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Abstract The purpose of the field experience case study was to be enlightened by and involved with an individual with a severe and profound disability. Time spent in observance and interaction with the individuals case would familiarize the students with IEPs (Individual Educational Programs) or ISPs (Individual Service Plans). Also, involvement in the study should help in learning and dealing with functional objectives, data collection and analysis, and future planning for individuals with severe disabilities. The experience should offer opportunity to evaluate and learn specific teaching styles while applying and refining their own understanding. In order to gain permission to perform this case study, changing their names has protected the privacy of the individuals involved. When referring to the student involved, we will be using the name Ashley.
Historical Data Ashley is a fourteen-year-old female who resides in Banks County, which is a rural county in northeast Georgia. She has been diagnosed with autism and MPD (Multiple Personality Disorder) with mild schizophrenia. She is currently in the eighth grade and enrolled in Banks County Middle School, and has been in her present school for the past three years. She was previously served at the Alpine Psycho-Educational Center in Gainesville, Georgia for five years. Ashley moved to Banks County after her mother and father divorced three years ago, and now she resides with her mother and two brothers, along with her mothers new boyfriend. She has been involved in a community based instructional class at her middle school for the past three years which teaches the social, functional academic, communication and pre-vocational skills that she will need next year when entering high school.
Skills of the Individual Communication. Ashley has moderate to good communication skills. She will initiate conversations with other individuals without being prompted, but tends to get frustrated when no response occurs. At the beginning of her conversation, Ashley will speak at a normal volume, but tends to get louder as she continues. When speaking to others, she has a propensity to begin laughing out loud and proceeds to act very silly when not reminded to act like a young lady as referred by her teachers. She will compliment others and seeks positive comments about herself, mainly due to the fact that her favorite subject is Ashley.
She is extremely vocal and on occasion has to be reminded to let others participate in group discussions. She has difficulty in understanding that all conversations or announcements may not pertain to her. Ashley also shows difficulty in conversations with the opposite sex and has to be monitored for inappropriate language and physical activity. Mobility. Ashley is ambulatory but walks at a pace slower than her typically developing peers.
She has difficulty transitioning from a sitting position to a standing position, and often she needs the use of a chair or other solid fixed device in order to push up or achieve the standing position. She receives physical therapy in thirty-minute segments during the week in order to facilitate her mobility. Physical. Ashley's physical skills are somewhat limited due to her OCD (Obsessive and Compulsive Disorder) of hand wringing. Her fingers have become malformed and everyday tasks that are generally taken for granted by the non-disabled are physically hard for Ashley.
She has been working on such tasks as brushing her teeth and hair without assistance when appropriate or when requested. Also to assist in the fine motor skills, she has been working on zipping a front separating zipper, zipping a back non-separating zipper, and lacing her own shoes. She receives occupational therapy in thirty-minute sessions during the week to aid in the fine motor skill development along with speech therapy to help assist her in vocalization. Ashley is also working on her obesity with her mother as she attends TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) classes, and she seems enthusiastic about the weight loss except when it comes time to give up the cakes, candy and other sweets. Vocational. Ashley will be moving from middle school to high school next year where she will have the opportunity to be involved in actual employment settings.
She has been enrolled in community-based instruction at the middle school to prepare her for this transition. Such skills as social awareness, communication, functional academics and vocational tasking have been introduced to Ashley to better prepare her for the working environment. She gets very excited when talking about the possibility of going to work, and she already has aspirations of working at WALMART or THE DOLLAR TREE. Social. Ashley has an out-going personality in the fact that she is very vocal. She is able to initiate conversation with others and has many friends in her MOID/SID class, but she has difficulty making and keeping friends who are considered typically developing peers.
She tends to be immature, loud, self-centered, and silly most of the time. She has good listening skills and pays attention to detail, but she is easily persuaded into doing things that are not in her best interest or that she knows will get her in trouble. Although Ashley is considerably sociable, she does not retain confidence and she believes others are constantly talking about her or making faces at her. Recreational. Ashley has developed several recreational interests such as drawing, writing, bowling, swimming, movie watching, and exercising using the treadmill or stationary bicycle. She also enjoys singing and going to church.
Her church has a program in place that allows members the opportunity to get involved with individuals with disabilities. This member, who is Ashley's newest friend, helps her with socialization within the church. When asked, Ashley said that her favorite thing to do is going to WALMART! Preferences When reinforcement is needed, Ashley will work for several things. She loves to receive stickers for something that she has done or accomplished. Ashley also loves praise and attention, such as A Great Day written in her agenda or verbal praise in the presence of her classmates.
Although M&Ms and other small candies were great reinforcers, they have been gradually eliminated due to Ashley trying to manage her weight problem. Functional Objective When presented with a list of sixteen common sign words, Ashley will identify all sixteen words at least eight out of ten opportunities. h Settings. Classroom and community. h Supports/Modification. Flashcards and manipulative.
h Evaluation. Data tracking sheets. h Data Collection. RateXfrequency of data.
h Data Recording. Permanent product recording. Data Collection 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 1 Session Task Analysis Results Results from the task analysis revealed that Ashley has progressed tremendously over the last year. She has increased her recognition from ten functional / sign words to a total of twenty-five words. When Ashley became so interested in reading over the last year, her enthusiasm for learning new words also increased. She actually has fun with the flashcards that she has in class, and although she is often distracted, she still enjoys looking for her sign words in the community.
She hasnt quite mastered her IEP functional objective of identifying all sixteen words in eight out of ten opportunities, but she has shown great improvement since beginning her functional words. Future Recommendations Due to Ashley's limited intellectual functioning, it has been recommended for her to continue following the functional curriculum in the community-based instruction. She needs to proceed in acquiring her functional tasks to aide in independent living skills. She will also need to continue the CBI to improve her overall social and self-help skills in a variety of situations. Ashley will maintain her current level of speech therapy to improve her communication, physical therapy for mobility improvement, and occupational therapy for her fine motor skills. ITP (Individual Transition Plan) states that Ashley will receive goals and objectives in the CBI setting to achieve an ultimate goal of a Warm Springs Center placement at the end of her high school career.
Target behaviors that need to be addressed will be: h Vulgar language h Preservation h Inappropriate contact with males Several positive interventions and supports have been set in place as reinforcement: h Isolation from peers h Denial of privileges h Daily behavior rating h Proximity control h Social skills training & social stories h Praise h Rewards for short-term goals (drinks, snacks, etc. ) h Rewards for long-term goals (movies, toys, etc. ) h Going to Ms. Bush's office or other teachers class for good behavior h Parent will remove student from school for remainder of day h Suspension -- - up to ten days per year Reflection Looking back over the last few weeks of this case study, I realized that there are many opportunities to impact a students life in so many ways. No matter what the situation or who the student is, we have an obligation to be the best we can be for their sakes. The time spent in class and in the field has opened my eyes to many things that I was unaware of. Not only the moral obligation of teaching and preparing these individuals for the future, but also the legal obligation has to be considered as well. The paperwork that is involved to document progress is very time consuming, but in order to ensure the well being of the individual, it is crucial.
By taking this course and being involved in a case study such as this, I have learned to empathically listen before responding to a situation. Knowing all of the details and points-of-view makes understanding easier and more manageable. The most important thing that this course and study has emphasized is that each individual is a person who just so happens to have a disability. If the general population could overcome their ignorance, they would realize that there are many outstanding people with wonderful personalities, and some just happen to be diagnosed with a medical condition. This in no way makes them any less of a person! I would like to end with a quote taken from the Holy Bible: King James Version-Book of Matthew Ch. 18 verses 4 - 6, Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as a little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receives me. But whoso shall offend one of these little ones K it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea. I believe that Jesus was speaking of everyone here, emphasizing those who cannot manage and take care of themselves independently. If Jesus himself gives such regard, how should we react when faced with the same situation? Bibliography Individual Education Program.
Banks County BOE -- -SPED Dept. 2001 - 03. Individual Transition Program. Banks County BOE -- -SPED Dept. 2001 - 03. Holy Bible: King James Version. Book of Matthew Ch. 18 v. 4 - 6. Barbour Publishing Inc. 2002.
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