American University of Beirut

Case Study:
Observing a Student with Special Needs

Rawan Hage Hassan

EDUC 222
Dr. Vivian Khamis
November 30, 2021

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 Table of Contents

Domain 1: Introducing the Student................................................................................................................................ 3

1.1 Brief History................................................................................................................................................................. 3
1.2 Enrollment in Special Education.......................................................................................................................... 3
1.3 Current Provided Services...................................................................................................................................... 4
Domain 2: Identifying the Academic Difficulty......................................................................................................... 4
2.1 The Identification of an Academic Problem.................................................................................................... 4
2.2 Supporting details and collaboration with mentor....................................................................................... 4
Domain 3: Constructing the Curriculum Bases Assessment................................................................................5
3.1 The administration of the first three CBM probes which are typically given to a student..........5
3.2-3.3 Baseline Score and initial Data...................................................................................................................... 5
3.4 The set-up of a performance goal for the student, and the chart of an aimline................................6
3.5 Progress Monitoring, Measuring Process, and Tracking Plan................................................................7
3.8 The suggestion for an instructional intervention........................................................................................... 7
Domain 4: Conclusion........................................................................................................................................................... 8
4.1 Recommendations....................................................................................................................................................... 8
4.2 Reflecting on your experience................................................................................................................................ 8

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Domain 1: Introducing the Student

1.1 Brief History

As part of the requirements of this course, I observed a student “Steve” in the third grade

over a span of 15 hours, to see what kind of academic difficulties he may have. Steve was born

in 2012 with normal weight and height, he experienced a delay in learning how to walk as well

as how to talk. The walking and crawling delay might be related to the fact that he had

orthopedic difficulties and was required to undergo physical therapy for six months. When Steve

did start talking, he mainly spoke Arabic. He was enrolled in speech therapy while he was in

KG2.

1.2 Enrollment in Special Education

Steve has a history with physiotherapy for his walking, which was bad to the point he

didn’t wear shoes till he was two years. He was subjected to speech therapy at a relatively young

age, which proved helpful, judging from his file and how he talks now. In 2017, he was enrolled

in special education services, and his teacher at the time saw that he was able to understand

instructions in general. As a side remark, he does get distracted easily, avoids taking

responsibility, and sometimes abuses the bathroom excuse to leave class. As for his speech skills,

he had some speech delay according to his file. For instance, it would be a bit difficult for him to

form complete sentences in English when orally answering or expressing something.

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1.3 Current Provided Services
After starting the special education program in 2019, he was subjected to weekly pull

outs as well as psychomotor therapy, accommodation for tests, and guidance counseling. It

definitely has a positive effect on his education, and with the right accommodation and special

education curriculum, Steve is almost at the same level as his classmates; even though he is

slightly older than them.

Domain 2: Identifying the Academic Difficulty

2.1 The Identification of an Academic Problem

After carefully observing and monitoring Steve, it was clear to me from the first few

sessions that he is slower than his classmates. This affects him in both languages and math, and it

shows in various ways for each. Initially, it might seem that he might just be a slow learner,

which shouldn’t be confused as an academic disability, and we try assessing the situation

through several ways over the required amount of time.

2.2 Supporting details and collaboration with mentor

In order to get a better understanding of Steve, I started by assessing his reading

capabilities and comparing it with his peers. At first, he showed difficulty in reading and keeping

up with the pace of his class. Additionally, later sessions showed that he also copies slowly off

the board, has difficulties with capitalizations, and can sometimes write certain letters or

numbers in the wrong way, such as mirroring the shape of numbers or letters. In addition to that,

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he sometimes skips words when reading out loud, and mispronounces more words than his

classmates do. So far, this shows us difficulties in language and verbal processing. Furthermore,

it is worth noting that this slowness is reflected in comprehension as well. He would not only

answer impulsively, but would also take longer than most of his peers to finish with a

comprehension exercise.

On the other hand, he seemed to mostly understand the lessons and exercises in his math

classes, however he was still slower than his peers. He seems to have the capability to process

the material given, but requires more time in order to do so. The mentor went over my notes and

gave me some pointers as well, which aided me reach these interpretations in a better way.

Domain 3: Constructing the Curriculum Bases Assessment

3.1 The administration of the first three CBM probes which are typically given to a
student
As for the curriculum-based measurement, one of the CBM probes was conducted on a

different student, Bob, because Steve tested positive for Covid-19 and wasn’t able to come to

school.

3.2-3.3 Baseline Score and initial Data

Therefore, the following CBM is based on Bob, but it would have followed the same procedure

for Steve, and with different criteria results obviously. Bob is another student under special

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education services. For the baseline score, Bob had a baseline score of 82.6% accuracy in

reading, which was for the following assessment:

Here, Bob was assessed on his reading skills and comprehension. There were a number of

words he misread and some he would completely skip. On the other hand, Steve had an initial

baseline score of 74.2% accuracy for a previously conducted informal assessment, and later on

77.3% on a different one after tracking his progress throughout the hours.

3.4 The set-up of a performance goal for the student, and the chart of an aimline

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 The above graph shows the variation of the number of words pronounced correctly, as a

function of the number of sentences practiced beforehand that includes these words. With this

aim, we set a plan to monitor Steve as we increase the number of times he encounters certain

words, we can then start more and more words, while expecting him not to have more mistakes

with the increase of the number of learned words.

3.5 Progress Monitoring, Measuring Process, and Tracking Plan

In order to monitor Steve’s progress through the 15 hours, I did several informal

assessments which showed me a better idea of his capabilities and a better understanding of his

learning difficulties. Taking into consideration the above-mentioned points regarding his

difficulties, I started asking him to pronounce certain words that I noted down which he

previously mispronounced. I would also look at what he is reading and check whether he keeps

on skipping words. In math, his problems just started to seem mainly related to him being slow,

and after a while he seemed to be understanding what is being given, but at a slower pace than

his classmates. It seemed to me that as time went by, and with enough practice from class and

during POs, the mispronounced words are decreasing in numbers. However, he still seems to

skip words while reading, but got better slightly at skipping less words.

3.8 The suggestion for an instructional intervention

After spending time with Steve and learning more about his situation, I believe that he

has potential as long as he is given the right tools and enough time while doing exercises. As for

the language difficulties which are reflected in his reading and speaking, I suggest he reads more

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and works more on his speech when in POs. This type of intervention in his education can prove

to be beneficial for him rather than a regular education system.

Domain 4: Conclusion

4.1 Recommendations
As a conclusion, I would recommend Steve continue in special education, and I believe

this will be for his greater benefit. Catering to his needs isn’t something that should be taken

passively. He should be monitored and his progress observed along his journey to make sure he

is getting the right type of education that fits him best.

4.2 Reflecting on your experience

This experience has massively helped me and given me a better understanding of special

education in general, and what it means to be a special education teacher in specific. It was a

fruitful experience that taught me more than I would have if I just read about such cases.

Properly observing a student and seeing how the situation actually is in real life, definitely gives

me a better perception and understanding of what it truly means to be an educator.