Chelsey Hunter

EED 255
4-2-15
Case Study:
I.

Subject
a. Name: NS
b. Age: 4 years old
c. Race: Caucasian and Mexican
d. Gender: Female

II.

Information Source
a. Information was gathered about the subject by use of observations in the
classroom, informal conversation with the mother, checklists, DECA screening,
and the CDC.gov milestone list for her age

III.

Background Information
a. N. has a married mother and father and a brother who all reside in a house
together. They are low-income and thus have access to the Head Start Program.
They are currently on AHCCCS for health insurance. Her mother has some
college experience and her father has his high school diploma. Mom is
unemployed and father does landscaping.
b. N is smaller than the other children her age and has excellent attendance. She has
not shown signs of major illnesses and her mother has shared no concerns. She
meets physical milestones according to the CDC.gov website. However, she does
not show interest in physical activities such as sports.

c. N. has excellent attendance, missing only a day or two since the beginning of the
year in August. She will participate in class as long as she has the ability to stay
silent or quiet. When one-on-one with a teacher, N. is able to participate in full
conversation and a wide variety of games and activities.
d. Developmental Milestones
i. Typical milestones
1. N. meets most of the CDC.gov Social-emotional milestones
2. N. meets all CDC.gov Language/communication milestones
3. N. meets all CDC.gov Cognitive milestones
4. N. meets all CDC.gov Movement/physical milestones
ii. Atypical milestones
1. N. shows difficulty in joining play and engaging in conversation
with peers. She does have DECA goals for Initiation.
IV.

Developmental Performance
a. N. shows interest in the dramatic play area, library area, and art area. On several
occasions, she is found in one of those locations. In the dramatic play area, her
main type of play is pretending to prepare food. In the library area, she brings out
several books, one after the other, and flips through the pages, pretending to read
the stories she knows and has heard before. And, most of her own art work
consists of drawings of her family, especially of her brother, and herself.
Otherwise she participates in art activities/projects set out as table activities to
complete.

b. N.s limitations include her avoidance of her peers. She does not engage with her
peers in play or conversation. She seeks activities she can do alone and only
allows others to play near her. She will not do an activity that is already occupied
by someone else. When peers play near her, she keeps to her own space. And, if
the peer begins taking toys or interfering with her play, she finds a different
activity instead of reacting to the peer.
c. N. is overall an intrapersonal child. She shows preference of independent
activities and rarely interacts with other children. She sits in her common areas
often looking around the classroom, seemingly making her own observations of
the environment. The large majority of her interactions and conversations occur
with teachers and trusted adults. If something is being displayed in front of the
class, N. will wait in the back until other peers clear away for her to see.
V.

Conclusion and Recommendations

a. N. shows she is a very capable child and meets the majority of her milestones.
Her detailed conversations show she is aware of her surroundings and the
dynamics of her family. She holds long, fluent conversations in a particular topic.
N. seems to only have trouble finding a classmate to build a lasting relationship
with. In several areas, she works at developmentally appropriate levels. She will
likely be successful in kindergarten, given that she already meets her milestones
and she will have a larger variety of peers to choose to build a friendship with.
b. I recommend engaging interactions with N. and gradually inviting or joining other
peers to play and do activities, so she learns to engage with peers on her own.
Partner painting is an excellent activity that requires two children to share and

maneuver a tray with a piece of paper, paint, and marbles. Because N. is

interested in art activities, she would be encouraged to find a partner or accept a
partners invitation to make a marble painting.
c. Suggestions for Ns family include taking her to parks, libraries, or other places
where N. can meet a variety of other children, potentially finding someone with
similar interests that she can build a friendship. Once she finds someone,
playdates should be set up frequently to encourage some sort of peer interaction.
Libraries have scheduled and routine reading times for specified age groups
where she could meet regular attendees and gain literacy skills.