Individual Differences Student Profile School can offer a challenging experience and environment for even the most secure and accomplished students. Changes in education currently taking place for many Idaho schools include the adoption of the Common Core, changes to the Idaho Standards Achievement Test (ISAT) along with the addition of the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC), and revised graduation requirements that seem to change every year. For typical students, these pressures are surmountable with appropriate support from family members and teachers, but for some students, just getting through the day seems like an unsurmountable challenge and academics are the least of their worries. This profile will introduce you to a girl named Grace and her daily battle with bi-polar disorder and the effects that mental illness has on her education and development. General Information Grace is 10 years and 2 months old and is the youngest of three children. Her oldest sibling is a half-sister who is in high school; her brother is one year older than Grace and is in 5 th
grade. She and her brother share the same father. Her half-sisters father is not known. All three children live with their biological mother. Graces father resides in another state and is remarried with a new child who will turn one year old this summer. Her parents relationship is very strained and often involves custody disputes. Her mother works full time and is also going to school full time. Her father and stepmom are employed and Grace only sees them for a short time during the summer. Planned Christmas and spring break visits with her dad are usually cancelled at the last minute which has a negative impact on her. Extended family members in the immediate area include a maternal grandmother and an aunt. She attends a music class one day after school each week, participates in an after school running program in the spring called Running Head: INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES STUDENT PROFILE IDP 3
Girls on the Run, and likes to read and draw in her leisure time. She also spends one afternoon a week with a psycho-social rehabilitation (PSR) worker, and another afternoon each week with her counselor. The family is financially supported by the mothers income as well as Medicaid. Child support from their father is sporadic and minimal. Graces older sister is very active at her high school so the younger siblings often spend late nights at the high school waiting for their sister to finish cheerleading activities. Due to these late bedtimes, Grace does not get adequate sleep for a child her age so she comes to school sleepy and averages one nap per week while at school. Physical Development Grace is petite and underweight but not malnourished. She falls within the lower percentile for her physical development. Grace is the smallest girl in her grade and is Caucasian and has blue eyes. Additionally, she has long, straight blond hair. Grace has healthy and normal vision and hearing and mildly crooked teeth which may require orthodontia later on. Grace bathes regularly and wears appropriately fitting clothes. While Grace does have breakfast every morning, snacks at school, and hot lunch, she does not eat all of her food at every meal. Her diminished appetite is attributed to the daily medication she takes for her bipolar diagnosis. Grace used to attend gymnastics and is very flexible and strong despite her small stature. As a result, she has appropriate large muscle development. Her small muscle development is adequate and she is right handed with handwriting that is neat and legible. She has not shown a need for occupational therapy. Grace has an incredible singing voice and her vocal range is mature for her age. Cognitive Development Running Head: INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES STUDENT PROFILE IDP 4
Grace is in the 4 th grade and performs at grade level. Grace is on an individual education plan (IEP) for a behavior disorder and was formally placed on the IEP toward the end of her second grade year. Grace was entered into the BASE (Behavior, Academic, Social Education) program at the beginning of her third grade year. Grace has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder but is also being assessed for schizophrenia. Grace has a hard time concentrating in class due to her disorder and the medication she takes. When Grace is able to focus, she performs well in math but tends to get Fs as she often refuses to do the work and turns in blank worksheets. However, her STAR tests continue to show growth which indicates she has natural intelligence. Grace reads above grade level but is selective about the books she reads. Moreover, she is a good writer and likes to write songs and stories while also being a good speller. Grace is performing within Piagets concrete operations stage of cognitive development; however, she exhibits some egocentric behavior and thinking from the pre- operational stage of development which may be attributed to her disability. At this time Grace does not require any academic modifications or assessment supports. Socio-emotional Development Due to her mental illness classification, Grace struggles with social skills and it is difficult for her to see anothers point of view when she feels under attack, whether it is real or imagined. Thus, it can be a challenge to problem solve with Grace as she is resistant to reexamining her past behaviors. Consequently, she does not have many friends and is finding it more difficult to relate to her peers as they all get older. As a result, Grace has low self-esteem and a poor self-concept along with strained relationships with her teachers. She also will fixate on certain students to the point she has had bullying complaints filed against her by other parents. When these situations arise, she is not allowed inclusion and it takes some time for her Running Head: INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES STUDENT PROFILE IDP 5
to be allowed back into her assigned least restrictive environment, the general education classroom. When considering the work of Vygotsky and his Social development theory, it could be determined that Grace is missing out on critical social development by her inability to learn and develop alongside her peers. Further, she has a difficult time with the pragmatics of language which creates problems with peers and adults. Subsequently, she has difficulty with adaptive behavior and is considered an at-risk individual within the student population. Conclusion There has been a committed effort on the part of the school district in partnering with Graces mother and counselor to help her while also acknowledging family centered practices. Many accommodations, behavior intervention plans, and the use of positive reinforcement have been attempted but her emotional disturbance and its unpredictability has resulted in many hours of Grace being unavailable for learning as well as being incapable of social integration. Family interactions and the risk factors associated with these interactions, combined with Graces mental health diagnosis, continue to cause stress for her. Grace has more challenges ahead as she approaches puberty and adolescence. Continued support in developing interpersonal and intrapersonal skills will be essential. In all, I have learned a great deal about the many stages of development and the effects of a bi-polar diagnosis during my time with Grace. Additionally, I better understand the enormous challenges that face individuals living with mental health disabilities. Privacy and confidentiality are extremely important when working with students like Grace. The hope for resilience and the ability to develop friendships and healthy connections are important goals for which the team that works with Grace continues to strive. In all, the team hopes to make the impossible seem attainable and to give her hope. Running Head: INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES STUDENT PROFILE IDP 6
References Berns, Roberta, M. (2010). Child, family, school, community. (9 th Edition). Belmont, CA: Wasdsworth Hunt, Nancy, Marshall, Kathleen. (2006). Exceptional children and youth. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Kauffman, James, M., Pullen, Patricia L., Mostert, Mark P., Trent, Stanley C. (2011) Managing classroom behavior. (5 th Edition). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc.