INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES STUDENT PROFILE

Individual Difference Student Profile

Hannah Mellick

Instructor: Natalie Raass

EDUC 230: Introduction to Special Education

Fall 2019
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INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES STUDENT PROFILE

Over the last four months, I have gotten to know a student named Jo. This is a

pseudonym and will help protect Jo’s identity for the purpose of this assignment. Jo attends sixth

grade in the Payette School District. Jo is eleven years old and is a Mexican American. Jo suffers

from a reading disability. Through the course of this essay, I will describe Jo’s general

information, physical development, cognitive development, socio-emotional development and

provide a summary of major findings.

General Information

As I previously mentioned, Jo is eleven years and ten months old. Jo is from a Mexican

American family. Jo can speak both English and Spanish fluently, but can only write in English.

Jo has a severe reading disability. Her academic language is very low. Jo receives related

services to combat the areas that she struggles in. Jo attends a full day of school and rides the

bus to and from school. Jo lives with her father, mother, and an older brother. I was able to

observe one family interaction between Jo and her older brother who attends the same school.

Jo enjoys coming to school, but her grades are average. Jo has what is considered a high-

incidence disability.

Physical Development

Jo is of average height. She has brown eyes, long brown hair, and dark olive skin. She

smiles easily and has a splash of freckles across her cheeks and nose. Jo’s physical development

is perfectly average. Jo is left-handed. Jo has well-developed motor skills and mobility. Jo’s
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small muscle development is right on track. I have observed Jo writing with a pencil, pen,

marker, and crayon. I also have observed Jo cutting with scissors, using a glue stick, and texting.

She does not appear to have any difficulty surrounding her small muscle development.

Jo is very active during the lunch hour and can be found on the soccer field. I have

watched Jokick, throw, and run while playing soccer one afternoon during my observations and

her large muscle development seems to be developing as it should.

Cognitive Development

Jo’s class schedule consists of 6 class periods every day of the week. She has shortened

class hours every Wednesday to allow for teacher collaboration. Jo spends two class periods in

the resource room. Jo takes Spanish, Math, computer/typing skills class, and geography in a

general education classroom setting. Jo attends study reinforcement class and English/reading

comprehension class in the Resource room. Jo maintains a passing grade in all of her classes. Jo

is easily distracted by her peers, and dislikes when her peers “don’t follow the rules”. I have

observed Jo struggle in the resource room due to the behaviors of other students. This shows

evidence of Jean Piaget’s Concrete Operations stage. Jo has observed the students in her class

misbehaving and disregarding school. She is in the same resource class, causing Jo to believe

that she should also disregard the lessons and homework.

Jo is heavily motivated by words of encouragement and positive recognition from adults.

She struggles with academic language. She struggles to focus after being distracted by others.

Due to her low reading level, Jo does not speak out in class, even if she knows the answer. She

has a lot of anxiety about being called on to read out loud. She lacks confidence. I have observed

this behavior in her geography class on several occasions. When I have worked alongside Jo in
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class, she seems to understand the content when it is verbally read to her. If she is left alone to do

a worksheet on her own, her comprehension is very low.

Jean Piaget was a theorist who believed that children are all born with basic mental

abilities, and they can be improved through knowledge or learning. I believe that he was on the

right track. If Jo’s reading abilities were improved, her confidence would greatly improve. I also

believe that her grades would be a lot better if she had a higher level of academic vocabulary.

Socio-emotional Development

During my observations, Jo frequently receives invitations to sit with a classmate at

lunch, or play soccer after/during/before school. Jo seems to be well-liked by her peers, and her

teachers enjoy having her in their classes. I believe that Jo suffers from anticipatory anxiety

surrounding classroom activities and peer relationships. Jo struggles to communicate. She seems

wary to make new friends, even though she is well-liked. She will not initiate lunch plans with

peers but will accept when they are initiated by others. I have observed Jo become anxious

during reading activities in her Geography class, even if she is not called upon. She has told me

that she does not have any friends. It is very obvious to any observer that the possibility of being

asked to read aloud makes Jo very anxious. I believe that she has had some issues making friends

in the past, and this stops her from reaching out to make friends currently.

During observations, it becomes necessary to consider the ecology of the child. Jo

frequently talks about her older brother. She often mentions how he is so much smarter and more

popular than her. Family culture or expectations can be contributing to Jo’s anxiety. She

certainly feels pressure to do well in school but is feeling inferior due to her struggles. Erik

Erikson has a theory surrounding Industry vs. Interfiority. Jo is still figuring out how to
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respond to behaviors and roles that she is expected to fulfill. Erikson explains that this is a

necessary process for teenagers to form a strong sense of identity and find their direction in life.

Summary

Jo is an eleven-year-old girl who struggles to read and struggles with anxiety. She is kind,

funny, and gifted soccer player. Jo is physically very well developed. Jo struggles to read, and

comprehend academic information. Jo wants to do well but is easily frustrated by her disability.

This is contributing to low self-esteem and anxiety.

Conclusions

It is clear that Jo wants to learn, but is struggling to comprehend. Due to the fact that she

has a very low academic language, and reading skills, she is having trouble comprehending

lessons. Her cognitive development is stagnant and will begin to decline as she continues her

education. Jo’s physical health is above average. Jo is also struggling with socio-emotional

elements. Her confidence and self-esteem are very low.

Implications

I believe that Jo needs more help than she is currently being offered. I can clearly see the

frustration that Jo has during her two hours in the resource room. The Special Education teacher

is frustrated by all the needs that are not being met in her classroom. I am frustrated watching a

kind, sweet girl struggle to read a simple sentence. I know that she needs help, and it is not being

given to her. I think this is a common struggle in the Education system today. I can plainly see

that there are not enough resources, money, people or time available to combat every child’s

needs. I believe that Jo would benefit from tutoring. One on one work is very beneficial to Jo.

She responds well to words of affirmation, and positive reinforcement. Currently, Jo is being
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tutored by her geography teacher before school. This is a step in the right direction, but I do not

think it is enough.

Jo is very hard on herself and has a poor sense of self-worth. I am afraid of what will

happen to Jo if she is not offered some positive intervention. I would suggest that Jo visit with a

counselor or trusted an adult at the school to practice calming, or coping techniques. When

discussing exceptional children with the gifted and talented facilitator from School District 193,

it was mentioned that children can be physically gifted regardless of cognitive impairments.

Howard Gardner mentions Bodily Kinestitics as an area of exceptionality, and Jo fits this

category very well. I believe it would benefit Jo to learn that she has skills, and is talented.

I believe that Jo would also benefit from joining a club at school. IDFY or Idaho Drug-

Free Youth is a club that Jo has expressed interest in. Joining this club, Jo would have a chance

to spend time with her peers in a social setting. This might take some of the academic pressure

off of Jo, and allow her to make some friends.

Unfortunately, Jo has a few needs that are not being met. Through more intervention, Jo

would see more success. I believe that as the academic language increases and the school work

becomes more intense, Jo will continue to fall behind. Soon, Jo will not be able to catch up to the

course work she is not comprehending. If more serious interventions are not taking place, I

believe that nothing will change for Jo, and she will continue to struggle.
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References

Cherry, K. (2019, August 12). What Are Piaget's Four Stages of Development? Retrieved

from https://www.verywellmind.com/piagets-stages-of-cognitive-development-2795457

Kirk, S. A., Gallagher, J. J., & Coleman, M. R. (2015). Educating exceptional children.

Cengage Learning.

McLeod, S. A. (2018, May 03). Erik Erikson's stages of psychosocial development. Simply

Psychology. https://www.simplypsychology.org/Erik-Erikson.html