CHILD’S HISTORY

Background Information

 Name: Merlyn G. Alaba

 Nickname: Bebie

 Date of Birth: April 11, 2000

 Age: 8 yrs. Old

 Gender: Female

 Address: Zone 8, Suntingon, Bugo, Cagayan de Oro

 Referred by: Mae Abellanosa

 Working Impression: Child with Cerebral Palsy (According to the Sped

Teacher)

 Date of Assessment: Sept 19, 2008

 Name of Parents: Mr. Elmer Alaba & Mrs. Angeline Gloria-Alaba

 Source/Respondent: Mrs. Cerila Alaba, 69 y.o.

 Relation to the child: Grandmother

 Evaluator: Valledor, Alyn Mae N.

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Health History

Bebie was born a normal child. She doesn’t have any illness or allergies

during childbirth. The only difference with her was she doesn’t know how to suck

milk from her mother’s breast. She has gone to the hospital for medical check-up

only once but she had never been hospitalized for any other illness aside from her

condition right now. Her family noticed that she has a disability when she was 4 yrs.

Old. They noticed the Bebie has a hard time in walking uprightly and can’t speak

clearly unlike the normal child at her age. She was 5 yrs. Old then when she started

to walk. She was first exposed to school when she was 6 yrs. Old at Leliani

Foundation, Gusa, CDO. At present, she is enrolled at Bugo Day Care Center

enjoying some special services given by the school. The school provides basic

education for Bebie such as teaching her how to read, write letters and numbers,

identify colors, shapes, and etc. the school also helps Bebie’s social development

through the games they play.

Bebie sleeps at around 8:00 pm and wakes up at around 5:00 am. Before she

sleeps at night, she urinates first. She doesn’t practice any afternoon nap but she

sleeps straight during night. She already knew how to eat independently. Because of

her condition, it takes her more time to finish eating her meals. She eats her meals

whenever the food is already available. She already knew how to urinate alone, to

take a bath and how to dispose her waste but still not capable of washing after

disposing. Her main medical concern is her way of walking. She has hard time in

walking uprightly because there are abnormalities in the muscles and bones of her

lower extremities. This is because she has a cerebral palsy.

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Home Environment

Bebie’s family is composed of 6 members excluding her brother. She and her

brother were being left to the care of their grandmother. She is the 2nd child. Her

older sibling died at the age of 6 months old. Her younger brother is with her mother.

Her primary caregiver is her grandmother, which took every possible way just to take

care of her. She is closer to her father and to her brother. Her grandmother is

closest to her because her grandmother is her primary caregiver. Her family

accepted her in their family despite her condition. Her grandmother and her father

were treating her as a blessing in the family. She always imitates what the other

family members are doing. Imitating things like folding clothes, preparing meals,

washing dirty clothes and hanging washed clothes in the clothesline. Her

grandmother wants her to be educated so that despite her disability/condition, she

will know the things needed in her life.

Their house is located along the foot of a mountain at Bugo. Trees surround it

and the air is fresh. The neighborhood of Bebie is warm and friendly. They don’t

tease Her for her condition. The father of Bebie is a laborer and her grandmother is

just a housewife.

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Educational History

The child was first exposed to Leliani Foundation at Gusa, Cagayan de Oro

City. She was 6 yrs. Old when she entered school. She spent two years at the

foundation. She is currently enrolled at Bugo Day Care Center located at Bugo

Barangay Hall. Her classes starts at 1:00 pm and ends at 2:30 pm every Tuesday

and Thursday. The said day care center is exclusive only for children with disability

and that who needs special attention.

Merlyn does many things in school like playing with her classmates, learning

to count numbers, writing and reciting the alphabet, singing songs and action songs

and many others. Merlyn was also taught how to write numbers and letters, and how

to write her own name. Merlyn learned counting numbers and determining some

letters of the alphabet. She also learned to recognize the different colors and shapes

of objects. The only exercise that was done to develop her speech was saying orally

the letters of the alphabet and saying few simple words.

Merlyn is very friendly to her classmates. She doesn’t hesitate in plating with

them and chatting with them even if she has having a hard time in talking well. Her

classmates are very nice to her, also with her teacher. Her teacher is very patient,

kind and friendly to her.

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 DEVELOPMENTAL ASSESSMENT

Work Behavior

Merlyn learns to: Merlyn needs to learn:

* Respond when her name is called * neatness of work and work area

* She can look at people straight in the * safety: avoidance of common

eye dangers like crossing the street

and

* She knows how to imitate what others holding sharp objects

are doing like preparing plates during * impulse control like salivating

meal and washing clothes

* She complies to oral instructions like

when ask to sit down, eat her meal or

keep silent

Basic Play Skills

Merlyn learns to: Merlyn needs to learn:

* Push and turn toys like small cars and * pull toys on its tails or arms and

small Barbie dolls put it back

* Sharing: give and take turns at play * opening or closing of doors

with her playmates

* carries toys from place to place like

transferring her doll to other table/chair

* sits along for 5 minutes or more

during play

* imitates gestures from songs at

school during their singing of

action songs

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Skills for Playing Alone

Merlyn learns to: Merlyn needs to learn:

* cut and paste pictures * scooping water/beads

* color flowers and animals * completing puzzles

appropriately (like yellow for flower

and brown for animal)

* match colors/shapes/pictures

Skills for Playing with others

Merlyn learns to:

* throw a ball within 3 feet or more

* hit a ball

* sings with other children

Physical

Merlyn has:

* Physical limitations (she ha difficulty in

walking straight, grasping objects and

writing)

* structural deformities (structural form

of her legs)

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Gross Motor

Merlyn learns to: Merlyn needs to learn:

* sit in a small chair suited for her * coordinate and balance for going

and stand up and down the stairs well

* crawl in the floor and walk * coordinate and balance for

* coordinate and balance for going transferring well

up and down the stairs

*coordinate and balance for

transferring from one place to another

Fine Motor

Merlyn learns to: Merlyn needs to learn:

* push objects * lacing her shoe lace

* tear papers * twisting the cap of her water

* cutting of paper and pasting it container

* turning and holding toys/objects * pulling objects

* turning papers of a book * wiping surfaces efficiently like

* carrying books and magazines surface of the table

* inserting objects into a pegboard, * stringing objects

from board, etc.

* transferring objects from one place

to another

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Communication

1. Vocabulary:

Merlyn learns to: Merlyn needs to learn:

* identify body parts like eyes, nose * identify other letters like “Q” and

or ears “S” and other words/letters

* identify common objects like ball

chair or pen

* identify shapes like triangle, square,

circle and colors like yellow, black,

green, red, white and blue

* identify quantities like small and many

* identify letters like “a”, “b”, “c”, “d”

and other letters but not all

2. Speech:

Merlyn needs to learn:

* pronounce the words correctly

* produce sounds

* speak efficiently

3. Language

Merlyn needs to learn:

* proper usage of language

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Social Skills

Merlyn learns to: Merlyn needs to learn:

* make friends with other children * deal with her feelings like when

* survive in a classroom setting she’s angry or when she’s not

with classmates that have also feeling well

disability * deal with stress

Self-Care and Living Skills

1. Sleeping Pattern

* Merlyn sleeps from 8 pm to 5 am

2. Skills for eating

Merlyn learns to: Merlyn needs to learn:

* drink from a cup/glass with both * eat with a fork

hands

* eat with a spoon

3. Skills for Grooming

Merlyn learns to: Merlyn needs to learn:

* dry hands after washing * brush/comb her hair

* wash hands after toileting and * trim her finger/toe nails

after eating

* brush teeth after eating

* wash face after waking up from sleep

* dry her body after bathing

* wash her body when bathing

* wash her hair in front portion only

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 4. Skills for going to the toilet

Merlyn learns to:

* recognize the urge to go to the toilet

* able to wait to eliminate

* enters the bathroom alone

5. Skills for using the toilet

Merlyn learns to: Merlyn needs to learn:

* pull her pant down * wash/clean up after eliminating

* sit on the toilet

* eliminate in the toilet

* pull her pants back up

* flush the toilet

* wash her hands after eliminating

* dry her hands after eliminating

6. Skills for dressing

Merlyn learns to: Merlyn needs to learn:

* remove her pants * button her shirt/blouse

* put on he pants * tie her shoe laces

* put on her socks

* put on her shirt

* put on her shoes

* zip up zippers

* hang her clothes

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 7. Advance skills for dressing

Merlyn learns to:

* sort dirty and clean clothes

* fold and hang clothes

* wear clothes that are clean and pressed

* select clothes that are fit/match

* select clothes appropriate to age and

occasion

8. Other Skills

Merlyn learns to: Merlyn needs to learn:

* make and change a bed * cross the street alone along

* sweep the floor their neighborhood only

* prepare things for going out

Grooming and Hygiene

Merlyn learns to: Merlyn needs to learn:

* use a mirror to spot/check * wipe food/dirt off her clothes

appearance

* use a handkerchief

Health care

Merlyn learns to: Merlyn needs to learn:

* get enough sleep * eat a balance diet like drinking milk

* exercise regularly through walking and eating vitamin-containing food

such as vegetables

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Home-Care Skills Cleaning

Merlyn learns to:

* put unnecessary things away

* put out trash

* sweep the floor and dust the window

Laundry

Merlyn learns to:

* separate clean from dirty clothes

* wash her handkerchief by hand

* hang items on a clothesline

* folds clothes

Information skills

1. Using a Telephone

Merlyn learns to:

* answers the phone

2. Money skills

Merlyn learns to:

* Identify P1.00 coin and P20.00 bill

1
 ACADEMIC ASSESSMENT

Work Behavior

Merlyn is: Merlyn needs to learn:

* curious and eager to learn * control her temper when someone

* respects adults authority prohibits her from doing something

* follows rules and routines that is not good

* attends class regularly

* patient that she waits for her turn

* works independently

* concentrates on a task

* perseveres even when having

difficulties

Communication

Merlyn can: Merlyn needs to learn;

* communicate with her needs * communicates her feelings and

* answers easy questions thoughts

* converse/talk with other children * speaks clearly and coherently

and adults

* repeat nursery rhymes

Pre-reading

Merlyn can: Merlyn needs to learn:

* enjoy listening to stories * identify uppercase letters

* look at picture books * identify lowercase letters

* recite the alphabet (not all) * recite the alphabet completely

1
Word Recognition

Merlyn needs to:

* produce letter sounds/phonemes

Vocabulary Building

Merlyn can: Merlyn needs to:

* identify objects/pictures of animals * describe details in pictures

and common objects

* name objects found in different places

Reading Comprehension

Merlyn needs to learn:

* follow a set of instructions

Paper-Pencil Tasks

Merlyn learns to: Merlyn needs to learn:

* imitates strokes * write her name

* trace letters and numbers * write letters of the alphabet

* scribbles * write numbers from 1 to 20

* mark paper to indicate answers:

encircle, match and color

* grasps writing tools

Handwriting

Merlyn learns to: Merlyn needs to learn:

* write using her right hand * improve her writing skills like the

proper way of holding the pencil

1
Written Expression

Merlyn need s to learn:

* write simple letters

Pre-Math

Merlyn learns to: Merlyn needs to learn:

* match/sort object by color * match/sort object by size

* match/sort object by shape * match/sort object by length

* identifies color

* identifies shapes

* determines which doesn’t belong

in the group

Merlyn learn to discriminate bet. : Merlyn needs to disc. Bet. :

* up-down * all-none

* empty-full * near-far

* big-small

* long-short

* same-different

* in-out

Number Sense and Computations

Merlyn learns to: Merlyn needs to learn:

* counts from 1 to 20 * write numerals

* traces/copies numerals * perform simple addition

* perform simple subtraction

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Measurement

Merlyn learns to: Merlyn needs to learn:

* name the days of the week * tell time

3. Money

Merlyn learns to: Merlyn needs to learn:

* use money to buy things * compute for change

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 RECOMMENDATIONS

Summative Evaluation

Merlyn was born normal. She doesn’t have any illnesses or allergies during

childbirth. Her family noticed that she has a disability when she was 4 yrs. Old. She

started walking when she was 5 yrs. Old but she was having difficulty in walking

straight. She was first exposed to school when she was 6 yrs. Old at Leliani

Foundation, Gusa, Cagayan de Oro City.

Merlyn’s educational concern is to continue attending classes at the Day Care

Center. She needs to improve her fine motor skills and the quality of her speech.

She cannot write well and she cannot speak well.

According to the sped teacher, a physician diagnosed Merlyn to have a

cerebral palsy.

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Placement Options

Teaching objectives of the teacher must be based on her needs. That is,

Merlyn should be able to write her name, she must be able to say words clearly, and

she must also be able to improve her fine motor skills.

The learning environment of Merlyn should be conducive for special children

to learn. Since the classroom where Merlyn is currently studying is not really for

special children, it is recommended that they must be given a separate classroom

exclusive only for special children. The classroom should consist of

educational/instructional materials suitable for special children and with their

disabilities.

The class size should compose of less than ten students, one sped teacher

and one shadow teacher.

There should be a resource room available in the school. This resource room

is important because it is where the child will be place whenever s/he is having

tantrums. There should be one shadow teacher to support the sped teacher in

handling the class. In a class, there should be follow-up activities for each lesson.

1
Specific Recommendations

Behavior

Merlyn should practice neatness of work and work area. She needs to learn

to comply to oral instructions and needs to complete a task before beginning

another. Giving her instructions step by step can do this.

Physical/Motor

Merlyn should develop her fine motor skills as writing, lacing, folding and

pulling. In her gross motor skills, she needs to improve her coordination and balance

for going up and down the stairs and her coordination and balance for transferring.

Merlyn should do physical exercises for her to execute those things. Exercises like

arm and finger exercise, knee bending and walking in place can be done.

Communication/Social

Merlyn should know how to communicate feelings and thoughts. She should

also know how to speak clearly and coherently. Speech therapists could be of great

help to Merlyn but since the family cant afford to hire such therapists because of

financial problems, her teacher could be a good substitute for it. Since her teacher is

a sped teacher, she probably has some background information about children with

speech problems.

Cognitive/Readiness

Merlyn should learn how to arrange items/ objects in series and to imitate

patterns. She should learn how to read simple words. This could be achieved by

giving her activities that could enhance cognitive skills. The teacher should also be

aware of the activities she will give to Merlyn that will suit to Merlyn’s Problem.

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Self-care

Merlyn should learn how to eat using fork. She also need to learn how to

brush/comb her hair and how to trim finger/toe nails. Merlyn should also learn how to

wash after eliminating, how to button her shirt/blouse and to tie laces of shoes.

These things could be achieved by teaching her, in a step-by-step manner, the

proper way of doing those things. The teacher and the family should have

coordination so that the things Merlyn learned at school will be extended to their

house.

Teamwork Strategies

The individuals that are accountable for the development of Merlyn are the

sped teachers, parents, speech therapists, physical therapists and community

members. Since the family can’t afford to have the speech therapists and physical

therapists to help Merlyn, it is possible that the Sped teachers and the parents will

work coordinately to help in the development of Merlyn.

Conclusion

With all these recommendations, I hope to see Merlyn writing her name

independently. I hope to see her walking straight and having balance in going up and down

the stairs. I also hope to hear her speaking clearly and coherently. Lastly, I hope to see her

attending a regular class and graduate in any vocational course and be productive in the

future.