Case Study Research Project Template

Child’s name: Stephanie Report completed by: Erika Dent

School: Robert R. Lazar Middle School Grade: 7th grade
Date of birth: 5/1/2004 Chronological age: 12 year & 10 months
Date(s) of observation: Date of report: March 14, 2017
2/1-3/10 during period 1 (42 minutes each period)
2-1-3/10 (once a week for one period; 42 minutes/week)

Background Information

In collaboration with the student’s parents and case manager, pertinent information regarding
Stephanie was established and shared. Both her parents and case manager reported that her
diagnosis falls under Autism Spectrum Disorder, in addition to Other Health Impaired. Presently,
her disability impacts her ability to regulate her emotions and properly handle her responses to
such in a social-emotional manner. Therefore, Stephanie presents difficulty in understanding the
emotions she is feeling, why she is feeling those emotions, and how to properly respond to these
emotions across various settings. Specifically, Stephanie struggles greatly with transitions,
disappointments, and disagreements; in class, she often does not display an understanding of
how to monitor her emotional output when she becomes disappointed within herself and/or
disagrees with another student’s opinion. Stephanie is often extremely hard on herself to do well
and understand all of the curricular content, however she does not justify to herself that it is
impossible to succeed at every skill on the first try. This led her parents and case manager to
report her level of anxiety within core-content classes. Although she is meeting expectations
within her classes, she typically presents anxiety over presentations, getting even the smallest bit
of a task incorrect, not being able to participate in class at all times, not finishing a task/test/quiz
first, and not being able to relate the learned material to the next chapter. Take for instance in
math class, if Stephanie gets a problem wrong on the first day of learning the skill, she quickly
tries to make up for it through guessing and becomes down on herself for not succeeding.
Through this she will call out, rush herself, shut down, and/or cry as her anxiety level has risen.
Additionally, it was reported that Stephanie has trouble attending, needing cues and breaks to
gain focus back to the skill. Nonetheless, Stephanie recently has been demonstrating negative
behaviors/emotions towards herself and she is realizing her inattention to the lesson. In
discussion with her case manager, it was mentioned that she is establishing a new intervention
for allowing Stephanie a break from the lesson without fully doing so, in order to guide her in
regulating her emotions. She would like Stephanie’s teachers to implement drawings,
manipulatives, technology, and the use of any other instructional tools to keep Stephanie’s focus
from drifting as she is actively involved in a variety of tasks based on the concept.

In relation to the effects of her diagnosis, Stephanie regularly attends counseling sessions two
times a month, with the school psychiatrist, and speech class one time per week. In counseling, it
was reported that Stephanie is a student who is highly engaged in everything that she does, and
seeks to please by doing the right thing or getting everything correct. She often attends
counseling and participates even when difficult discussion topics arise. Additionally, she is
gaining an understanding of her emotions and is making improvements in differentiating
between her feelings and how she should properly react based on such. Nonetheless, based on
the needs section of her IEP, Stephanie needs to continue to progress on becoming aware of how
to calm herself down independently when her level of anxiety or disappointment rises.
Therefore, her goals focus around reducing her level of anxiety/outburst, initiating conversations,
and advocating for herself when confused. In terms of the speech therapy that she receives, it
was discussed that Stephanie has presented the characteristics of a hard worker who is actively
involved in the lessons through thorough participation. Not only is Stephanie able to form a
conversational relationship with another student in the class by asking questions, making
comments, and waiting her turn to talk, but she is also presents problem solving skills by
discussing and determining the best outcome for a problem. Nonetheless, she has difficulty in
relating these skills to the real world and within social settings outside of the speech classroom;
therefore, her needs present that she needs to continuously practice to grow within the realms of
problem solving and social skills. In order to do so, her current speech educational goals focus on
non-verbal communicational behaviors, breakdowns in communication outside of the speech
classroom, stating her emotions, and refraining from interrupting others within conversation.

Other than her social, behavioral, and communicative skills being discussed, most of the focus of
the conversation with her parents and case manager centered around the connection between
those skills and her academics. Stephanie’s parents especially seemed focused on her current
educational program within the middle school as they are thinking about her short and long term
goals of high school and college. Throughout this conversation, it was reported that Stephanie is
adamant in terms of achieving her goal of attending college, just as her older siblings, and is
focused on transitioning into the ICR setting for both Language Arts and Math. It was
established within her recent IEP meeting that she will be moved into the ICR setting for English
at the start of Eighth-Grade. Nonetheless, she will still be in Pull-Out Resource for Math due to
the large jump in concepts and pacing in relation to her social/emotional deficits. Although
Stephanie is presently meeting and exceeding academic expectations within the resource math
classroom, the discrepancies that she presents within the social/emotional/behavioral realm
impedes on her ability to thrive within the ICR setting. Essentially, it was reported in Stephanie’s
IEP that she needs to work on regulating her levels of anxiety, how she copes with her emotions,
and her time management skills in terms of finishing all assignments first in the class. It was
established that Stephanie would continue to work towards mastery on these skills, especially
within the math classroom setting, before transitioning to the ICR setting for the following
school year.

Sources of Information
 Discussion with parents during IEP meeting
 Review of recent progress reports from other teachers and therapists
 Conversation with special education teachers from the ICR settings she is enrolled in
 Review of current IEP
 Attendance in recent IEP meeting and discussions
 Review of current IEP
 Conversation with her case manager
Observation
The observations that were taken based on the physiognomies of the student took place in her
Pull-Out Resource Math class. All of the data below depicts the characteristics of the student in
that specific setting.

Social/Behavioral Skills:

Within the math classroom, the student presents an average level of behavioral skills. Due to the
nature of the room being small and there being only three other students within the class who are
of the same behavioral level as Stephanie, there are little behavior interventions implemented.
When Stephanie and the other students enter the room at the sound of the bell, it is expected of
them to write down their homework for that night into their assignment pads, take out their
homework from the previous night, and open up to a clean page in the note section of their
binders. Stephanie does very well executing this routine and often thrives off of it as it provides
her structure; she knows what is expected of her, how long it should take, and gains a sense of
accomplishment/feedback when it is done properly. Afterward, Stephanie properly participates in
reviewing homework by solving problems on the board and within the lesson through
discussions and guided practice problems. Typically, the structure of the class follows the same
routine per day, leading the students to understand what is to occur next. By establishing such a
pattern, the anxiety of the students lessens and they are able to fully partake in the various
sections of the lesson. Stephanie often is extremely successful in the math classroom due to the
structured routine; she knows what activity is coming next and how to prepare for it.
Additionally, from the implementation of scaffolded instruction within the structure of the
lessons, Stephanie thrives by initially practicing solving examples within guided practice before
transitioning into independent work and an informal assessment of an exit ticket. However, the
aspect that Stephanie struggles in behaviorally is the characteristics that she presents when she
gets a problem incorrect and/or does not get to answer a problem that she wishes to do so,
causing her level of anxiety to increase. Often times within her work, Stephanie tends to rush
with the idea that it is always better to finish before everyone else in the class first; from rushing,
she often gets several problems incorrect due to minor errors. Yet when the minor errors are
presented to Stephanie, she gets upset/mad, rushes to fix it without fully listening to the teacher,
and becomes extremely hard on herself. Stephanie presents the notion that math is a one-way
street and that it leads to one answer by solving it one way. However, math is not about the
answers and instead about the process and patterns used to find the answers. Overall, although
Stephanie presents well-mannered behavior skills within the classroom setting, she struggles in
regulating her emotions in accordance to her academic success. It would greatly benefit her to
not only practice coping with her emotions, but also understanding how her negative reactions
can decrease her success within her academics rather than increase the depiction of her
knowledge.

In addition to the observation of Stephanie’s behavior skills, her social skills were also noted in
the conceptualization of her instructional plan. As mentioned previously, Stephanie is placed in a
math class with only three other students; one being another girl that she gets along very well
with and the other two being boys. From initially observing Stephanie, it was easy to understand
her maturity level in terms of having friends that are both guys and girls. Stephanie typically
only attends to giving and receiving attention from the other girl student, shying away from the
boys and formulating little to no conversation with them. Throughout the lesson the students
often work in pairs during either guided practice or independent practice time; as there are a
small number of students in the room, the teacher lets the students choose their partners. Each
time that the students work in pairs, Stephanie chooses to work with the other girl student within
the room. Only once did one of the boys work with them, as a group of three, and Stephanie
slightly shut down. When working with the other girl student, she creates conversation, discusses
interests, forms eye contact, laughs and jokes, discusses how to solve the problem together,
brainstorms, and so on. However, when the boy student entered the group, she refrained from
presenting these social skills by completing her work on her own and not establishing eye
contact with the student if she needed to address him. Additionally, another observation that was
made relates to the presentation of Stephanie’s troublesome behaviors. When Stephanie does
become hard on herself and her anxiety levels raise, resulting in small outbursts of emotion, the
other students become tense and do not know how to react. Due to the lack of understanding as
to how to calm Stephanie down, her peers tend to shy away from her with the hope that her
outburst will end shortly. All in all, although Stephanie presents a basic understanding of social
skills, the goals and objectives found within her IEP are accurate depictions of what she needs to
continuously work on.

Communication:

Throughout the observations that took place within the math classroom, the student’s use of
language and communication within the lesson and with peers were also analyzed. Stephanie is
of normal functioning range in the realms of language and communication; she does not require
the use of any assistive technology within her daily functioning. Stephanie is able to fully
communicate and interact with the teacher and her peers using full sentences and proper body
language. Nonetheless, Stephanie did demonstrate difficulty in one aspect that her Speech
teacher included within her IEP goals; her tone of voice. When Stephanie seeks to participate in
guided practice or answering a question, she tends to raise her tone of voice and is very loud
when making statements. From observing this behavior and analyzing such, it is evident that her
tone of voice tends to raise when her anxiety level does the same. Essentially, she is attempting
to answer the question or solve the problem so quickly and accurately to depict mastery, that she
is not self-monitoring her communicative skills.

On the other hand, when communicating with peers, Stephanie is able to do so with ease when
she feels comfortable in the conversation or with the other person. Through the observation, the
difference in the level of communicative skills used when conversing with the other girl student
in the class verses the boy students was noticeable. Not only would Stephanie form conversation
with the other girl student, but she would also provide small gestures to her, ask her questions
based on the taught concepts, obtain classroom materials for both of them, and make facial
expressions to her. Whereas, with the boys, she would rarely form eye contact, she would not
show any facial expression, and her conversations consisted of short, precise statements.
Nonetheless, when conversing with the teacher, Stephanie demonstrated the same form of
communicative skills as she did with the other girl student in the class. This was especially
apparent when Stephanie asked to go to the bathroom; she would properly raise her hand, wait to
be addressed, ask to go to the bathroom using phrases such as “may I” and “could I please”, and
wait for a response before moving about the classroom. All in all, Stephanie has a solid
foundation of communicative skills with her peers and teachers, however could make
improvements in the areas of how she converses with varying people and the way in which she
converses within a lesson.

Activities of Daily Living:

In observing the student within the math classroom setting, much of the activities of her daily life
were assumed based on her appearance. It is apparent that she has an average to high level of
self-care skills as she is always properly dressed, based on the school policies, and well
presented. Throughout most to all of the observations, it is evident that Stephanie functions
mostly independently, with little verbal guidance provided every so often. However, the one
aspect that stood out in the observations was the fact that Stephanie wore the same style of
clothing and hair style daily. In the analysis of this observation, one can hypothesize that
Stephanie’s mother buys her clothes for her and has previously demonstrated easy methods for
her to do her hair on her own; depicting that even her daily living skills are presented and
instructed through a scaffolded approach. Additionally, her parents reported that although they
drive her and pick her up form school, she presents tendencies of a normal teenager as she rarely
accepts daily reminders and tends to rush out of the car while saying goodbye. Overall, based on
the observations and discussion with her parents, Stephanie is functioning on an independent
level in order to prepare for her future. As Stephanie is growing older, she is seeking to grow
alongside, and at the same rate, as her age-appropriate peers without letting her deficits hold her
back.

Play Skills:

As Stephanie is 12 years old and starting the teenage years, her play skills center around her
leisure and recreational activities. In accordance to the information reported from her parents and
the interactions between the teacher and the student, Stephanie does not participate in any after
school activities, clubs, or sports teams. It was reported that Stephanie’s mother attempted to get
her involved in plenty of sports or activities, however she presented little to no desire to do so.
Nonetheless, her parents did discuss that she is starting to desire and have her friends over for
hang outs; her mother even discussed one specific student within the grade that Stephanie has
grown especially close with. Her mom reported that Stephanie often texts this other student
throughout the night on a daily basis, joking around and talking about the school day. Although
Stephanie does not participate in any after school events or recreational activities, it is evident
from her communication with other students in the grade, and her attempt to form friendships,
that she is conscious of what occurs during her developmental age on a social level. Again,
Stephanie is seeing and understanding how other students are acting at that time of life and
attempting to act the same. Essentially, she is depicting what is socially appropriate and valid for
a girl her age, and she is attempting to form the proper social and communicative skills to
partake in such.

Vocational Skills:
N/A; the student is only 12 years of age.
Academic Achievement:

Based on the reference of the student’s IEP and the discussion with the student’s parents and
case manager, academically she is doing well in all settings. Presently, Stephanie is in a Pull-Out
Resource Math and Language Arts class, however transitioning into the ICR Language Arts
setting in Eighth-Grade. Additionally, she is enrolled in the ICR setting for Science and Social
Studies, along with being in an inclusion setting for her language and elective courses. Within
Language Arts and Writing, Stephanie presently has an A average. As noted by the special
education teacher, Stephanie does well in terms of comprehension, independent reading, writing,
understanding key features, recalling information, asking and answering questions, and much
more. Additionally, in Math, Stephanie is also receiving an A average and doing well in the
skills of problem solving, showing mathematical steps, memorizing integer and mathematical
rules, focusing on the process of solving equations, and so on. In Science, Stephanie currently is
receiving a B average. In observing Stephanie and speaking with her teacher, it was apparent that
Stephanie enjoys the 7th grade Science curriculum. Overall, Stephanie is involved in lessons,
works well with her peers in class during labs, works well in small group and large group
discussion, takes notes independently, and completes all assignments in a timely manner.
Stephanie is presently only receiving format modifications based on the 7th grade curriculum; it
is apparent that Stephanie performs well and becomes highly engaged in hands on activities.
However, in Social Studies, Stephanie struggles a bit, not in terms of the material but instead
how her characteristics affects her learning and her social experiences. Essentially, the teacher
reported that although she is a hard worker and is polite to the teachers, her anxiety tends to
overcome her and she reacts to the social setting within the classroom. Her stress and anxiety
causes her to display a level of frustration out-loud in class; causing the social structure of the
room to decline and the other students to feel uncomfortable. Essentially, it is from the
observations and discussion with her teachers, case manager, and parents, that all in all Stephanie
is performing at a high academic level. Although she presents certain characteristics, they center
around her social/emotional deficits and do not fully affect her achievement in her core subject
classes. Overall, Stephanie is able to perform on level with her peers academically and is
transitioning to be placed in mostly ICR settings.

Sensory Issues:

In terms of Stephanie’s ability to regulate her sensory system, based on observation she does
present several deficits in this specific area. Stephanie has difficulty receiving, filtering,
organizing, and making use of information, which are common characteristics of Sensory
Integration Dysfunction. Under SID, students often present challenges in various differentiated
realms; auditory, gustatory, olfactory, visual, tactile, vestibular, and proprioceptive. Essentially,
the vestibular system reacts to movement, whereas the proprioceptive system receives feedback
from the bodies joints and muscles. All other senses are based on the five sense of sight, touch,
smell, hearing, and taste. Nonetheless, the characteristics that Stephanie presents that indicate she
cannot properly regulate her sensory system are as followed: repetitive behaviors (rocking and
smiling at objects around the classroom), poor handwriting, poor eye contact, fear and anxiety of
new routines, and fear of loud noises (such as the fire alarm). Essentially, through the
presentation of these characteristics, they indicate that Stephanie’s brain is unable to process and
filter the information which causes her to become overwhelmed by the amount of sensory input.

Summary of Current Skills

Presently, Stephanie is doing very well in math and performing at an average to above average
level within the Pull-Out Resource math setting. Stephanie has been introduced to and taught a
variety of new skills and concepts that have spiraled from her understanding of the 6th grade
curricula. Thus far, the skills/concepts that Stephanie has learned are as followed: identifying
integers, solving equations within absolute value signs, adding integers, subtracting integers,
multiplying integers, dividing integers, replacing variables with specific values and solving the
equation using the integer rules, solving order of operations expressions while implementing the
integer rules, exponents, the operations of rational numbers using the integer rules, ratios and
unit rates, proportional/non-proportional relationships, percent’s, combining like terms, and
adding and subtracting linear expressions. As much of these concepts require multi-step solving
strategies and memorization, it is required of Stephanie to use a large part of her working
memory throughout the lessons. Stephanie has been doing very well in doing so; she rarely uses
the process cards that the class creates or even the step by step guide in solving each type of
equation, however she does use a calculator for basic arithmetic. Stephanie is most often able to
memorize the steps in solving equations and problems during the first day of the lesson and
continue to do so throughout the chapter. Presently, through observation and reviewing her
benchmark test scores, Stephanie also has an average to above average retention rate for the Pull-
Out Resource math class setting. However, the pacing of the ICR setting, along with Stephanie’s
anxiety, worries her teacher to transition her. Nonetheless, Stephanie also demonstrates the
following qualities: strong independent note taking skills, an eagerness to participate in all
aspects of the lesson, completes assignments in a timely manner, works well with other students,
prepares for class daily, has strong organizational skills, and advocates for herself to other peers
and then the teacher when confused. Overall, Stephanie possess all strong, collegiate skills that
are vital to the success of a student throughout their academic years. It is of the belief of her
parents, case manager, and teachers that Stephanie will succeed throughout high school and
achieve her goal of attending college, with little modification to several
social/behavioral/emotional skills.

As reported from her parents, teachers, and case manager, Stephanie struggles in several
attributes that often restrict her socially and academically. Mentioned previous, Stephanie tends
to rush herself through work with the idea that finishing first depicts mastery of the content. In
rushing through her work, she often makes small errors that lead her to get the problems
incorrect. However, in accordance to Stephanie’s teacher, she should not be making these small
errors as she presents an understanding of the concept in those areas within the lesson and
informal assessments. When the teacher confronts Stephanie about the minor mistakes that she
has made, it is evident that her level of anxiety rises and she becomes upset, shuts down, and
tries to rush to complete the assignment again without fully listening to the teacher. Presently this
pattern of behavior is not fully impacting Stephanie’s grades, however it is impeding on her
social skills along with her success in achieving her goals for the future. Stephanie would greatly
benefit from continuously practicing coping skills based on her actions and emotions, building
her self-confidence, and understanding that the focus of mastering math is based on
understanding the steps and skill rather than completing the assignment first. Additionally,
Stephanie struggles in remaining fully on task and dealing with the emotions of self-realization
of such. Essentially, Stephanie also benefits from clear, precise directions and expectations, time
management in terms of how long an assignment should take, and cueing methods. Overall,
Stephanie’s skill deficits center around the lack of regulating her emotions within various
academic settings, causing her to struggle socially and restrict her academically.

Instructional Plan

Goal:
The student will use the Concrete-Representational-Abstract (CRA) model to guide her in
solving one and two step algebraic equations involving positive and negative integers.
Additionally, through the use of the model, the student will not be able to rush through the
assignments and focus on the skill at hand.

Objective:
During involvement and participation in within the pre-algebra lesson, the student will
implement all three models to depict solving one and/or two step equations in 4 out of 5
opportunities when provided algebra tiles.

Materials:
 Visual directions based on how to use the algebra tiles
 Pictorial cues of the amount each algebra tiles represents
 Algebra tile manipulatives
 SmartBoard & online algebra tools
 One and two step algebraic equation worksheets

Setting for Instruction:

This lesson will occur in the child’s math pull-out resource classroom.

Procedure:
 Introduce a one-step algebraic equation on the front SmartBoard and have the student
turn and talk to a partner of her choice (that she is comfortable with) based on how to
solve it.
 Present the CRA model by introducing each step of the intervention.
o Focus primarily on the concrete aspect of the intervention first; visually introduce
the algebra tiles on the SmartBoard and the amount each tile represents.
 Represent the one-step equation using the algebra tiles and instruct the student in finding
the value of “x” by using the algebra tiles to solve.
o Provide the student algebra tiles for her to use while solving two more equations.
Transition the student into the representational aspect of the intervention by
drawing a model of the algebra tiles herself; take the tiles away and only use them
on the front SmartBoard within the guided practice format.
o If the student struggles, visually prompt her by providing her one of each algebra
tile on her desk with the amount of each labeled on them, and guide her in
drawing a model together first. Continuously reference back to the tiles located at
 the top of her desk so that she can visually understand how to draw each one, or
even use the tiles to trace a drawing.
 After solving one together and watching her complete another problem, scaffold the
student towards independence in the representational aspect of the model.
 After, show the class the abstract aspect of the model by solving an example problem
concretely, representationally, and then fully mathematically on the board; depicting the
difference of each stage of the model.
 Have the student complete one to two problems abstractly.
 After, discuss with the student what step of the model works best for her, why, and how
using this intervention reduces her anxiety about finding the right answer in math.
 Throughout the chapter, allow the student to use the step of the model that works best for
her.
o Reintroduce the steps within solving two-step algebraic equations and assess
whether the student uses the same step or begins implementing one of the other
two.
 At the end of the chapter, provide one of each tile on her desk and allow the student to
use the step(s) that work best for her on the test.

Motivation/Reinforcement:
Motivation: The student is extremely goal-oriented where she aims to transition into the ICR
setting for Math and eventually attend college. The student does well in formulating goals for
herself when she is provided the reality of what she is going to learn this year, the expectations
of the teacher, the level she needs to work at, and what material she will be learning next year. In
order to provide motivation to the student, I will have a discussion with her about the relation
between the one and two-step algebraic equations that she will learn this year, to how she needs
to apply the same concept in more advanced problems next year. I will then show her an example
of an 8th grade problem that scaffolds from the 7th grade material. By doing this, her anxiety will
also lessen as she is able to understand how this chapter is used in future context, appreciate the
use of the model as an instructional aide, and formulate realistic goals for herself.
Reinforcement: As reinforcement for properly implementing the model within solving the
equations, the student will receive praise and positive feedback. Additionally, the student will
receive positive reinforcement by being able to participate in teaching the class specific problems
at the board and act as a “math expert” within the skill. However, when the student does struggle,
she will be given one on one instruction to guide her in understanding where she had made an
error in her steps; providing direct reinforcement based on the skill.

Context for Maintenance:

 Follow the same procedure for other mathematical concepts (such as inequalities)
 Allow the child to continue use of the model within 8th grade pre-algebra
 Continuously practice the model within review stations
 Discuss what type of method in the CRA model works best for her and how this relates to
the style of learner she is in this specific chapter

Context for Generalization:

  Provide a list of all 7th grade math concepts taught throughout the year and make a list
together of what other math concepts the student can use the CRA model for to reduce
her anxiety. Have the student keep the list in her math binder in a “safe place”
o Use the CRA model on any concept from the list in review stations as practice for
implementing the intervention based on several different skills
 Discuss with the student how she can use the CRA in Science and Language Arts;
modeling observations from experiments, and forming an essay from a visual
conceptualized from reading a text.
 Conceptualize how the student can use the CRA model in planning and executing
projects in all subject areas and within life projects.

Additional Resources:
Autism-Help. Autism spectrum disorders: Fact sheet. Received from: http://www.autism-
help.org/comorbid-sensory-problems.htm.

Autism Speaks. Visual supports and autism spectrum disorders. Received from:
https://www.autismspeaks.org/docs/sciencedocs/atn/visual_supports.pdf.

Minahan, J. & Rappaport, N. (2013). Anxiety in students: A hidden culprit in behavior issues.
Kappan, 94(2), 34-39.

Pape, S. J. & Tchoshanov, M. A. (2001). The role of representation(s) in developing

mathematical understanding. Theory into Practice, 40(2), 118-127.

Stroizer, S., Hinton, V., Flores, M., and Terry, L. (2015). An investigation of the effects of CRA
instruction and students with autism spectrum disorder. Education and Training in Autism
and Developmental Disorders, 50(2), 223-236.

Witzel, B. S., Riccomini, P. J., & Schneider, E. (2008). Implementing CRA with secondary
students with learning disabilities in mathematics. Hammill Institute on Disabilities, 43(5),
270-276.

Yakubova, G., Hughes, E. M., & Shinaberry, M. (2016). Learning with technology: Video
modeling with concrete-representational-abstract sequencing for students with autism
spectrum disorder. J Autism Developmental Disorders, 46(7), 2349-2362.