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PEPSI Screening

Rebecca Fischer

College of Southern Nevada

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Biography of Child

The child that the screening represents is an 11-year-old male in the fifth grade. He will

be referred to as David. He comes from a home with divorced parents. He is the second child of

four siblings. His siblings’ ages are a 15-year-old sister, a seven-year-old sister, and a four-year-

old brother. The socioeconomic status of his family is mixed. His father is an attorney with his

own practice. His mother works in early childhood education full time and is a full-time student.

He spends every other weekend with his father. David is active in his church with his family.

He is also a member of a soccer team.

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Physical Development

This student is average in height and appears to be a healthy, physically developed child.

David shows marked physical ability. He was observed at a soccer game and during physical

exercise during school hours. He appears to engage in activities with enthusiasm. Other notes

regarding his physical development are that he considers himself to be strong and fast and one of

the better players on the teams he plays on, whether it’s club soccer or kickball at school. He

seems to be aware of his athleticism and agility. When asked about what he likes about his

physical abilities and looks, he thinks he’s strong and fast. He wishes he was taller. When asked

why he wished to be taller, he stated because his dad is tall and always talks about him being tall,

but the student knows there are kids his age taller than he is.

According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM) website, “There will be big

differences in height, weight, and build among children of this age range. It is important to

remember that genetic background, as well as nutrition and exercise, may affect a child's growth”

(NLM, para 3).

At home he capably helps with chores, such as folding laundry, cleaning bathrooms,

washing dishes, and making beds, according to his mother. “Fine motor skills may also vary

widely. These skills can affect a child's ability to write neatly, dress appropriately, and perform

certain chores, such as making beds or doing dishes” (NLM para 2).

As a an active 11-year-old boy involved in sports, his mother states that David often

complains about muscle soreness or joint pain, especially at night. Although the strain of

physical activity may be the culprit, it will also be common for David to physical complaints

(such as sore throats, tummy aches, or arm or leg pain) may simply be due to a child's increased

body awareness or growing pains (NLM, §Behavior para 1).

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Emotional Development

At home, the mother states that David often seeks to be independent. He enjoys riding his

bike to school on Friday’s. On his soccer team, he enjoys being the team captain and helping his

teammates work cooperatively during games. Because his rides to soccer are arranged by his

father while the mother is still at work, David is usually responsible to get himself ready for

practice and to maintain communication with his coach, who is his ride. David also shows

emotional maturity in initiating communication with his extended family. This independent

behavior is supported by the “I-can-do-it-myself stage” that occurs during the elementary years.

“This stage includes the growth of independent action, cooperation with groups, and performing

in socially acceptable ways with a concern for fair play” (Slavin, 2005, p. 57)

At home, his mother sees that David struggles at times with his self-esteem. When he

makes a mistake like talking back to his mother or when his behavior at school warranted a

phone call home, he is very hard on himself and makes extreme statements about being worthless

and stupid. He seems to hold himself up to an unreasonable level of excellence and is struggling

to maintain a healthy balance of following rules and the intent behind breaking rules and

responsibility for his own actions. “As children progress through middle childhood, their ways

of thinking become less concrete and more abstract. . . This becomes especially evident as they

depend more on intentions and motives and less on objective behavior in their explanations of

their own and others’ actions” (Slavin, 2015, p. 57). According to Slavin, the concepts of self-

esteem and self-concept are “strongly influenced by experiences at home, at school, and with

peers . . . and are continually shaped by experience” (2015, p. 57).

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Philosophical Development

Regarding David’s moral or philosophical development, he exercises a strong sense of

what is fair and just.

When the teacher was asked about his moral behavior in class, he stated that David is

competitive in his school work and likes to be the leader in group activities and enjoys being

recognized. When he doesn’t like how something is happening in class with a student or the

teacher, he has been argumentative or has used an inappropriate tone in his voice. When he gets

in trouble at school, he often states that it wasn’t fair for the teacher to react the way he did and

that the whole story hadn’t been told. When discussing getting in trouble at school with David,

he overlooks the direction of the teacher or the rule being violated in favor of his helping

someone or a behavior that seems harmless like getting up to throw something away, even

though the direction had been to stay in their seats. David struggles to recognize his

responsibility and the value in following rules and teacher’s instructions. According to Piaget’s

theory of moral development, David is at an age where children “base moral judgments on the

intentions of the actor rather than on the consequences of the actions” (Slavin 2015, p. 53).

Due to his marked academic abilities, David sometimes struggles with behavior in class.

He has been known to test boundaries set by his teacher and to be argumentative with adults.

Piaget felt that as students develop skills in resolving conflicts, or are bored with the curriculum

content as is often the case with GATE students, their reliance on adult authority “heightened

their awareness that rules are changeable and should exist only as the result of mutual consent”

(Slavin, 2015, p. 53). These behaviors lead to a greater sense of autonomy.

David participates in activities with peers outside of the school setting, too. “By continually

interacting and cooperating with other children, the child’s ideas about rules and, therefore,
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morality begin to change” (Slavin, 2015, p. 53). These activities provide David with greater

exposure to moral situations, such as good sportsmanship.

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Social Development

Socially, this student appears to be very charismatic and a natural leader. David is also an

attractive child. He was observed in home, school, soccer practice, and church settings. He seeks

to lead discussions and readily volunteers at school. He appears to get along with his peers and

appears to be well liked. “Many characteristics seem to be related to peer acceptance, including

physical attractiveness and cognitive abilities. Well-accepted and popular children tend to be

cooperative, helpful, and caring and are rarely disruptive or aggressive” (Slavin, 2015, p. 59).

He was observed during a class discussion in which students were presenting their ideas of

amendments to class rules as a study of how laws are created. This student’s amendment had

been a final choice. Unfortunately, it was voted out and another student’s amendment was added

to the class rules. His mother reported that the student was very upset about it at bedtime. He

talked about how everyone else was dumb and had made a stupid choice. He talked about how

annoying his classmates were. He stated that it wasn’t fair because his amendment would have

made working in groups much better because they would be more equally matched. He then

proceeded to say how much he hated school. Although his mother stated he felt better about the

situation in the morning, his bedtime rant about his disappointment supports the importance

children place on competiveness and social comparison. He clearly expected his classmates to

choose his amendment because he felt like it was the best. Slavin states that “one of the

important aspects of peer relations in middle childhood is peer acceptance, or status with the peer

group” (2015, p. 59).

Among his friends at church, David stated that he doesn’t feel like he fits in because his

parents are divorced. Although there are other children from divorced homes in his age group at

church, he feels that his friends don’t understand him. This perceived lack of acceptance is
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supported by idea that friendships in middle childhood provide “children with a sense of security

in new situation and when family or other problems arise (Slavin, 2015, p. 59). He doesn’t trust

that his friends that come from families where the parents are still together are capable of

sympathizing or empathizing with his personal difficulties.

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Intellectual Development

David is a straight-A student. He is also enrolled in the GATE (Gifted And Talented

Enrichment) program at his elementary school. He enjoys participating in the school’s Battle of

the Books and the Math Challenge competitions. He also tests at three grades above his current

reading level. All of these things suggest a higher level of cognitive, language, and literacy

ability for his stage of development. At 11 years of age and in the fifth grade, David is probably

at the beginning of Piaget’s formal operational stage. This means that he is now “developing the

ability to deal with potential and hypothetical situations” (Slavin, 2015, p. 35). Being able to

debate in competitions like Battle of the Books and the enrichment activities he will experience

in GATE support this higher cognitive skill.

Language and literacy go hand in hand in development through the elementary and

secondary years of school. It is estimated that the “average student adds 3,000 words each year

to his vocabulary. However, these words will vary, as a student’s motivations, interest, culture,

and peer group come to have huge impact” (Slavin, 2015, p. 45). GATE participation will

support his continued language development and prepare him for more advanced courses in

middle school and high school.

David’s advanced reading skills aid him in using “strategies such as predicting, reviewing,

summarizing, and generating [his] own questions, and if these strategies are directly taught to

elementary and secondary students, their comprehension improves” (Slavin, 2015, p. 45).
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Recommendations for Teachers/Parents

David is progressing in his physical development in healthy and normal ways. It will be

important to reassure him as he approaches puberty that the changes he is experiencing are

normal and healthy. It is recommended to be careful listeners as many children aren’t always

comfortable bringing physical concerns to adults. Validating their concerns and helping

recognize what is normal will be important for his healthy development.

Although the mother has experienced disrespectful behavior at home from David, it is

important to recognize that extreme emotions can be common among this age group. They hate

and love intensely and mercurially. Since much of this behavior happens at night after a long

soccer practice, perhaps meeting him at the door and helping him get into a home behavior

mindset will help David learn to control his behaviors better when he is hungry and tired.

Philosophically, David is a natural thinker. Helping him to find ways to apply critical

thinking skills will aid him in developing a strong moral character and to develop educated

opinions.

David enjoys being social and likes to be the leader. Teachers can encourage his leadership

qualities in the classroom. When he seems to understand a subject well during classroom

discussion develop lessons that will allow for student-led discussions. Students may already

know the subject matter from personal interest or experience. Regarding his feelings that some

peers at church don’t understand his problems may reflect unresolved feelings about his parents’

divorce. Open discussion at home or professional counseling may help him put his emotions and

perceptions in a healthy perspective.

As a gifted student, David is a naturally motivated learner and loves to read. At school he

should continue in GATE and then in advanced classes in middle school for the 2015-2016
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school year. Reading is important, but he requires the opportunity to discuss what he’s reading

to develop his vocabulary and critical thinking skills as he reads books that interest him. He also

struggles with perfectionism, which is common to GATE students. Helping him to develop a

healthy perspective about success and failures will provide him with a firm emotional and

intellectual learning foundation.

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10.5 Average Child

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Physical Emotional Philosophical Social Intellectual
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References

U.S. National Library of Medicine http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002017.htm

Slavin, R. (2015). Education psychology theory and practice. Upper Saddle River: Pearson

Education, Inc.