if he would like to read with the teacher,
L.A. replied, I read all the time at home. I dont want to read. I
asked L.A. if he would like to go get a book about rocks at the
library with me and he replied, Yes! We walked to the library
and he helped choose a book to bring back to the class. L.A. sat
at the Science Center and read the book when we returned to
class.
c. L.A. plays next to children and is beginning to play cooperatively
with peers in the classroom. He uses a loud voice to express his
feelings with peers and teachers when asked to share and take
turns. L.A. is often (75% of the time) told two or three times to do
something. When L.A. was told the second time to line up for a
bathroom break he yelled okay, okay, okay! Im coming! He
engages in imaginative play while using advanced language and
grammar. An example is when he was building with blocks and
said This is the Breckenridge apartments. It has a pool on the
roof and the bedroom has a full size bed. L.A. is seen smiling
and playing with peers during recess.

V.

Conclusion and Recommendations

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a. L.A. is a bright child in the area of language and literacy, but he

has limited experience with peer interactions and group
situations. He becomes angry and yells when he is told to do
something he doesnt want to do. L.A. yells when speaking to the
teacher for even a simple reminder such as to wash his hands
after he used the bathroom. L.A. fixates on one item or set of
materials for days in a row and becomes upset when he has to
share or is unable to play with them. He is drawn to new
materials in the classroom with a strong preference for small
dolls, clothes, and shoes. L.A. is beginning to interact with other
children during free choice time inside the classroom, but he
struggles with expressing his feelings to his peers in an
appropriate manner.
b. After observing L.A. in social situations, I see the need for
additional support with social interactions. During center time my
staff and I will encourage cooperative play through modeling and
dialog. In an effort to assist L.A. with expressing his feelings in a
more appropriate manner, I will include read-a-louds on emotions
followed by group discussions and roll play. I will continue to
encourage L.A. in the area of math and literacy by taking him to
the library for books related to the mathematics domain
(counting, shapes, patterning, classifying).

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c. Make suggestions for family activities that promotes growth in

the future
I encouraged L.A.s parents to organize playdates with peers and
to enroll L.A. in group activities such as soccer, karate, or
gymnastics. I recommended to continue this in the summer to
assist L.A. when he begins Kindergarten in August. I also
encouraged his parents to have L.A. wait when they talking (not
interrupt) and to assist him with the social skills of language
when he is with them.
Resources
(n.d.). Retrieved April 1, 2015, from
http://www.acetonline.org/child_dev_milestone.pdf.