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Running Head: DEVELOPMENT/INDIVUDUAL DIFFERENCES

Development Individual Differences Essay

Jessica Gallegos

Dr. Tracey J. Meyerhoeffer

EDUC 205 Development/Individual Differences

Online, Fall 2017

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Development/Individual Differences Essay

Autism has been a common disability for a long time. Children with autism are known to

be violent and unpredictable, or very calm and easily soothed. There are several types of autism

which is why it is called an Autism Spectrum Disorder. These kids will be diagnosed around two

to four years of age because that is when signs start to show such as: not making eye contact with

others, social deprivations, strong obsessions with one object or idea, and sometimes seizures.

Autism can affect kids with different severities, some may be critical with seizures and cognitive

problems, or some may just be behavioral and not cognitive at all. In babysitting a child with

autism, I have learned a lot about autism. For this individual difference student profile, I will

examine the developmental levels of Sophie, a child with an autism spectrum disorder.

Additionally, I will discuss the implications her developmental levels may have for the

classroom.

General Information

Sophie was born on March 11, 2003, she is a 14 years and 7 months old girl who has

brown eyes and brown hair, and a strong obsession with small dogs. She is part Indian and part

Caucasian. She lives with six people, three siblings and her parents. Sophie loves to dance and

was a member of her jr. high dance team and is currently a freshman on her high school dance

team. Sophie was diagnosed with autism at the age of three. After the doctors diagnosed her

they noticed a problem with her being overwhelmed and overstimulated at school. They put her

on a small dose of Strattera. This helped Sophie get through the day. Sophies routine was set up

to her needs. Her parents and teachers put together a D-ring of note cards with times and places

of her school day and after school routine, so she knew exactly what was happening and when. If

one thing was off or an extra stop had to be made, and it was not in her plan before she left, she
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would shut down, and her mom would have to come get her. Sophies favorite thing to do was

dance. She dances everywhere and anywhere. She would dance all the way up until bed time.

Sophie was good about going to bed on time. She would shower and be in bed by 9:00 pm not a

minute later or a minute earlier.

Physical Development

Sophie was late hitting milestones in her life. She walked at two and learned to speak

between two and three years of age, then around four she learned to eat with a fork and knife.

Her female development was not affected by her disability. She was constant with the other girls

her age. She struggled fitting in through elementary school, but in middle school she really

started to gain confidence and found a group of friends who she loves. Sophie is right handed.

She has always had normal muscle growth. Sophie is just like any other kid her age; she dances

and plays softball which shows her strong motor growth skills. Additionally, she wrestles with

her brother, and loves to go on walks with her dogs. Her medical needs are a bit more

complicated. She has been struggling with insomnia since before she had her diagnosis. She has

also walks on her toes. All her life she walked on her toes. The doctors tried putting her in a

brace to stretch her calf muscles out. After a few months of wearing the braces, there was no

improvement. As a result, Sophie had a surgery called Bilateral Gastrocnemius. This surgery

involved adding another piece of muscle to extend the Gastro muscle in the calf to allow the

Achilles tendon to be long enough that the ankle will lie flat on the ground. She still walks on her

toes, but its not as noticeable and she is no longer in any pain. She is now able to dance

comfortably and correctly.

Cognitive Development
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When changing subjects in school, Sophie needs more time, since her ability to change

her train of thought is not as quick as others. Due to her having a hard time following along her

participation in class was low. When Sophie would get really upset she would wait until she got

home to act out. These breakdown, as her mom would call them, could be as bad as destroying

her room, ripping curtains off the windows, throwing things, and crying until she fell asleep.

This was due to her not being able to separate her emotions from the situation. Sophie was

always an A and B student. As a result, Sophie was given a 504 plan, a procedure that allows

Sophie to be excused to another room to get help on tests and, to be excused from over

stimulating activities and projects. This helps to keep her calm and the pressure of other students

out of her mind. Sophie knew she had this 504 to benefit her, so she was very careful about the

rules that came with it. Her mom was worried that as she got older she would start to take

advantage of it just to get out of class. This has not the case; at school, Sophie believes rules are

rules. Sophie shows stage one, level one of Lawrence Kohlbergs stages of moral development,

(Preconventional), Punishment and Obedience. Sophie loves rules and structure, without them,

she feels lost and lose control. She knew that everything she does has a consequence. She knew

that if she took advantage of her 504 she would lose it, then when she really needs it, she wont

have it.

Socio-emotional development

Eriksons Theory of Infant and Toddler Personality of emotional development is related

to Sophies inability to control her basic emotions. Sophies interaction with her peers was very

low. She really struggled to make friends outside of her newly found friends. Today, she

struggles to read peoples tones of voice and body language. She cannot pick up if someone is

being sarcastic and that can sometimes make her depressed. She only interacts with people she
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is close to or no people at all. She does not like group projects. As she got older, she joined the

dance team. She learns to enjoy people a bit more, but she still manages to exclude herself. Her

interaction with adults is about the same. When she was young, she learned not to talk to stranger

and she took that to heart. She fears people she does not know and according to Eriksons

theories, she suffers from stranger anxiety. She will only talk to adults if her mom introduces

them or they earn her trust.

Conclusions

Sophie and her mom have had to make some serious life changes to allow Sophie to have

a normal and happy life. In my findings, I have found that Sophies autism does not stop her

from doing the things she loves. She is growing her confidence every day and starting to become

more and more social. Sophie is at the typical stage for her physical development, but her

cognitive level is relatively lower than it should be. Her ability to learn is normal, but her ability

to control her emotions is her main deficiency. Her emotions are always in control, so her socio-

emotional levels are also low, but the more she is forced to interact with other students and

people the more she will improve. Sophies strengths are her ability to pick up things quickly,

like projects, choreography, or complete lessons. Also, her ability to solve problems and think

about all the possibilities is another strong feature to Sophie. To pick up quickly and solve

problems will give her the upper hand, not only in her work life, but social and educational life.

A specific strategy that I would use to help her in her educational development would be to use,

Inductive Discipline. Inductive Discipline is when an adult helps a child become aware of

feelings by pointing out the effects of the childs misbehavior has on others. By using this

method, her parents can help her to regulate her emotions and sift through them and find the

most appropriate one for the situations.

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References

Berk, L.E., & Meyers, A.B. (2016), Infants, children, and adolescents (8th ed). Boston Pearson.