Running Head: INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES STUDENT PROFILE

Individual Differences Student Profile

Bryan Zaharko
Professor: Natalie Raass
EDUC 205: Development / Individual Differences
Spring 2015

Individual Difference Student Profile Essay

IDSP

I recently had the fantastic opportunity to observe the inner workings

of the Special Education Facility at Middleton Heights Elementary School
located in Middleton, Idaho. During my three days student teaching at the
Heights I was fortunate enough to become accounted with a fantastic young
man whom, throughout this essay, I will call James. In the proceeding
paragraphs I will discuss James general information, physical development,
cognitive development, socio-emotional development, and will provide a
summary of my major findings.
General Information
As mentioned in my introduction, I will be focusing the following
paragraphs of this writing on a very special nine year-old third grader whom
for the purpose of this essay will be called James. I chose to focus my
efforts in both my in class observation and the writing of this paper on James
because unlike other students whom I had observed in a special education
setting, this wasnt James first year in Special Education, but despite major
personal and educational struggles James actually had no documented
disability meaning that even though there were major areas of concern in
all of James life, no teacher had yet nailed down the underlying cause of his
academic inadequacies. Although there has been no official documented
disability ascribed to James, one major issue that was (and has been) of
major concern, and is extremely evident, is the fact that his mother and
father had left James for reasons unknown and he is now being raised by his
grandparents who may not be giving him the support that he needs.

IDSP

In the classroom, James does have an Individualized Education

Program (IEP), which includes several teaching strategies focused giving
James the best chance to succeed in an increasing difficult environment. He
seems to have issues connecting with his fellow students; thusly his general
education instructor has implemented accommodations to allow James the
opportunity to communicate with his peers. Among these accommodations
peer tutoring has been key in opening the door of interaction between
James and other students. Nonetheless, James least restrictive area is still
inside the recourse room, where he feels similar, if not superior to other
students.
Physical Development
James is a Caucasian male with long wispy hair and large eyes that
stand apart from the otherwise small stature. At nine years-old, James is
barley four and a half feet tall and 60lbs. His slender frame sets him apart
from his peers and has contributed negatively to his self-esteem and socio
status within the classroom which will be further later in this writing. James
is right handed, but holds his pencils and pens sloppily suggesting that his
small muscle skills are underdeveloped. Although James does not seem to
have any general health concerns, he is very un-athletic and has a very
difficult time physically keeping up with other students in his physical
education class, which leads to the assumption that (like his small muscle
skills) his large muscle development is also unfledged. As evidenced by his

IDSP

size, dexterity, and physicality, I am safe to state that James is well behind
those his own age in terms of physical development.
Cognitive Development
James cognitive development, likened to his physical development,
seems to be behind that of his peers. James cognition, or his ability to
strategically solve moderate to complex problems, seems to be of prime
concern with his teachers as is his showing of practical intelligence, which
describes his ability to handle everyday problems. James is extremely polite,
but seems to be so in such a way as to compensate for his ability to mentally
adapt to the rigors of academia.
In his general education classes, James sits properly and seems to play
attention, but oftentimes loses his focus and ends up staring blankly in the
teachers general direction. James reading comprehension, which is his
ability to understand that which is being read, seems to go far beyond his
reading fluency. This suggests that he is ability to understand exceeds his
ability to undertake, pointing towards a possible diagnosis of dyslexia, which
would explain James inability to properly read and write in juxtaposition to
his ability to comprehend what is being read or written.
Oftentimes James seems to be distressed by his inability to mentally
progress in comparison with his classmates, which results in uncharacteristic
rare acts of sudden acts of rage which would seem to suggest that James is
in Jean Piagets preoperational stage, in which the lack of logical process and
progress prompt him to make decisions based on his individual awarenesss.

IDSP
James outbursts are extremely personally disheartening because from
someone who had so little, his calm demeanor seemed to be a sign that he
had the ability to overcome extenuating circumstances; however, these acts
of rage seem to cast doubts on his ability to properly overcome his dire
personal condition and point to potential underlying Emotional
Disturbances.
Socio-emotional Development
James seems to have a very difficult time fitting in with is peers;
although he is extremely polite and respectful, his negative self-concept
restricts him from forming bonds with those in his class. This inability to
interact forces Jason to approach conversations with others awkwardly. He
seems to be unable to use speech to properly communicate which could
point to a communication disorder which could further sabotage future
relationships.
Although much about James Clinical History between him and
parents, are a bit of a mystery, we do know that his mother and father had
left James for reasons unknown and he is now being raised by his
grandparents who have Guardianship over James do not attend scholastic
conferences and feed Jason unhealthy fast foods frequently. The Special
Education teacher at Middleton Heights Elementary seem to think that there
may be tense family interactions between James and his Grandparents,
including mental, verbal, and physical abuse which could explain James
negative personal views and violent tendencies.

IDSP

I would venture as far to claim that on Eriksons stages of socioemotional development James is still on the trust vs. mistrust stage. The
trust vs. mistrust stage of Eriksons socio-emotional model is usually
surpassed by children over the age of two whose basic needs are being met
by their parents and this interaction leads to trust; but since his parents have
been out of his life for so long, James is still having issues finding trust within
his personal and academic family.
Summary, Conclusions, and Implications
While discuss James general, physical, cognitive, and socio-emotional
developments I would have to say that James is not at a typical level of
development in either domain. For James general development, James
seems to have issues connecting with his fellow students; thusly his general
education instructor has implemented accommodations to allow James the
opportunity to communicate with his peers, but progress seems slow if not
immobile.
As far as his physical development James is nine years old but barley
four and a half feet tall and 60lbs. His slender frame sets him apart from his
peers and contributes negatively to his self-esteem and socio status within
the classroom. James is very un-athletic and has a very difficult time
physically keeping up with other students in his physical education class,
which leads to the assumption that (like his small muscle skills) his large
muscle development is also unfledged. As evidenced by his size, dexterity,

IDSP

and physicality, I am safe to state that James is well behind those his own
age in terms of physical development.
Like his physical development, James cognitive development is also
decelerated compared to his peers: James cognitive ability to strategically
solve moderate to complex problems, seems to be of prime concern with his
teachers as is his showing of practical intelligence, which describes his ability
to handle everyday problems. Oftentimes James seems to be distressed by
his inability to mentally progress in comparison with his classmates, which
results in uncharacteristic rare acts of sudden acts of rage.
Socio-emotionally speaking, James seems to have a very difficult time
fitting in with is peers; although he is extremely polite and respectful, his
negative self-concept restricts him from forming bonds with those in his
class. This inability to interact forces Jason to approach conversations with
others awkwardly may stem from James tense family interactions
between him and his Grandparents, including speculative mental, verbal,
and physical abuse which could explain James negative personal views and
violent tendencies.
Some of James strengths are that he has a big heart, and an evident desire
to overcome his modest social and family circumstances to become the best person
that he can be. He is authentic, polite, and mature, but still has many hills to climb.

He has significant issues connecting with his fellow students; thusly his
general education instructor has implemented accommodations to allow
James the opportunity to communicate with his peers. Among these

IDSP
accommodations peer tutoring has been key in opening the door of
interaction between James and other students. These accommodations
should be maintained, and nurtured; the biggest area of possible
enhancement for James is social interaction. For as his interaction with
others improve, so may his self-worth grow, and his cognitive capacity
develop.

References

IDSP
Callahan D., Kauffman, J. Pullen, P. (2015). Exceptional Learners: An
Introduction to Special Education. Boston, MA: Pearson Education Inc.