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Student Profile

John is a seventh-grade student who is presently included in general education classes with some limited accommodations and supports. There are some concerns being expressed by a number of the educational professionals who have contact with John that have noticed some problems with inattention that interfere with his learning. This attentiveness appears to be initiated through his contact with other students, inadvertent noise or activity in or near the classroom. A review of the available classroom data and filed incident reports over the past three years indicate that John is actually developing a better capacity for ignoring some of the classroom distractions. His ability to work quietly at his desk has increased and his ability to stay on task, if properly supervised by an adult, has increased as well.

Testing indicates that John is reading at a seventh grade level. He has been receiving remedial assistance with his reading and that these remedial efforts have also resulted in his being able to increase his reading comprehension. His math skills are slightly below expectations in that he is currently working at an early sixth grade level. His performance on quizzes and tests has been inconsistent. His tendency to be easily frustrated is demonstrated in his math work as he often exhibits frustration here when he makes math mistakes in class. Patience is not John's strength as he tends to rush through his math assignments.

Reports from his family indicate that John enjoys school but this is not entirely supported by his behavior in class. He tends to be disruptive in class and is often noted to appear bored with his being there. In an effort to alleviate any tendency toward boredom or anxiety, special arrangements have been made to provide John with regular breaks from class activity approximately ever twenty minutes. In this regard, a special area has been set aside in the classroom where John can sit for a period of a few minutes free from any classroom distractions.

Present Level of Academic Performance

John has been following an alternative program with a generalized setting for several years. As indicated earlier, John is currently reading at a seventh grade level but there are still some concerns relative to his comprehension. In this regard, John has difficulty recalling details, sequencing of events, and making inferences and drawing conclusions. His short attention span and poor concentration contribute to his overall education struggles. For instance, he understands the concept of sentence structure and is capable of constructing a sentence but he struggles to put sentences together in an organized manner to form a paragraph. He digresses from thought to thought much too quickly. The same problem, however, does not demonstrate itself in his oral language skills. In one on one contact, he is able to express himself very competently particularly in areas that interest him such as sports or music but in the classroom setting he struggles to express himself orally. His practical skills are also delayed. In the math area, he seldom, if ever, solves problems without the assistance of a calculator and struggles to make change when handling money. Math story problems are particularly difficult for him and, once again, his tendency toward frustration is demonstrated here. Socially, John he functions fairly well among his small circle of friends but in the larger classroom venue he tends to stay to himself.

Needs

John performs most effectively when he is provided with the assistance of one on one paraprofessional. Such assistance allows him to focus more clearly on his school work and lessens his tendency to be distracted by others and by the classroom activity. The presence of the paraprofessional also seems to enable him to be more confident in his interactions with the other students in the classroom. Since the beginning of the school year, John has been participating in a contract (behavioral plan) that was drafted in an attempt to provide him with some structure. For the moment, John continues to have occasional problems but, overall, he has done well within the confines of the contract and a continuation of the contract terms would seem to be in his best interests. At the present time, there is no compelling need to adjust the contract.

Socialization

As has been already mentioned, John functions best under the guidance of his paraprofessional. The presence of the paraprofessional appears to provide him with a measure of confidence that he otherwise lacks. Unfortunately, John continues in his interpersonal relationships beyond his two or three close friends. His behavior is often inappropriate as he says and does things in the classroom setting that cause embarrassment to him and others. On reflection, he is able to identify the inappropriateness of his actions but consistently not when the behavior is happening. The inappropriateness is manifested in his verbally acting out or by his threatening to become physical with other students. To date, there have been no incidents where physical contact has occurred but his intimidating nature has been noticed by other school personnel.

Needs

John continues to prosper when in the presence of his paraprofessional but struggle when such assistance is not available. While in her presence John socializes appropriately and seldom experiences any problems but without his/her behavior returns to the level that has caused him problems since he began attending school. The continued intervention of the paraprofessional is definitely required but her role should be expanded to include her providing guidance to the remainder of the staff in how to handle John's behavior. Such guidance should assist the staff in intervening in situations where John might be experiencing difficulty outside the presence of the paraprofessional.