Julia Perez October 1, 2011 Special Education 414 Family Routines Assessment The child I decided to focus on for

this project is a three year old girl named Jessica, who has an auditory processing disorder. (The names I use in this paper are hypothetical names). She lives with her mother, father, and older sister. She is a very intelligent child who loves to go to school and loves being around other people. She has short, brown curly hair and has green eyes. She also loves the color pink. I decided to do my project on her because I wanted to know more about her disorder as well as see how a family works with each other in helping their child with special needs. The location in which I chose to do the interview was the childs classroom. When we initially set up the meeting we did not have a specific place picked out. Certain circumstances did not allow us to meet but the second time we met; we also did not have a location picked out. Jessicas classroom just seemed like the perfect fit because she was comfortable being in there. Jessicas mother also lived farther from campus so it just seemed better to stay in Champaign. The meeting consisted of Jessica, her mother, and I. The meeting or interview lasted about an hour and 20 minutes. The form in which I gathered information consisted of using many of the questions from the Family Assessment Focus sheet as well as questions that I came up with on my own. I found out that Jessicas favorite activity to do is make art or do art projects. She loves cutting things with scissors. Although, Jessica stays away from sticky and other textures like glue, painting, and moon sand. Jessica is working on manipulating different art materials at school and at home. She loves to be around animals as well. She loves dogs and bunnies. Her favorite toys consist of different dolls she plays with at home. Jessica likes to accessorize her dolls with different dresses, jewelry,

and shoes. She also loves to read books. She has a stack of books she reads every night before going to bed. However, she does not like to write. Her grasping ability has not as developed as she and her mother would like so she tries to avoid it as much as possible. She likes things to be in a certain way and in its place. She likes to have order in her life. She also likes to have certain foods as well. She loves to eat chicken, pasta, cheese, French fries, teddy grahams, and drink apple juice. She does not like to eat vegetables. If vegetables are present, she will eat everything else but them. Jessica has a hard time feeding herself but tries her best to use utensils given to her. Her mother helps her with learning how to grasp food utensils in order to feed herself. Jessicas mother informed me that needs her food cut into pieces in order to feed herself. She cannot eat big bits of any kind of food. She also drinks from a straw because she has not developed the ability to sip from a cup yet. She also needs help getting dressed in the morning. She usually picks out her clothes for the day. She likes to wear dresses and she can put them on her own. However, pulling up pants is a struggle and her mother usually helps her pull them up. She also has trouble putting on socks and shoes. She is not yet potty trained, she is using pull ups at the moment. In order to help with these kinds of issues, Jessica goes to different therapies throughout the week. She goes to a speech therapist on Mondays from nine to ten in the morning. She also goes to see an occupational therapist from 10:30 to 11:15. Tuesday through Friday, Jessica is in school from 9:30 to 11:30. School starts at 8:30 but Jessicas mother informed me that it takes Jessica a long time to get up in the morning and get ready. She usually arrives a half to an hour later than every other child. On Tuesdays she goes to her speech therapist at 12:30. Wednesdays and Thursdays consist of a reading group with other children and parents, depending on when it is scheduled On Friday; Jessica attends a program called the Play Project. This is a program that

caters to children who need early intervention and helps parents find ways to help their child at home. Jessica has lunch every day around 11:45 to 12 before her therapies begin. Jessicas days are pretty much scheduled for her but there are days where she plays with her neighbors children and her older sister. She loves being around her sister. She also loves being around her aunt, her mothers sister. They have a great bond with one another. Family and friends are important to Jessica and her family. Regarding other things about Jessica, I asked many questions about how Jessica communicates with her mother, father, family, and friends. Jessica is more verbal now about what she wants and doesnt want compared to before. Before starting preschool, she would only make a few sounds and facial expressions. Now Jessica will let you know she likes something by saying I like this as well as smiling and jumping up and down at the same time. Mrs. Benner also explained that jumping up and down allows Jessica to regroup or refocus when there are too many stimulates in the room. If she does not like something, she will tell you she does not want to do it, state not this today, or make unpleasant noises to let someone know she is not happy. If Jessica is frightened by something, it usually takes hugs and rocking in someones lap to calm her down. She is scared of Scooby doo, being at the doctor, and big animals. While there are many things Jessica needs help with, her mother is very invested in helping her develop as many skills as possible. Jessicas mother wants her to focus on the learning to communicate with others as well as expressing herself. Jessica tends to stay quiet if she wants something or wants to say something. Mrs. Benner stated that Jessica has a very good memory, which allows her to remember her teachers and peers names. She hopes this will help her as she gets older and gets into higher grade levels. While Jessicas mother works on flash cards activities, has occupational therapy

sessions, and gross and large motor skills at home, she feels Jessica is succeeding more when at school. Mrs. Benner is very surprised at how much Jessica has accomplished in such a short time since school has started. She talks more now than ever and has made lots of friends at school. She is also doing much better now that they are only speaking English to her. Before preschool started, Jessica was learning Spanish and Italian but they found that she was having trouble comprehending everything going on around her. Mrs. Benner hopes that she will find better ways to allow Jessica to cope with her disorder as well as succeeding in school and in life. Jessicas mother is very proud of the progress her child has made and hopes Jessica continues to progress academically and socially. Based on the information given throughout the interview, there are two things I would like to know more about Jessica and her life outside of school. Mrs.Benner told me that Jessica has a trampoline, slide, and swing in the basement of their home. I would really like to see Jessica interact with these materials as well as see her interactions with her family at home. Her mother explained that Jessica talks a lot while at home. I would really like to see her have conversations with her family. She doesnt seem to talk as much as the other children in the classroom. I would do this by actually setting up a home visit with Jessica and her family. I would also like to see Jessica interact with her speech or occupational therapist. Mrs. Benner invited me to see a therapy session whenever I feel up to. I would set up a time to see Jessica in a therapy session. Therapy sessions are very important to Jessica success in the classroom, at home, and in the world. All in all, this assignment was a successful and helpful one. I loved talking to Mrs. Benner about Jessica and getting to know them more. I felt very comfortable talking to Mrs.Benner and speaking with Jessica because I had a connection with them from the first day of school. I have talked to Mrs. Benner almost every day when she has come to pick up Jessica at the end of the day

so talking with her seemed very easy and went smoothly. I think the interview in itself went very well. Mrs. Benner was very receptive to my questions and answered them as best she could. I could tell she has invested so much into help Jessica with her disorder as well as everything else in her life. Mrs. Benner seemed comfortable talking with me. She was willing to talk about anything I asked her and she gave great answers. She smiled the whole time and even invited me to see Jessica at home and at therapy sessions. She is willing to work with me in anything I need. If I were to do this a second time, I would love to see her interact with her family in her home. Jessica was so much more talkative during the interview than she is when she is at school. She sang a lot of the time as well. Seeing her in a different context would bring more to light about Jessica as a student and person as a whole. I hope that I can visit her during the semester in order to get to know her better. Shes an amazing child with a kind heart.