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Individual Differences Student Profile

Angie Telford
College of Southern Idaho
Instructor: Tracey Meyerhoeffer
EDUC 205 / Individual Differences Online
Spring 2014

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Individual Differences Student Profile
School can offer a challenging experience and environment for even the most secure and
accomplished students. Changes in education currently taking place for many Idaho schools
include the adoption of the Common Core, changes to the Idaho Standards Achievement Test
(ISAT) along with the addition of the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC), and
revised graduation requirements that seem to change every year. For typical students, these
pressures are surmountable with appropriate support from family members and teachers, but for
some students, just getting through the day seems like an unsurmountable challenge and
academics are the least of their worries. This profile will introduce you to a girl named Grace
and her daily battle with bi-polar disorder and the effects that mental illness has on her education
and development.
General Information
Grace is 10 years and 2 months old and is the youngest of three children. Her oldest
sibling is a half-sister who is in high school; her brother is one year older than Grace and is in 5
th

grade. She and her brother share the same father. Her half-sisters father is not known. All three
children live with their biological mother. Graces father resides in another state and is
remarried with a new child who will turn one year old this summer. Her parents relationship is
very strained and often involves custody disputes. Her mother works full time and is also going
to school full time. Her father and stepmom are employed and Grace only sees them for a short
time during the summer. Planned Christmas and spring break visits with her dad are usually
cancelled at the last minute which has a negative impact on her. Extended family members in
the immediate area include a maternal grandmother and an aunt. She attends a music class one
day after school each week, participates in an after school running program in the spring called
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Girls on the Run, and likes to read and draw in her leisure time. She also spends one afternoon a
week with a psycho-social rehabilitation (PSR) worker, and another afternoon each week with
her counselor. The family is financially supported by the mothers income as well as Medicaid.
Child support from their father is sporadic and minimal. Graces older sister is very active at her
high school so the younger siblings often spend late nights at the high school waiting for their
sister to finish cheerleading activities. Due to these late bedtimes, Grace does not get adequate
sleep for a child her age so she comes to school sleepy and averages one nap per week while at
school.
Physical Development
Grace is petite and underweight but not malnourished. She falls within the lower
percentile for her physical development. Grace is the smallest girl in her grade and is
Caucasian and has blue eyes. Additionally, she has long, straight blond hair. Grace has healthy
and normal vision and hearing and mildly crooked teeth which may require orthodontia later on.
Grace bathes regularly and wears appropriately fitting clothes. While Grace does have breakfast
every morning, snacks at school, and hot lunch, she does not eat all of her food at every meal.
Her diminished appetite is attributed to the daily medication she takes for her bipolar diagnosis.
Grace used to attend gymnastics and is very flexible and strong despite her small stature.
As a result, she has appropriate large muscle development. Her small muscle development is
adequate and she is right handed with handwriting that is neat and legible. She has not shown a
need for occupational therapy. Grace has an incredible singing voice and her vocal range is
mature for her age.
Cognitive Development
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Grace is in the 4
th
grade and performs at grade level. Grace is on an individual
education plan (IEP) for a behavior disorder and was formally placed on the IEP toward the
end of her second grade year. Grace was entered into the BASE (Behavior, Academic, Social
Education) program at the beginning of her third grade year. Grace has been diagnosed with
bipolar disorder but is also being assessed for schizophrenia. Grace has a hard time
concentrating in class due to her disorder and the medication she takes. When Grace is able to
focus, she performs well in math but tends to get Fs as she often refuses to do the work and
turns in blank worksheets. However, her STAR tests continue to show growth which indicates
she has natural intelligence. Grace reads above grade level but is selective about the books she
reads. Moreover, she is a good writer and likes to write songs and stories while also being a good
speller. Grace is performing within Piagets concrete operations stage of cognitive
development; however, she exhibits some egocentric behavior and thinking from the pre-
operational stage of development which may be attributed to her disability. At this time Grace
does not require any academic modifications or assessment supports.
Socio-emotional Development
Due to her mental illness classification, Grace struggles with social skills and it is
difficult for her to see anothers point of view when she feels under attack, whether it is real or
imagined. Thus, it can be a challenge to problem solve with Grace as she is resistant to
reexamining her past behaviors. Consequently, she does not have many friends and is finding it
more difficult to relate to her peers as they all get older. As a result, Grace has low self-esteem
and a poor self-concept along with strained relationships with her teachers. She also will fixate
on certain students to the point she has had bullying complaints filed against her by other
parents. When these situations arise, she is not allowed inclusion and it takes some time for her
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to be allowed back into her assigned least restrictive environment, the general education
classroom. When considering the work of Vygotsky and his Social development theory, it
could be determined that Grace is missing out on critical social development by her inability to
learn and develop alongside her peers. Further, she has a difficult time with the pragmatics of
language which creates problems with peers and adults. Subsequently, she has difficulty with
adaptive behavior and is considered an at-risk individual within the student population.
Conclusion
There has been a committed effort on the part of the school district in partnering with
Graces mother and counselor to help her while also acknowledging family centered practices.
Many accommodations, behavior intervention plans, and the use of positive reinforcement
have been attempted but her emotional disturbance and its unpredictability has resulted in
many hours of Grace being unavailable for learning as well as being incapable of social
integration. Family interactions and the risk factors associated with these interactions,
combined with Graces mental health diagnosis, continue to cause stress for her. Grace has
more challenges ahead as she approaches puberty and adolescence. Continued support in
developing interpersonal and intrapersonal skills will be essential.
In all, I have learned a great deal about the many stages of development and the effects of
a bi-polar diagnosis during my time with Grace. Additionally, I better understand the enormous
challenges that face individuals living with mental health disabilities. Privacy and
confidentiality are extremely important when working with students like Grace. The hope for
resilience and the ability to develop friendships and healthy connections are important goals for
which the team that works with Grace continues to strive. In all, the team hopes to make the
impossible seem attainable and to give her hope.
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References
Berns, Roberta, M. (2010). Child, family, school, community. (9
th
Edition). Belmont, CA:
Wasdsworth
Hunt, Nancy, Marshall, Kathleen. (2006). Exceptional children and youth. Belmont, CA:
Wadsworth
Kauffman, James, M., Pullen, Patricia L., Mostert, Mark P., Trent, Stanley C. (2011)
Managing classroom behavior. (5
th
Edition). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson
Education, Inc.