Case Study

Summer
 Introduction

Summer is a 4 year old black female with Autism

living in the suburbs in Wisconsin. Her parents are
still married and live together. She is the
youngest of 3 children with a large age gap
between her and her older siblings. Her mother
has requested an in class aid to help her in school
and was denied permission to have one in the
classroom.
 Presenting Concerns
Summer has difficulties using her words to
communicate why she feels the way she does.
She uses very basic language but seems to
understand most of what is being said to her.
Summer does not understand personal
boundaries and will touch other students or staff.
She will also stick her face in your face or eat
unattended food that does not belong to her.
 Presenting Concerns Part 2
Summer likes to see what she is able to get away
with and will purposely, repeatedly break the
rules to see if she will get into trouble and to get
attention.
Summer does not like to listen to directions,
especially if something is out of her routine. She
will sit on the floor, on her knees, with her head
on the floor and scream until she is either picked
up and removed or the activity changes.
 Presenting Concerns Part 3

Summer has a difficult time staying engaged in

assignments for long periods of time unless there
is a tactile element.
 Social History

Summer is very concerned with others emotions.

If someone is unhappy with her actions, she is
likely to lash out, hit them, kick them and scream
out of frustration. She constantly will ask if
people are happy and get very excited, even jump
up and down if you say you are.
 Contributing Medical Concerns

None are known

 Wellness Assessment

Physical: Summer has a hard time sitting still and will

jump around if not actively engaged
Spiritual: No spiritual connection presented
Occupational: Student
Social: Summer will go out of her way to say hello to
other students by name and hug others but struggles to
carry on a conversation with peers
 Wellness Assessment Part 2

Emotional: Summer is very good at reading emotions

on others and announcing her emotions with one word
(only happy or sad) but is unable to explain why she feels
the way she does
Intellectual: Summer is removed from the classroom for
20 minutes 3 days a week to go for a walk with a special
education teacher and other students with adaptive
needs during their freetime to get a break from the
classroom setting.
 Art Making Assessment

Artistic Media: Summer needs a tactile medium to be

able to focus on the task at hand. She does not enjoy
drawing with markers or pencils but responds well to
chalk or stickers.
Dependence/Independence: She can work pretty
independently but when working with the stickers she
needs occasional assistance with peeling the back off
 Art Making Assessment

Subjective Response: The project was made to have

Summer explore different emotions other than happy or
sad. When Summer began the project she wanted to use
an entire sheet of stickers without propose. She was able
to verbalize what made her scared and say it while
drawing with the chalk though the artwork did not
appear to represent her fears.
 Lesson Plan Objectives
Behavior: Sit and complete an art project in the same
window of time as other classmates and not give up
beforehand.
Communication: To be able to verbally explain what
she is creating
Cognition: To have an understanding of new emotion -
fear
Socialization: Summer will be able to sit at a table with
other students and work on her own piece without
disrupting others
 Reflective Questions

1. Should we have limited or eliminated stickers

from the project to keep it more focused on
the directive?
2. What other media would be good to keep
Summer focused on enough to complete the
assignment?
3. Is there a way to add a more social element to
the assignment?
Reflective Visual Response