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Running Title: JUST A DETOUR

2019

Dyslexia Doesn’t Have to

be a Roadblock; Just a
Detour
427403
INSTRUCTOR: SAMRA CULUM
EDUCATION 205: DEVELOPMENT/INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES
FALL 2019
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Though examining her demographics, and physical, cognitive, emotional, and social

developments, it is evident Kiersten Young is an average teenager dealing with minor issues due

to dyslexia and her family life.

General Information

Kiersten Young in 13 years old. She is Caucasian and from Pocatello, ID where she

currently resides. In her home, she has her mother and younger sister (11). She also has a dog she

adores. Her mother and father recently divorced. To her dismay, Kiersten doesn’t get to see her

father often as he lives in Texas on Military Active Duty. Typically, Kiersten’s routine includes

school from about 8 pm till 3:45 pm. She rides a bus to and from school. When she gets home,

her family functions include chores around the house followed by homework until her mother

gets home around 5. She loves helping to get dinner ready after which she finishes homework

and is in bed around 9pm.

Physical Development

Kiersten has shoulder length, brown hair, hazel eyes, and light skin. Currently, Kiersten is

experiencing puberty. Additionally, she is slightly taller than most girls in her classes.

Developmentally, she has reached the typical developmental milestones for her age. Her

personality is outgoing and kind leading most around her to enjoy her company. All around,

Kiersten seems to be of good health. She has no issues with hearing, hand-eye coordination or

movement. She is right-handed. Kiersten enjoys volleyball, but only plays as a hobby with her

sister. She occasionally likes swimming in the summer. Diet wise, she loves fresh fruit and

vegetables, but doesn’t like meat very much. Of the meats, she likes chicken as she can flavor it

quite easily.

Cognitive Development
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School is one of Kiersten’s favorite things. While she is attending eighth grade at Irving

Middle School in Pocatello, ID, she rotates through her daily classes on an A/B Schedule. She is

enrolled in Honor Choir, English, Social Studies, Earth science, PE, History, and Typing. In all

her classes currently, Kiersten is maintaining A’s and B’s. While she loves learning, Kiersten has

dyslexia and struggles in English. To help her, Mrs. Ravyn Scott – her English teacher – allows

Kiersten additional time for or slightly shortens take home reading assignments to give Kiersten

the time to finish the work. Additionally, Mrs. Scott and the other teachers only asks Kiersten to

read aloud in small groups to reduce the stress of reading properly. Now, reading comes easier to

Kiersten if she remembers to slow down. She says she learned this a few years ago (during the

Concrete Operations Stage of Piaget’s Theory) as she learned to organize her life better. This

led to a reduced amount of stress causing her to not feel the need to read quickly. Her current

favorite book series is Harry Potter as it brings her a distraction from what is happening around

her. Math is harder than reading for her as she feels she doesn’t understand math as well. She

loves science and often does well in those types’ classes. Kiersten seems to do fine in Social

Studies although she doesn’t seem to enjoy it much. At one point, she began to zone off, and

when her teacher asked her a question, it took a moment for her to figure out what the question

was and to answer it. Choir is her favorite class. She says music brings her joy and peace when

she needs it.

Socio-Emotional Development

Socially, Kiersten seems to do quite well. She has many friends with a few close ones.

Often, she jokes with most people around her and helps them as she can. With the busy nature of

her mother’s job, she could see her friends more outside of school. Adults don’t seem to be an

issue with Kiersten as her communications seem to be respectful and courteous. When faced
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with adults of larger stature, Kiersten tends to shy away from ones she doesn’t know. For

example, when a friend’s dad dropped her off at school, Kiersten tried not to make eye contact

with the man. Regarding her self-image, it seems she may have a low self-esteem. Kiersten looks

down when she can see her reflection around her. Additionally, she uses her hair to try and hide

her face, but only when she consciously thinks about it. She also has a crush on a boy at school

but feels like he would never like her without having talked to him about it. Like many other

students in the Adolescence stage of the Psychosocial Theory, Kiersten also compares herself to

others and tries to copy their styles. While she loves to sing, she feels her voice is only okay.

When she didn’t receive a solo recently, she said it didn’t surprise her as her voice isn’t one of

the better in class. According to Piaget’s theory, Kiersten should be able to evaluate complex

issues and find a solution. While she has been in this stage for a few years now, she still

struggles to break apart situations at home. For example, she says when she gets mad at her

sister, she tends to just start yelling at her. Later, she feels bad and regrets her actions. She also

can’t seem to find a way to fix this issue. These actions, she feels, have happened more since her

parents first separated.

Summary

All around, Kiersten seems to be a normal teenager dealing with dyslexia and some

family issues. She has learned to work with her dyslexia but is still developing emotional coping

mechanisms likely due to the change in her family dynamic.

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References

Berk, L. E., & Meyers, A. B. (2016). Infants, Children, and Adolescents (8th ed.). Boston:

Pearson.

Sousa, D. A. (2016). How the Special Needs Brain Learns (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks: Sage.