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Grade Level: 4
Gender: Male
Birthday: August 11, 2004
Age: 11
Disability: Learning Disorder and Mild Autism
Mothers Name: Janice A.
Fathers Name: Joseph A.
At age of 2, James parents notice James still wont learn to walk and
his grip is still weak. They notice that James is slow learner. Later on he
was diagnosed that he has learning disability and a mild autism.
When he was in grade 2-3 he was in full inclusion but he has
difficulty in catching up lesson but it takes time and he easily forget some of
what has been taught. His long term memory is feeble particularly in his
memory retention like for example in math, he forget to subtract and add
alone, he needs example just to remember how to solve. His
comprehension is also weak too, subjects like Filipino and science is hard
for him to understand. He was easily get distracted when his classmates or
things moved and he is also easy get bored. He has difficulty in listening
when the teacher ask him a question sometimes he ignores it. So James
recommend in multilevel transition.
At grade 4 his results in studies is getting high compare when he was
in full inclusion. The educational coach teach James easily. He is guided by
the Sped teacher with the help of his results in IEP with short term
objectives, strategies and resources and assessment procedures. When
the educational coach breaks down the work step by step, and guides him
through it, he can complete his assignments and even activities
successfully. But James is still easily get bored when he was teaching and
his ability to focus is still in short limit even when he is playing.
James is an enthusiastic boy who, in spite of his past difficulties with
learning. His social skill is good, he is friendly. He talks a lot, usually about
a favorite subject.
Related Literature
Autism
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and autism are both general terms
for a group of complex disorders particularly in brain development. These
disorders are characterized, in varying degrees, by difficulties in social
interaction, verbal and nonverbal communication and repetitive behaviors.
In James case, he has a mild autism.
Children with autism may fail to respond to their name and often
avoid eye contact with other people. They have difficulty interpreting what
others are thinking or feeling because they cant understand social cues,
such as tone of voice or facial expressions, and dont watch other peoples
faces for clues about appropriate behavior. They often lack empathy and
engage in repetitive movements such as rocking and twirling, or in selfabusive behavior such as biting or head-banging. They also tend to start
speaking later than other children and may refer to themselves by name
instead of I or me. Children with autism dont know how to play
interactively with other children. Some speak in a sing-song voice about a
narrow range of favorite topics, with little regard for the interests of the
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person to whom they are speaking. Many children with autism have a
reduced sensitivity to pain, but are abnormally sensitive to sound, touch, or
other sensory stimulation. These unusual reactions may contribute to
behavioral symptoms such as a resistance to being cuddled or hugged.
Some of these signs are seen in James behavior like repetitive behavior
and gestures.
ASD can be associated with intellectual disability, difficulties in motor
coordination and attention and physical health issues such as sleep and
gastrointestinal disturbances. Some persons with ASD excel in visual skills,
music, math and art. But James hate to color, like coloring books and even
activities that the instruction has need to color things in the paper.
Autism treated in a way that each child or adult with autism is unique
and, so, each autism intervention plan should be tailored to address
specific needs. Proven treatments prompts many parents to pursue their
own research often using the "trial and error" method. One quick Google
search yields close to 1.5 million "hits" on the topic of "ASD treatment"
truly everything you would want to know about treating ASDs. A preliminary
study conducted in 2004 by Dr. Vanessa Green and colleagues1 found that
over a hundred different treatments were being tried by families across the
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United States and that, on average, parents were using seven different
treatments at one time for their child. The number and types of treatments
being used varied with the childs age and the severity of the childs
disability. Many of even the most commonly used treatments lack empirical
support.
Another treatment for autism may include a Special education:
Education is structured to meet the child's unique educational needs.
Behavior modification: This includes strategies for supporting positive
behavior and decreasing problem behaviors. Speech, physical, or
occupational therapy: These therapies are designed to increase the child's
functional abilities. Social skills therapies : These therapies address
language and social pragmatics in those verbal individuals with autism.
Learning Disability
Comorbid with Autism is Learning Disability of James. Learning
Disability is neurologically-based processing problems. These processing
problems can interfere with learning basic skills such as reading, writing
and/or math. They can also interfere with higher level skills such as
organization, time planning, abstract reasoning, long or short term memory
and attention. It is important to realize that learning disabilities can affect
an individuals life beyond academics and can impact relationships with
family, friends and in the workplace.
In James case, his long term memory, retention and also his
comprehension are the problem. We all know that ong-term memory refers
to the storage of information over an extended period. If you can remember
something that happened more than just a few moment ago whether it
occurred just hours ago or decades earlier, then it is a long-term memory
and the retention is the endurance of behaviors which have been learned
or acquired when the behavior is not being utilized; signified by being able
to recall, relearn, recognize, or reproduce the behavior. Preservation of a
memory within the mind. A subject's refusal or incapability to defecate or
urinate. This long term memory of James is not critical like for example
when the coach tell to answer the test he would ask the educational coach
on what should do and then the educational coach explain the instruction
and give one or two example and he will do it by himself when he
remember the procedures.
His reading comprehension needs to improve. Reading
comprehension is the ability to read text, process it and understand its
meaning. An individual's ability to comprehend text is influenced by their
traits and skills, one of which is the ability to make inferences. Subjects like
science is difficult for James to understand all or most of the lesson. Math
word problem too cant perform independently by James he needs
repetitive teaching for him to remember what has been taught to him.
Unlike other children with learning disability James does not have
dyslexia, dysgraphia nor dyscalculia. Dysgraphia means a specific learning
disability that affects a persons handwriting ability and fine motor skills.
Problems may include illegible handwriting, inconsistent spacing, poor
spatial planning on paper, poor spelling, and difficulty composing writing as
well as thinking and writing at the same time. Dyslexia means A specific
learning disability that affects reading and related language-based
processing skills. The severity can differ in each individual but can affect
reading fluency, decoding, reading comprehension, recall, writing, spelling,
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and sometimes speech and can exist along with other related disorders.
Dyslexia is sometimes referred to as a Language-Based Learning
Disability. And Dyscalculia means a specific learning disability that affects a
persons ability to understand numbers and learn math facts. Individuals
with this type of LD may also have poor comprehension of math symbols,
may struggle with memorizing and organizing numbers, have difficulty
telling time, or have trouble with counting.
Children diagnosed with learning and other disabilities can qualify for
special educational services. A child who qualifies for special education
services should receive his or her own Individualized Education Program,
or IEP. This personalized and written education plan. Lists individualized
goals for the child. Specifies the plan for services the youngster will receive
and lists the specialists who will work with the child. Like James who have
been take assessment test, IEP and educational coach.
Here are some possible treatments that can help James:
Reading Comprehension
Understanding what is being read
Thinking about how it relates to other information
Remembering what has been read
Mathematics Computation
Speed of computing
Mathematics Reasoning
Writing
Handwriting legibility
Listening Comprehension
Oral Expression
Formulating thoughts
Organizing thoughts
Mis-speaking (malapropisms)
Thinking Skills
Sequential thought
Organized thought
Abstract/critical thinking
Study Skills
Scheduling
Note taking
Outlining
Reviewing
Memorizing
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Attention Focus
Distractibility
Inattentiveness
Impulsivity
Over activity
Attention span
Concentration
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Recommendation
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To the Parents
For James to motivate in learning, parents can give rewards to James
whenever he does something well. Use positive language in a calm voice,
and rather than telling him what you dont want him to do, direct him to
what he should be doing instead. For example, instead of saying stop
pulling your sisters hair, say put your hand down.
To the child
James is an intelligent boy and I believe that if he learned to focus
and disciplined he can compete with his same age students.
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