Running head: INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES STUDENT PROFILE

Individual Difference Student Profile

Veronica Carrington
Instructor
Educ 205
Fall 2015

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Individual Difference Profile Essay

I recently had the opportunity to observe a unique little boy whom I will refer to as Will. I
was able to observe Will in one of the local elementary schools in his second grade class. Will is
a seven years old Caucasian boy who has qualified to have developmental, social, and speech
delay since preschool. In the following paragraphs, I will discuss Wills general information,
physical development, cognitive development, socio-emotional development, and provide a
summary of major findings.
General Information
Will is seven years old and is Caucasian. He has brown/ blonde hair and blue green eyes.
Will has a cleft pallet. His family contains working father, stay at home mother, an older sister
(fifth grade), and younger brother who is about four years old. His sister has a learning
development delay, and his brother has a cleft pallet too. I was unable to view any family
interactions due to the fact I could only see Will in the mornings during school.
On Tuesdays and Thursdays he attends a small group for about forty minutes. It is here
they discuss manners and practice them. In the time I was there in one of the sessions they, Will
and another student, read with the special education teacher a book about manners. It covered
things like saying excuse me when someone burps. After reading the book the teacher asked how
we can apply this to everyday things to help develop his self-regulation of his manners. Will was
very eager to answer, a little too eager to notice the other student rising her hand. They then
talked about the importance of raising hands and waiting their turn. In the second session I
viewed, Will and a male student took turns playing games. The teacher asked how they would
make sure both would be happy and they came to the conclusion that if they played each game of
each others choosing for half the time they would be happy.

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On Wednesdays he visits with a small group of four children and a speech language
pathologist. Currently he is being focused on L and T sounds. I believe he has a hard time with
his language skills with pronouncing these different sounds because of the cleft pallet. Other
than these classes he is in the general classroom setting and according to his general education
teach and the special education teacher, he has made leaps and bounds and does not misbehave
as often since his preschool days which is where he was first put on an IEP for developmental
delay and aggressive behavior. Will has learned behavior management and is more in control
with his emotions. As far as I know with his mother being a stay at home mother there is not
after school programs he participates in after school. He used to be very argumentative with his
peers and adults. He also didnt have very good manners i.e.: burping, talking out of turn, and
yelling.
Physical Development
Will seems to be right along with the other children in his physical development. He is
right handed. The only thing he seems to be delayed with now is commonly learned manners and
he seems to get sick a lot with his nasal area. I believe this is due to his cleft pallet. Other than
this he seems to be a very happy health child. He being very sick could also be just him catching
the common cold. With the time of year I observed him I cannot be to certain, but from what Ive
gathered from the general education teacher it seems like it is a constant occurrence. His large
and small motor skills are right along with the other kids. Physical fitness is also along with the
other children. Will loves to play outside and seems to play a lot.
Cognitive Development
Will attends a regular classroom normally. He also gets a manners class where he can
learn social norms that he hasnt quite picked up with his peers during interaction which he takes

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in the resource room with a special education teacher. He attends this Tuesday and Thursday
and they vary in lessons. On Wednesdays he has a speech class. He seems to struggle with the
pronunciation of letters L and T. He does well in school and especially likes science. He
struggles a little in math but I believe it might be to his attention span. When it comes to class
activities he is very excited to participate. When it comes to groups he is very well mannered and
loves to be in a leadership role. He does well in making sure all students have an active role and
have fun. During lessons it seems like it takes him a while to get on task and gets nonverbal cues
from the teacher with her close proximity.
With Will I can tell that in Jean Piagets he is between the pre operational and concrete
operational stage due to his performance in reading and in social group he sometimes lacks the
ability to make a decision not based on his own perception and yet he has the ability to have an
organized thinking process but still lacks the ability to think abstractly. Cognitively it took him
longer to realize that his thought are completely his own and that he is a separate person and that
not everyone shares the same thoughts. Also when it comes to thinking abstractly sometimes it
takes some explaining.
Socio-emotional Development
From my observations he seems to have healthy interactions with his peers and the adults
around the school. He does not seem to have many friends, but it does not look like it bothers
him much at all. He still works well in groups and tries hard to include everyone. He loves a little
of a leadership role. His social hour lessons are helping to develop more social norms and he
seems to be applying them well when it comes to the classroom setting. I would say he has a
very healthy self-esteem and is getting to the point where he finds reasons for his actions. I
believe Will is still in the process of transitioning from Erik Ericksons initiative vs. guilt and

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industry vs. inferiority stages. Will is still struggling to find initiative within himself when I
comes to work. The general education teacher has to prompt him and so does the special
education teacher. Once he moves from this he can start to focus on how to be industrious in his
classroom.
Conclusions
Will is blossoming and doing better each coming year. With his cleft pallet he can be
categorized an atypical student but with a strong support system with his nuclear family I feel he
will thrive in years to come. Will is the same level of physical fitness and at the same educational
standpoint with his peers.
Will has a strong support system at school with the teachers that interact with him. His
special education teacher has high hopes that he will be off his IEP before he enters middle
school. He generally does well in class and just needs gentle reminders to stay on task. He is on
the teeter-totter of pre operational and concrete operational, but at seven years of age most kids
his age are at the same point. He is very kind and mindful of the children around him and seems
to be a natural leader in the group.
Implications
Will is a great kid that loves to learn. He loves to be in constant motion. Along with his
speech he needs to work on being involved in class and how to act with adults and peers when it
comes to manners.
Wills teacher needs to be sure to give him cues to retain focus when he strays. The
teacher also needs to be working with Wills other teachers so they can work together and do the
right thing for his education. In conclusion, Will has the ability to manage his emotions and
overcome his cleft pallet. Since he is starting on the right path to manners he will do great later in

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life. If his teachers and family members help his and are willing to work with him on these
lessons there is no reason he cannot become a successful student and individual.

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References
Hallahan, D.P., Kauffman, J.M., Pullen, P.C. (2015). Exceptional Learners: An Introduction to
Special Education (13th Ed). Virginia. Pearson.
McLeod, S. A. (2013). Erik Erikson. Retrieved from www.simplypsychology.org/ErikErikson.html
McLeod, S. A. (2015). Jean Piaget. Retrieved from www.simplypsychology.org/piaget.html