Child Study

Introduction/Background of Child

The student I observed is a Hispanic, male age 9 who is autistic. For the sake of this observation I will refer to him as "Kevin". I selected this student because I work very closely with him on a daily basis. I also felt that this would be a great way for me to learn more about my student. Kevin is about 48" inches tall and about 60 pounds in weight. He has brown hair and medium brown eyes. He wears glasses for reading and distance. Kevin has seasonal allergies and asthma. He's polite, cooperative, and enjoys socializing with his peers during free time.

In this report you will see the student's different daily task in the following areas such as physical presence and gesture, disposition and temperament, connections with other people including myself, as well as modes of thinking and learning. I will also discuss his abilities, disabilities, social and non-social acts, as well as his strengths and weaknesses.

Kevin is a high functioning autistic student, because of this he is placed in a third grade inclusion class. His school day is broken up into 30-35 minute sessions. The student does not get pulled out for any service because of this autism. Kevin takes standardized tests like regular general education students with extended timing in a special location. Below is a schedule of how a day is broken up, and different subjects are given on various days such as Spanish, Science, Music, Computer, Gym, and SEM.

Plan of the Day

1. 8:20 Book Browsing

2. 8:45 Independent Reading

3. 9:10 Read Aloud Phonics

4. 10:25 Reading Workshop Guided Centers

5. 10:45 Spanish

6. 11:35 Ð'- 12:20 Lunch

7. 12:25 Math Workshop

8. 1:10 Writing Workshop

9. 1:55 Social Studies

Kevin's day starts at 7:15 am because he is bused from Pelham Parkway in the Bronx to CO-OP City in the Baychester section of the Bronx. A regular car ride would take about 10-15 minutes to get to the school from his house, but on the bus it takes him at least an hour before Kevin reaches the school.

Physical Presence and Gesture

As for my student's physical presence, I've observed that Kevin wore the same clothing several times during the course of the week. I know for sure that they were the same because on one occasion another student made a mark on his back with a blue marker and Kevin came in with a blue mark on the shirt it is evident that personal hygiene is an issue. With each passing day, his body odor became increasingly worse. Kevin also has bad breath. To address this issue, I assisted the teacher with a lesson in hygiene which, not only my student, but the whole class was involved in not to single him out. The lesson showed methods of how to keep up your hygiene by washing your hands and face every morning and brushing your teeth at least twice a day. We had the students commit to coming in everyday after breakfast and getting their bucket with hygiene supplies and going to the bathroom and washing up. They also did the same after lunch. At first Kevin was kind of hesitant, but then cooperated once all the other guys started to do it. I see this was a positive lesson which Kevin can carry on at home. I feel Kevin is getting better at this everyday.

Disposition and Temperament

I knew choosing Kevin for my observation would be the best choice because with him, there is a lot to see. Not everyday is the same and Kevin changes up his temperament every second. In this section you will read about his outburst and disruptive behavior. Kevin exhibits this behavior a lot when Kevin feels he's over-loaded with work. He is easily distracted. I noticed that his mind wanders and he cannot keep focus on one thing. He gets nervous very easily and begins to stutter or speak very rapidly. The following is an outburst of his which occurred while I was observing. This outburst describes the above reactions.

I constantly find myself reminding him to stay on task. When Kevin gets called out on his actions, Kevin begins to whine and yell. I ask him to please be quiet and to explain his side of why he is wandering or not on task, but Kevin just gets louder. So I ask him to please get up and walk him into his inclusion classroom, where I calm him down before taking him into the regular education classroom. At this point Kevin is very upset and there is no calming him down. I ask him to use his "Stop Rules", which consist of him first taking a deep breath, second counting to 10 slowly and third, say to him self "I can stop..." (Attached find a contact for the "Stop Rules")

I wanted to take control of the situation because I can see that the Kevin didn't want to work. It was a long weekend and Kevin was ready to be very abrupt and rude. I ask him quietly to get up so we can chat outside the classroom. Kevin yells and screams and starts to make a scene.

Connections with Other People

As I continued my observation, one of the most important aspects I wanted to focus on the most was his connection with others. The first thing I noticed from the beginning was that Kevin has problems taking turns. He needs, at every point, to be first. Kevin had to have the first word and to be first on line. If he couldn't get his way, Kevin would be upset and pout until he gets his way.

On my second day of observing, I chose to do it one day where my student engages a lot with his peers. I picked breakfast club Tuesday. For the start of this Tuesday morning, just like every Tuesday, Kevin and the other inclusion students are invited to attend a breakfast organized by the Assistant Principal of the unit. They call this "The Breakfast Club". At this time the students are allowed to express themselves or are given a topic to talk about. The breakfast was started as a way to motivate and reward the students for their hard work. They are offered donuts, bagels, cookies and orange juice. My student always plays it safe and takes a chocolate striped donut and orange juice as to the other boys, who take one of each item offered. As the students are eating, the discussion begins. The topic is "Cheating & Teasing". As the other students are all taking part in the discussion, my student is not taking any part. Kevin is off to the side just eating away. Kevin tends