Running head: DEVELOPMENT/INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES

Development Individual Differences Essay

Staci Jensen
Dr. Tracey J. Meyerhoeffer
EDUC 205 Development/Individual Differences
Online, Spring 2015

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Development/Individual Differences Essay

With the ever broadening diversity of students and their backgrounds there is an
increased need for educators to be flexible with a broad understanding to meet these needs.
Teachers are charged with the task of learning about these diversities in order to best meet the
needs of their students. Challenging as it may be to meet the many assorted educational
demands of all students, the reward for meeting their needs is immeasurable. Throughout this
essay, I will provide detail of a student that I have met and will provide information concerning
her, physical development, socio-emotional development, cognitive development, as well as a
summary and conclusion of my findings.
General Information

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I had the joy of learning about Lily (changed name) who was diagnosed with a common
learning disability, Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, (ADHD). At 11 years and one
month, Lily is living with her father, step-mother, one 15 year older sister, and one 9 year old
younger sister. Lily spends about 25% of her time, mostly during the summer months, with her
mother who lives about 1000 miles away. The household for Lily during the summer months
consists of Lily and her mother. Lily and all the members of both her families are Caucasian. In
one household, she is a middle child while in the other, she is an only child.
Lily is in the fifth grade. Her schedule is fairly consistent and comprised of her getting
on the bus every day at 7:45 a.m., eating breakfast at school, then at 8:25 a.m., she begins her
classroom time where she spends most of her day in a general education classroom with the
exception of receiving extra help with math and reading, as she is in the Title 1 program for both
subjects. After school, Lily works on homework, and then is allowed to play outside or with toys
inside. She especially enjoys using her free time to make up stories and color and draw. Lily has
many friends in school, but none that are seemingly close to her.
Physical Development
Lily has brown hair and blue eyes. She is shorter than the majority of her classmates.
She wears glasses but has normal hearing and vision. Lily has been mostly healthy this year,
only being sent home from school once due to sickness. Lily writes left handed, but is able to do
some things ambidextrously. Her handwriting is better than most of her peers, according to her
teacher. Lily also enjoys drawing and painting while excelling at both and showing her above
average fine motor skills.

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Lily does not like to participate in physical education classes though her gross motor skill
are adequately developed. According to her, she dislikes running. She seems to be physically fit,
but doesnt enjoy very physical activities. Lily eats healthy, taking a packed lunch to school each
day with fruits and vegetables, which are also included at dinner. During dinner time, Lily eats
with the rest of her family at the table while she is with her father, but during the summer
months, she often eats more processed foods while watching television.
Cognitive Development
Lily had been attending a school in Alabama before starting the fourth grade in Idaho.
According to her father, she has struggled throughout her academic career. Though she is on
medication to help her with her learning disability, her teacher says she still struggles and her
grades have been less than ideal. Her classroom time is spent trying to get her to stay on task.
She is given an assignment, and is able to work on it for a short period of time before getting
distracted and scribbling on her paper or playing with her hair. She just struggles to sit still and
focus on her tasks. Her teacher says she can participate in most of the lecture from class, but
struggles significantly when its time to sit down and focus on homework.
Lily will be starting at the 5th grade middle school next year. Her teacher expressed deep
concerns in her ability to be self-reliant in going to assigned classes on her own or even having a
locker as she is completely disorganized with her desks and has been known to lose assignments.
Lilys teacher has pushed for her to be part of the 504 plan or have an individualized education
plan in order for her middle school to best meet her specific needs and provide her with special
attention going forward in her schooling.

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Socio-emotional Development
Though Lily is easily distracted, her teacher says she is not disruptive to other kids.
At 11 years old, Lily is considered to be in the concrete operational stage, and maybe even the
formal operational stage, of Piagets stages. When prompted about why she believes the way she
does about religion, she stated that she didnt know. When asked about why she thinks a certain
way about a problem, her response always seems to be that she doesnt have the answer but still
has a strong belief system. Lily seems to have an understanding of concrete ideas, but struggles
with abstract ideas and emotions.
She is in the industry vs. inferiority stage of Erik Eriksons theory of psychosocial
development, stage five. Observing Lily with her peers, she seems to follow along with what
others in her group want to do. She voices very little opinion in what type of activities she does
with her friends. If her peers start doing something that she really doesnt want to do, she leaves
to go play by herself or, without leaving, dislocates from the group and plays with herself. She
doesnt seem to care about the approval of others as long as they arent being negative towards
her. Lily speaks with pride and a sense of accomplishment when asked about the tasks she does
well in, art and creative writing, however, there is a distinctly different tone when asked about
her math class. She feels she struggles in math. Lily has been made aware that her grades in
math are not good by both her teacher and her parents. She often must stay in from recess to
complete work that she is unable to complete in class.

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Lily is categorized in the foreclosure status of James Marcias identity theory. She isnt
questioning her ideas or thoughts and gets frustrated when even considering them. She cares
about what she is doing but dislikes any self-exploration of those ideas or thoughts.
Conclusion
Lily is a caring and normal 5th grader who struggles with ADHD. Differences in Lilys
home life with separate households and expectations are factors that also need to be considered
when addressing Lilys needs. There have been many advances in placing Lilly in special
education classes to help her in her studies. She has a great memory and if her needs can be
more singularly met, she will excel in school.
In general, Lily may have some personal struggles at home that can be overcome with
positive reinforcement with help from her teachers and her family. She has a drive to succeed
and wants to do many of the normal things her peers are doing. Physically, she appears to be on
track with her classmates. Though she isnt as physical as some of them, she is healthy and eats
well.

Cognitively, she struggles to finish assignments and has fallen behind her classmates.

She needs more time to get assignments done and help organizing her tasks in order to
accomplish the finished assignments. Socio-emotionally, she is typical in some ways but not in
others. Lily probably needs more encouragement from the adults in her life with the things she
struggles with to help strengthen her confidence.
Lily is highly creative but struggles with keeping her assignments organized and focusing
on given tasks. Her ADHD does cause problems with her learning, but if she is given redirection
and help with organization, she gets her assignments done. Some strategies to help Lily could

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include being positive and upbeat, providing options for organization by providing her extra
folders and directions in how to use them. Keeping Lilys seat close to the front of the classroom
so she can be better monitored by educators to help refocus her and provide more one-on-one
time could be additional strategies that would help Lily. In all, however, Lily has the ability to
succeed and achieve great things if supported with the appropriate strategies.

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References

Sousa, David A. How the special needs brain learns. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin, 2007

Print.

Berns, Roberta M. Child, family, school, community: Socialization and support. Belmont, CA:

Wadsworth/Thomson Learning, 2004. Print.