Running head: INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCE STUDENT PROFILE ESSAY 1

Individual Difference Student Profile Essay

Schilz, McKenzie

Instructor: Dr. Egbert

EDUC 205 C40A

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Abstract

Teaching is something that is done all throughout life, even if one doesn't work in a school or

work with children. One might teach a child to pick up after themselves, a coworker to file

those papers. One might teach a friend to use an app. One might even teach themselves a new

skill. Teaching is an important skill to humans living in a community based world. Humans are

always teaching or learning, therefore placing teaching in a crucial place in the world. Children

also, will always need taught; and for those who chose to become teachers, are never short of

work. Students go to school to learn not only the basics of education- such as math, english,

science, and history- but also to learn social skills. While in school students will learn to work

with others, to communicate and to work independently. Their brains are growing substantially

as they age and schools are designed to take into account for every single one of those needs. It

also gives them the experience to go out into the world and be educated, well rounded

members of our society. Schools also give a place for special needs to be met. Students will

learn academics from the classroom, teamwork from the sports teams, and form interests

through their electives. In short, school is incredibly necessary, and teachers are necessary for

learning.
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Individual Difference Student Profile Essay

The world is full of diverse people, and the classroom is no different. These differences

are what makes the classroom unique. It is the teachers job to ensure that all students' needs

are being met in order to ensure that their students have everything that they need to succeed

in the class and in life. While this task may seem daunting, it is also a rewarding experience. In

the following essay I will describe and profile a young student I interviewed for my Education

205 class. I will touch on the different aspects of this student, including general information,

physical development, cognitive development, social-emotional development, the strengths

and weaknesses of this student as well as some strategies that could be used, and will

summarize and conclude my findings.

General Information

JM is a child with Autism Spectrum Disorder. This disorder causes impaired

communication and social interaction. JM has been in behavioral therapy since his diagnosis at

three, and has had significant improvement with it. JM lives with his blended family with

separated parents. He has two fully biological siblings. A younger sister and a fraternal twin

brother who does not have ASD. He has two more siblings (younger brothers) on his remarried

fathers side, and on his remarried mothers side he has one younger sister. He has been in split

custody since he was about five and has done quite well despite the drama and bad blood

between his parents.

JM was born since he was born much smaller and experienced birth asphyxia (the umbilical

being wrapped around, causing lack of oxygen) and has been in mixed methods of therapy since

he was diagnosed with ASD. When he was younger he struggled with communicating, as Sousa
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said: "Without meaningful gestures or the language to ask for things, these children are at a

loss to communicate their needs. Consequently, they may simply scream or grab what they

want" (2007, pg 206). But since he has been in therapy he has gotten much better at

communicating. Therapy gave him an excellent start and has done him a world of good. JM and

his family are all caucasian and he has brown hair and brown eyes, is a tall but still small boy. He

loves Star Wars, history and is starting to really enjoy sports. He doesn’t have very many close

peers in school, but is friends with almost everyone around him.

Physical Development

JM was born very small at birth, compared to his much larger fraternal twin. His

umbilical cord was wrapped around his foot and neck, and his twin was receiving most of the

nutrients. This led JM to being smaller than his brother for most of his life. He is Caucasian, and

isn’t very different physically than any of his other peers. His visual activity seems to be normal,

though he is slightly farsighted and now wears corrective lenses most of the time. At one point

recently he was suspected of having hearing impairment, and wore hearing aids for a few years,

but his parents think he no longer needs them as the reason for him not being able to hear is

simply a side effect of ASD, as Sousa e.d. (2007) explains in his list “Seems to be hearing

impaired at times" (pg 205) lists under common symptoms of ASD children. They seem to have

an impairment though more often it’s just their lack of wanting or feeling the need to respond.

The thing they ignore is caused more by hyper fixating on one thing. He has some issues with

speech, either not being able to express himself leading to frustrations and meltdowns, or

simply not pronouncing things correctly. He has been in speech therapy for a while now, and is

showing significant improvement. JM is left handed (different from his right handed twin). He
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has very messy writing but can write in both cursive and print. He loves to play with Legos and

other small figures with his siblings and cousins or often by himself. He has played rec league

soccer and baseball, and has a lot of fun doing it. Though he often gets distracted when there is

no immediate action around him or when there isn’t someone around to guide and direct him.

Overall JM is a healthy boy, and hasn’t had any major illnesses this year. Both his large and

small motor development seem fine.

Cognitive Development

JM is in the 2nd grade this year in a small, rural town elementary school. JM is a smart

student, as usual with children diagnosed with ASD. He enjoys math and history most besides

recess. He has had some special instruction but for the most part has always been in with the

rest of his peers. JM now does very well in class, but can become distracted or not want to

listen to the teacher. JM also sometimes becomes overstimulated or worked up over something

small. This leads him to have “meltdowns” and he can sometimes start physical fights because

of this. Due to his ASD these sensory meltdowns occur often throughout the week and he is

taken aside and given the chance to calm down, which often leaves him feeling better though

still upset.

JM has many friends and gets along with almost anyone unless provoked. This relates to

Piaget’s Preoperational stage, as he is still learning to see things from other points of view. At

this stage their language use becomes more mature. They also develop memory and

imagination, which allows them to understand the difference between past and future, and

engage in make-believe. He also still has the affinity for asking ‘why’ often and wants to know
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everything, even though he is at the tail end of this stage. As he continues to grow and is

supported, he should be able to completely move to the next stage of the Concrete Operational

stage, which allows him to see and understand things from other points of view. He is even

showing signs of this now,

Social-emotional development

JM does not have many close friends, though he is a very friendly and nice boy when he

wants to be. His difficulties with understanding communication and relationships are most

likely the reason for this. His large family is helpful in this, as his constant socialization with both

his close and extended family and the many events that come along with this help him be

exposed to many different things. JM doesn’t mind alone time, and sometimes prefers to be on

his own, even though he desperately wants to fit in. While JM is underdeveloped with regards

to peers his own age, he loves adult interactions. He often follows family members around as

they do their work and wants to know the what and why behind everything. He tends to

overshare with anyone, and adults who listen especially. He does feel that he is excluded at

times which leads to incredible amounts of frustration. JM is in Erikson’s fourth phase: Industry

vs. Inferiority. He is beginning to want to fit in more with his peers in all aspects, and he may

develop a sense of inferiority if he feels he is not accepted or on the same level as his peers.

Summary, Conclusions, Implications

To summarize, JM is a second grade boy with Autism Spectrum Disorder. He has all the

symptoms and side effects that come with the disorder but he tries very hard to fit in and keep

up with others. He is prone to sensory overload and outbursts, but is otherwise a happy,
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healthy boy. He seems to have no apparent learning disorders and with a little more help he

will go far and do good in school and in life.

At the General level, JM is very similar to his peers, though he lacks communication skills

and displays the typical symptoms of Autism Spectrum Disorder. At the physical level he is on

target and adept and enjoys school and sports. On the cognitive level he is very “booksmart”

though not considered “street-smart” nor very “people-smart”. Socio-emotional development

is in need of work as he is prone to outburst, tantrums and meltdowns.

JM has the typical strengths and weaknesses of a child on the spectrum. He can be

easily overwhelmed, he lacks communication skills and he is adverse to certain sensory things

such as textures sounds and lights. He also dislikes new or different things. However, JM is

incredibly smart and enjoys math and history and loves to read and learn new things. He wants

to know how everything works and tries hard in everything he does. He likes to help adults and

enjoys playing with family or school friends.

In such, JM would do very well with more therapy, both emotional and speech. He

shows great potential when he is given clear and exact instructions, since he enjoys having clear

outlines of what is expected. More strategies to help him would be for a more strict home

routine. While routines do exist for him at both houses, he would do well to have more

developed routines so that things go more smoothly and he knows what to expect. JM also

needs to learn some anger/frustration managing methods. His outbursts happen very often and

I believe watching for the signals and stopping the problem before it starts is crucial. In the

same vein, if JM was put into a more inclusive classroom with low sensory spaces he could
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retreat to when he gets overwhelmed. This goes for class and home as outbursts are more

often punished than understood.

In conclusion, JM is a wonderfully bright and kind young boy with ASD. While he is

behind socio-emotionally, he is very smart and loves to learn. He tries very hard to fit in and

keep up with his peers, which often causes frustration. He would do wonderfully with more

personalized help, and has a bright future ahead of him.

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References

Sousa, D.A. (2007). How the special needs brain learns. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin

Press: Sage Publications Ltd.

Berk, Laura E. (2016). Infants and children : prenatal through middle childhood. Boston:

Illinois State University :Pearson.