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PEPSI Screening
Cameron Wilson
College of Southern Nevada
Edu. 220
October 23, 2016
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Alyssa Noel was born in Los Angeles, California in 2003. She was raised by a single

mother who escaped an abusive relationship by moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 2009. Alyssa is

now in the 8th grade, and says that despite her ADHD, which she was diagnosed with when she

was 6, she loves school and wants to go to college to be a veterinarian someday. Her mother says

“she refuses to let her disorder control her life, and that’s the greatest thing about her. She’s

unbothered by her circumstances.”

Growing up, Alyssa was a very hyper child. Her mother admits to writing it off as her just

being a kid, but when her behavior started to affect her performance in school, her teacher sat

down with Robin, her mother, and respectfully suggested that the reason for her behavior may be

more than just “kids being kids”. Robin took the teachers advice to take Alyssa to a professional,

and it was there she was diagnosed with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). Her

mother also admits that she was hesitant about starting her on medication, fearing that it would

hinder Alyssa, but the doctor assured her that the medication was going to help her maintain “a

normal sense of self”. Although she was worried, she abided. “The doctor was right,” she said

while starting to get emotional. “The medication helped Alyssa become a normal student rather

than a classroom nuisance, and for that I am so thankful.”

Today Alyssa is a happy, healthy 13-year-old 8th grader at a local middle school. She

plays basketball, she loves animals and art, and even though she says she still struggles in certain

subjects like math and English, she is determined to finish school so she can help animals. Robin

says that animals have always been Alyssa’s passion since she was a baby, so there’s no surprise

that her daughter wants to become a vet. Robin is a very supportive mother and that is a major

key to a child’s success.

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Physical Development
Physically, the student is maturing quite rapidly. At five feet and nine inches tall, some

may argue that she is maturing at a more rapid rate than her female peers, but this assumption is

false because some girls are late-maturing while others are early-maturing (Snowman, McCown,

2015, pg. 94). Alyssa is an early-maturing girl. Since she hit puberty, her mother says she spends

much more time in the morning getting ready for school, and also says that since entering the 8th

grade, Alyssa has had issues with her self-esteem, which is common for girls who are early-

maturing (Snowman, McCown, 2015, pg. 94). Her mother was shocked when she asked her if

she could shave her armpits because a girl in her Physical Education class who did not mature as

fast as she did told her having hair under her arms was “unnatural”. Realistically, body hair is

very common for young adolescents. Most girls develop pubic and underarm hair by ages eleven

through thirteen (Snowman, McCown, 2015, pg. 95).

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Emotional Development
Alyssa’s emotional development is on par with normal adolescent development. She

struggles to find her own sense of identity while living with three younger brothers who all look

up to her as another mother figure. This puts a lot of pressure on a young girl. They fail to realize

that she is not much older than them and cannot provide them the kind of support they’re seeking

from her. She speaks of “having anxiety” from dealing with the added stress, as well as the

added pressure to do well in school and maintain a social life, which is normal for a girl her age

(Snowman, McCown, 2015, pg. 98). She spends a lot of time in the bathroom, checking her

appearance in the mirror, just as any other 13-year-old would. She exclaims that her mother

doesn’t understand why she has to spend so much time in the bathroom, or why she can’t leave

until her hair is just perfect. The student displayed “adolescent egocentrism”, as talked about on

page 98 of Psychology Applied to Teaching. Her mother pointed out that Alyssa had changed

her outfit 5 times before coming to school that day, and she worried that her daughter may be

putting her physical appearance before her academic obligations. I assured her that this was a

normal part of the adolescent process, and she was very relieved to find out that Alyssa is right

on track with her emotional development.

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Philosophical Development
Alyssa is quite an inquisitive adolescent. Although she is at the stage in her life where she

feels that she knows everything, she still asks her mother questions about the world around her.

She uses her mother’s answers to formulate her own opinions about life, which is a great sign in

philosophical development. Refining her ideas about life is an inevitable experience that she will

go through at this age (Feibleman, 1969, pg. 477-510).

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Social Development
The dynamic of her relationships with her mother and her siblings is different than the

dynamic of her relationship with children who are the same age as her, and that’s to be expected.

Children are more likely to have in-depth conversations with people of their own age than people

who are older (or younger) than they are (Snowman, McCown, 2015, pg. 45). The only problem

is that she is still stuck in her adolescent egocentrism. She talks to people and they listen to her,

but when other people talk she doesn’t seem to process what they are saying without her brain

already generating a response. This would lead me to believe that she is ranking a bit lower in the

social development area, but not much. Alyssa is a very popular girl at her school. “It is the need

to understand the ideas of a peer or playmate to formulate responses to those ideas that leads to

less egocentrism and the development of new, more complex mental schemes (Snowman,

McCown, 2015, pg. 45).

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Intellectual Development
As a student with ADHD, Alyssa has trouble focusing on her schoolwork at times. Her

inability to focus causes her to become disruptive in the classroom. The teacher says that when

she concentrates on her work, she does very well, but when she is hyperactive she doesn’t do as

well in the class. This lines up with research conducted about ADHD. According to the

Psychiatric Times (2009), students with ADHD “often tend to have a slightly lower IQ, but

medications may boost the IQ score by 2 to 5 points.” When she forgets to take her medication,

her teacher knows it, and she tries her best to accommodate her behavior, but the teacher also

feels that she cannot continue to cater to one students needs without the others starting to take

notice or feel neglected.

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Graph
P E P S I

Normal for age

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Recommendations
Physical Development
Being tall and athletically built, I recommend enlisting her in some sort of sport. Basketball

would keep her active, healthy, and would build a strong sense of identity in the student.
Emotional Development
The freedom to express emotional independency is something that Alyssa needs, especially being

the oldest sibling and the only sister. She needs someone in her life who will lend an ear to her

emotions. Adolescents are at a very sensitive time in their lives, and what they need is someone

who truly cares to listen to what they have to say. She needs someone on her side at this time, in

a world that can disregard adolescent emotions and write them off as unimportant.
Physiological Development
Alyssa’s physiological development is on par with her age range, so I don’t have any

recommendations.
Social Development
I would suggest that an elder, such as a parent or teacher, explain to Alyssa that listening is her

age range, so I don’t have any recommendations.

Social Development
I would suggest that an elder, such as a parent or teacher, explain to Alyssa that listening is

sometimes more important than talking. This problem she faces could be caused by her ADHD,

or it could just be part of her adolescent egocentrism. I would monitor her social development in

another year to see if she has grown out of her “talk without listening” phase.
Intellectual Development
Keeping Alyssa on track with her ADHD medication is critically important to her intellectual

development. If she is off her medication she will continue to be hyperactive and disruptive in

class. If she takes her medication on time, she has a really good chance of succeeding in school.
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References
Snowman, J. and McCown, R. (2016). Psychology Applied to Teaching. 14th ed. Stamford:

Cengage Learning, p.94.

Snowman, J. and McCown, R. (2016). Psychology Applied to Teaching. 14th ed. Stamford:

Cengage Learning, p.95.

Snowman, J. and McCown, R. (2016). Psychology Applied to Teaching. 14th ed. Stamford:

Cengage Learning, p.98.

Feibleman, J. (1969). The Philosophy of Adolescence. [online] pp.447-510. Available at:

http://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ013051 [Accessed 21 Oct. 2016].

Snowman, J. and McCown, R. (2016). Psychology Applied to Teaching. 14th ed. Stamford:

Cengage Learning, p.45.

Joel T. Nigg, P. (2016). Cognitive Impairments Found With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity

Disorder | Psychiatric Times. [online] Psychiatrictimes.com. Available at:

http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/adhd/cognitive-impairments-found-attention-

deficithyperactivity-disorder [Accessed 24 Oct. 2016].