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Running head: Individual Differences Student Profile

Individual Differences Student Profile Karen Hatch Educ 205 Development/Individual Differences Online Spring, 2013

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Individual Differences Student Profile Teachers face many obstacles and challenges in the classroom. A teacher must learn how to work with and teach to students who are multi-cultural diverse and also for students who have a disability. There are different learning styles, theories, and curriculum that teachers can utilize to provide the best education possible to these students. I will be doing a profile on a young, white male who has a disability and attends a public school in the Nampa School District. I will characterize his physical, cognitive, socio-emotional development and also summarize my findings. The following information will support my observation and how I would use this information to assist me to be a better educator in the future. General Information The young man I observed for this profile is Caucasian and his name is Ryan Nixon. Ryan lives at home with him mom, dad and a younger brother. Ryan is currently in the 4th grade and is 10 years old and 4 months. His younger brother also attends the same school as Ryan and is 8 years old. Their family structure is a nuclear family. The father is a doctor and the mother is a stay-at-home mom. Ryan attends school from 8:45am-3:40pm and then rides the bus home. Physical Development Ryan has a slight, thin build. He is around average height for his age group but does not have a lot of weight to his frame. He has pale skin and red/blonde hair and green eyes. He also has light freckles over his face and hands. When a person has a conversation with Ryan, they will notice he speaks quietly and also has a voice disorder that makes his voice high pitched for his age and gender. He also has a slight articulation disorder which makes his ts sound like a th together. Overall, he appears to be in good health and I did not notice any other impairments.

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Ryan writes and cuts with his right hand. He holds a pencil correctly for his age and grade level. He also has very decent handwriting. Ryan can throw a kickball but does not have a lot of strength behind his throws. At recess, he does not participate in any of the activities the other children are playing and will walk around the playground by himself. I did not observe any other large muscle development opportunities. Cognitive Development Ryan has a form of Autism, however, his parents have elected for the time being to keep him in the general education classroom. He will see a reading and math intervention teacher two days a week for a little extra help on class assignments but is not currently enrolled in a special education classroom. His parents have elected this method for the time being but were going to see how he was at the end of 4th grade to see if they would consider a need for a special education classroom environment for 5th grade. Apparently, at the beginning of the 4th grade, Ryan was progressing but as the school year continued he started to regress. Ryan does possess motor stereotypies in which he will continually sharpen pencils throughout the school day. He will continue to do so even after the pencils are sharpened. He also does have difficulty in executive functioning. If a person is not sitting right next to him, he will not stay on task. He does have strength in visual skills. He has an amazing artistic talent. He excels at class work that involves anything with drawing involved, as long as you can keep him on task. Ryan struggles in school. He is failing most of his class work and does not have a passing grade right now to be able to continue on to 5th grade. It is not that he is not smart enough to do the work, but he will not follow directions and turn in assignments. He also loses assignments

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frequently. Ryan could benefit from direct instruction to help him accomplish his tasks. Scaffolds could also be a great tool if the parents would allow him to have the extra help that he seems to need. Ryan is in the formal operational stage of Piagets stages of cognitive development. He is able to form his own thoughts and ideas but hasnt quite grasped more complex ideology. I currently do not know if he has had an IQ test administered but just from my general observation, he has an IQ that is close to his classmates. When he finishes his homework, it is usually a passing grade. He just does not apply himself to do the work on his own. Socio-Emotional Development Over the course of my observation hours I noticed little interaction between Ryan and his peers. More often than not, if there was interaction it was because a fellow classmate would try to include him in an activity. I never saw him go seek any other person out. He would not leave his desk area unless the class was to leave the room. When I started working with Ryan, he would continually look down and sharpen his pencil. As time went on, he would occasionally look at me, but it was very infrequent. He would not raise his hand or participate in class discussions. Every now and then the teacher would try to get him to participate but it was a 50/50 shot if he would. Ryan may have a lack of self-concept or self esteem and that could lead to learned helplessness. Ryan may not realize what he is doing is not beneficial to him academically or socially. Since I have not seen him interact with many peers or adults, I cant definitely say that he has a high or level of self-concept but my best estimate would be that it would be low.

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Ryan is currently in the Industry vs. Inferiority stage of Erik Eriksons Psychosocial Stages. He is still learning who is and how to cope with new social and emotional development stages. He is also in Selmans Five Stages of Perspective Taking and would be in the SelfReflective Perspective-Taking stage. He is learning to feel about others persons feelings and how that attributes to the social dynamic of home and school. Conclusion Ryan will not progress without intervention and I believe an IEP would be a great start for his parents to consider. He is not progressing along with his peers and is actually doing the opposite. He may have some secondary learning disabilities that go along with his Autism. Ryans physical stature plays no real part in his academic development. He is small framed but is not the smallest child in the classroom. He may not be as strong as some of the other children but he still has the stature to play other physical games and to run, jump and climb. As I have stated, Ryan has progressed and been able to advance with passing grades in every grade level until now. The parents have chosen to wait to see how he would do academically before they wanted to do any intervention. After his lack of commitment and dedication to his course work and the need to have someone assist him at all time to keep on track, I believe that Ryan would be a strong candidate for special education. It might also be beneficial to look at Gardners Theory of Multiple Intelligences and see what category he fits into. He may need to use a different learning style to be successful in the classroom. He may be a spatial learner vs a verbal or logical-mathematical learner.

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He is introverted and does not participate willingly and openly with his peers. At recess he will walk away from his peers and shows no emotion towards them. He also has a difficult time with adults and interacting with them. I would suggest the LEAP program for Ryan to help him gain some social, behavior and cognitive skills. The family involvement would be a great benefit for Ryan. His mother is fairly focused on helping him succeed but has been reluctant to acknowledge that he has difficulty and would benefit from a special education classroom environment. He would also benefit from having his father attend more of the parent/teacher conferences. The family will have to maintain diligence to help Ryan succeed academically, socially, and with his behavior. Ryan has great potential to succeed in life. If his family helps him and allows him to participate in the special programs I can see him progressing well. He has the chance and opportunity to become a contributing member of society and to do well for himself with a little extra help. As teachers it is so important to be a childs advocate. We sometimes have to be the voice for them to help them get past obstacles and challenges. We can give them tools and references to help them succeed. We have to strive to try to make the educational system the best it can be and to give all students an equal opportunity to have the best education possible.

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References Richards, Stephen B; Smiley, Lydia R; Taylor, Ronald R. (2009). Exceptional Students; Preparing Teachers for the 21st Century. New York, New York: McGraw-Hill. psychology.about.com/library/bl_psychosocial_summary.htm. Accessed May 1, 2013. psychology4a.com/develop14.htm. Accessed May 1, 2013.

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