Interesting Child Assignment

GEDU 529
Sha Hall
April 11, 2015

Brofenbrenners Theory of Systems

Urie Bronfenbrenner has a theory about how systems help shape us. His
ecological model describes various systems that form together to make us who we are:
microsystems (family, school, workplace, neighborhood, etc.), mesosystems (linkages
between home/school or work/school), exosystems (links between three or more
microsystems), macrosystems (customs, lifestyles, belief systems) and chronosystems
(changes over time) (Bronfenbrenner, 1994).
Bronfenbrenners ecological theory makes good sense to this writer. People are
not raised in silos and they cannot resist the influences of the people and culture around
them. Most of us are born into families with belief systems and norms that have been
developed over time and shaped by experiences. Those systems will influence us as we
grow and learn. As we age our worldview expands to include neighbors, school staff,
classmates, etc. These people affect how we see the world around us. They can help or
hurt us, either way they affect us, and the lens through which we see our world.
This writer had the good fortune of meeting an interesting child three years ago on
his first day of middle school. She met him as he sat fetal position against a column in
the lunchroom weeping. She crouched down to quietly and invited him to her office,
which was just 30 feet from where they sat. He reluctantly agreed to go with this stranger
to her quiet room. Since that day, this interesting child and I have come to know one
another well and I have been fortunate to get to know his family too. I would like to take
this opportunity to describe what I know about him and his family.

Description of Child (physically, mentally, socially, educationally, etc.)

Jared is a 14-year-old male. He has brown hair and brown eyes. He stands 59
and weighs 180 pounds. Over the last three years of middle school Jared has gained over
50 pounds and his mother has concerns about the weight gain. She has shared the
concerns with Jareds physician. Jared has been diagnosed with ADD, ODD and
Aspergers Syndrome. He is immature for his chronological age, acting more like an
eight-year-old child than a young teenager. Jared is a voracious reader and enjoys fantasy
story lines such as Harry Potter and Zombies. Jared also enjoys creating his own stories,
which are most times fantasy based. In addition to reading and writing Jason enjoys
playing video games and spending time with his maternal grandma.
Jared is an eight grader at a middle school in Cedar Rapids. He has an
Individualized Education Plan (IEP) with goals in reading, writing and behavior. Jared
uses the technology lab at his school to help him with writing. His favorite program to
use is Dragon Speak. He says, Dragon Speak really helps me get my assignments done
and it takes away the stress of having to hand write my papers.
Jared had few friends and struggles to maintain his friendships. This could be in
part due to his lack of social skills and understanding of subtle nuances in friendships.
He values friendships and seems confused when he does things to negatively impact his
friendships. He currently receives social skills training at school and does seem to be
improving in this area.
Family System
Jared is part of a blended family. He lives with his mom, adoptive father and twoyear-old half-sister. Jared was his mothers second live birth. She had a daughter when

she was sixteen years old that she placed for adoption. They re-established a relationship
with this daughter when Jared was 8 years old and now consider her an important part of
their family. Jareds biological father left the family just after Jared celebrated his first
birthday. Jared visited his biological father who lived in a neighboring town until he was
in the fourth grade. At that time Jared refused to visit his father anymore because of how
his father treated him. Jared and his mom report there was physical and emotional abuse
toward Jared at the hands of his biological father. Jareds mother moved to terminate the
parental rights of Jareds biological father and once they were severed her current
husband adopted Jared.
Jared has a total of four siblings, two half-sisters and two brothers from his
adoptive father. They dont see one another often but family is important and all of the
members are highly valued and celebrated which photographs hung prominently on the
walls of their living room demonstrate. Jareds maternal grandmother is a very important
person in his life. He spends a lot of time with her each week and when he and Mom
argue and fight, Jared often will see solace with his grandma. Sometimes this dynamic
can cause conflict for mother and daughter but according to Jareds mom, we always
seem to work things out.
As of late the family has been in conflict with one another. Jared has been
verbally abusive to his parents. He recently ran away to a friends house and claimed his
parents were abusing him. The friends parents encouraged Jared to call the police,
which he did. The police contacted Jareds mom and they all met together at the local
hospital. Both the hospital staff and the police explained to Jared that based on what he

was reporting he is not being abused and they directed him to listen to his parents and do
what they tell him to do.
Since this incident, which happened a couple of weeks ago, Jared has been less
argumentative and defiant. But his mother reports the family continues to struggle with
his negative behaviors and attitude. Jared receives individual therapy and medication
management from Tanager Place. They would like to enroll Jared in the Four Oaks
Aspergers program but they dont have Title 19 insurance and it is too expensive for
them to pay out of pocket. Mom says the Tanager counselor is planning on digging into
his past and see if there are things that happened with his biological dad that we need to
deal with to be able to move on with less anger.
School System
Jared is in a new and innovative program at his middle school called Options. It
is an experiential and project based program open to 90 students in the building. The
schedule is fluid and everyday looks different, which can some days be a challenge for
Jared. He likes order and routine so a fluid daily schedule can sometimes cause Jared
stress, which at times results in poor decision-making and negative behaviors.
During the summer before his eighth grade year when we first learned the Options
program would be offered to students Jared, his mom and I sat together to discuss what
he would like in perfect school day. Jared thought it would be great to have just one or
two teachers, not have to pass from class to class and be able to pick his own
assignments. Since one of Jareds favorite teachers from 6th grade was the math teacher
for the Options program and since he knew students would only have to move in between

three classrooms all right next to one another Jared said he would be interested in
participating in the Options program.
Being in the Options program this year hasnt always been positive for Jared but
when I asked him if he had any regrets about participating in the program he said he did
not. The best part of the program for Jared was not having to be in the hallways during
passing times (this is very stressful for Jared) and only having three main teachers.
Jareds mom agreed about the three-teacher thing saying, having only three teachers to
communicate with has been great. Jareds mom is great at keeping his teachers
informed regarding medication changes that may affect his behaviors and events
happening at home that could affect Jareds mood and disposition.
Both Jared and his mother are worried about his transition to high school this fall.
He has been more sheltered this year from the large school system by participating in the
Options program. There is not a similar program at his high school so Jared will be back
into the regular school setting. But with his IEP behavioral goal and his Aspergers
diagnosis Jared has some other programming possibilities. He and his mom will get
connected with the freshman facilitator and the special services director soon to explore
the programming possibilities for Jared. My hope is to facilitate multiple opportunities
for Jared and his mom to visit his high school, walk his schedule, meet his teachers and
other support staff so both can become more comfortable with the transition.
Neighborhood System
Jared and his family live on the northwest side of Cedar Rapids. Their one and
one-half story home is modest and clean. Jared has the whole upstairs as his bedroom
and seems proud of the space and how he keeps it clean and tidy.

The neighborhood is tightknit according to Jareds mom. She says, ever since
the 2008 flood we have all been close and do what we can to help each other out. The
family had only lived in the house for one year before they experienced the life-changing
flood of 2008. After they sustained damage to their house they stayed with Jareds
maternal grandmother while they repaired their home. Both Jared and his mom say it
was really hard for a couple of years after the flood staying with grandma in Marion and
still going to school on the northwest side of Cedar Rapids. But are grateful to be back in
their home and neighborhood.
Conflicts in Values/Assumptions
Jared is a fun loving kid with some challenges. He suffered
emotionally and physically at the hands of biological father when he
was a young boy and the effects of that abuse still linger. He loves his
family and talks about how important they are to him but his anger
from past events continues to interfere with his ability to have positive
relationships with them. Jareds Aspergers also affects his ability to
develop and form positive emotional relationships with people
including family members. His mother sometimes forgets about his
emotional limitations due to Aspergers and she sometimes expects
more that what he can give, which creates conflict between them.
It is important that Jared continue his individual therapy and
medication management with Tanager Place. This writer believes it
would also be important for Jareds mother to connect with other

parents going though similar struggles with their children. A parent

support group might be a good option for her to consider.

References
Bronfenbrenner E., (1994). International Encyclopedia of Education, Vol. 3, 2nd ed.,
1994, 1643-1647, Elsevier Science, Ltd., Oxford, England.