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Reading Header: INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES STUDENT PROFILE

Individual Differences Student Profile

Montgomery, Kazley
Instructor: Meyerhoeffer, Tracey
EDUC 205 CO5W
Spring 2014

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Individual Differences Student Profile

Within the educational system, there are many different behaviors that are seen. Often
children with behavioral problems are linked to some situations or environments. The children
may have had trauma happen to them as a young children, or maybe they just cant sit still and
need to be on the go. In this situation, Buddy had a medical condition that has affected him. In
this individual differences student profile, I will explain Buddys physical, cognitive, and socioemotional development and include a summary of my findings that may have implications for
the classroom.
General Development
Buddy is a five year five months young Caucasian boy. He is a very active, fun kid who
is full of energy. He has lived with a single mother for the majority of his life. His father moved
away when he was two years of age and has never been back to see him. He currently has no
brothers or sisters. Buddy was diagnosed with ALL (Acute lymphocytic leukemia) a week after
his second birthday. Thus far, he has had a life filled with doctors, hospitals and pain. He is now
in the process of beginning to attend public school. He spends five hours a day, five days a week
at school in a kindergarten general education classroom. There, he is taught how to read, write,
and associate with others. He has had to learn the basic rules of a school such standing in line,
keeping his hands and feet to himself, and raising his hand when it is his turn to speak. Buddy
has a hard time in this environment when it comes to listening and paying attention. He has a
hard time being told no. If he doesnt get what he wants, he is not willing to cooperate. He also
has a temper that has caused him to become mean and aggressive towards others. He is not afraid
to hit a child or throw an object when he is mad. When he shows these types of actions, he is
placed in the back of the room away from all the other children until he can calm down and

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refocus. Additionally, Buddy does not have a set schedule like getting out of bed, getting dressed,
brushing his teeth, etc. He is allowed to stay up late at night and sleep in for long periods of time,
so when he attends school, he is tired and not willing to put in his full effort. Once Buddy is out
of school for the day, he is able to go home and play outside with his toy cars or jump on the
trampoline and play in the dirt. He enjoys the outdoors and exploring what it has to offer.
However, once Buddy is done playing outside, he has to come in the house and work on his
homework. Often, he throws a fit because he doesnt want to do it. After a little bit of this
behavior, Buddys mother becomes frustrated and decides lets him go play for a while outside or
in his room, until she is ready to try it again.
Physical Development
This young boy is a three foot, square stocky child with short wavy brown hair and big
brown eyes. He is close to his same-aged peers in terms of physical development. Buddy has
been told that he will be taller than his peers, because of the medicines that were given to him at
a very young age due to his leukemia. During that time, Buddys body was very weak and he
wasnt able to progress as much physically and emotionally as most other children at his age.
Buddy had to relearn how to walk and crawl three times because of the steroids that weakened
his muscles. This medical condition has altered his social, physical and emotional behaviors.
During the time he spent in the hospital, he got everything he wanted when he wanted it. If he
wanted a new toy, he got it, if he wanted juice instead of milk, he got it. This was a process he
picked up on quickly. Though it is understandable, it was not necessarily positive as he ended up
carrying that mindset with him outside of the hospital and into the school. Now if he doesnt get
his way, he throws a fit which includes hitting things, screaming at those speaking to him, or
kicking his feet on the floor. Often, he even hits people with his dominant right hand.

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He likes to be physically active. He likes to run around outside when the weather is nice
and sunny, throw baseballs, or build sand/ dirt castles. He also enjoys jumping over rocks and
sticks or playing with cars. While jumping around outside, Buddy is exercising without even
realizing it. Exercise is a great way for him to release some of the energy that he builds up inside
throughout the day. This gives him time to do what he enjoys and to also use his great
imagination. Furthermore, it helps his muscles develop and become stronger. Buddy is able to
do many large muscle activities, including kicking, running, and jumping. Buddy also has very
strong hand eye-coordination such as following a ball that is being rolled to him in order to kick
it, but when it comes to small muscle activities such as writing his name or coloring a picture, he
seems to struggle a bit. When someone tries to teach him, he gets frustrated and then is unwilling
to work for the rest of the time at school.
Cognitive Development
Buddy is currently in kindergarten. Buddy has a shortened attention span that only allows
him to focus for ten minutes or less on a particular task, such as writing his letters and
recognizing colors and shapes. Some of this may be due to the fact that in order to cope with
medical treatments and procedures, he was constantly distracted by his mom or a nurse.
Medicines and chemicals injected into his body also may have included side effects that have
affected his ability to focus. After one semester of kindergarten, he has only been able to master
the spelling of three letters of his name. As a result, his mother withdrew him at the end of the
semester. Currently, they have been working with some at home programs to help him advance at
his own personal level.
Piaget believed that children start their learning process at a young age, but their
communication and corresponding comes through movement. In the preoperational stage of

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cognitive development, they talk and describe things that dont necessarily need to be
mentioned. For instance, if a child is writing his/her name, he/she may mention it not realizing
that those watching can see clearly what he/she is doing. In the concrete stage, students use
logic in solving problems, but they need facts to verify their findings. For instance, if a child
was to find the percentage of the amount of red colored blocks in the bag, he/she would have to
have the distinct knowledge of what colors are in the bag and how many of each color, in order
to find the percentage of red blocks. In the preoperational stage, the child is able to think
symbolically, they tend to remember more, as well as an active imagination. (Benaroch, 2012)
Buddy is currently in the preoperational stage. He is able to express to others when he is mad,
sad, happy, or has a sore body. Often, he is good about telling others that his legs, arms, and back
hurt due to the medicine he took for so long.
Socio-Emotional Development
Buddy is very capable. He has been taught from an early age to express himself and talk
using words to describe how he is feeling, and to describe aches and pains and locations of
injury. For years he has been communicating with adults and he is very comfortable interacting
with them. In fact, he seems to bond better with adults, due to the fact that his toddlerhood and
young childhood was spent in hospitals and doctors offices. Adults became his peers. When it
comes to children his age, he has limited social skills and he tends to be angry and selfish.
Additionally, he has difficulty communicating with his peers because he is easily frustrated and
intimidated by people his own size, so he shies away from talking or playing with them. Often
while talking to his peers, he ends up arguing to make his thoughts be heard. If they dont agree
with him, he pouts or cries and will not talk to them. In a group setting, Buddy is often shy and
uncooperative which seems to indicate low self-esteem, but when he is in a small or one-on-one

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group, he seems confident and a bit controlling. According to Erik Erikson, Buddy seems to
operating in the early Autonomy versus shamestage because he is still developing feelings of
independence and self-control (Trait, 2014).
Summary
Buddy suffers from an explosive temper and an uncooperative attitude, because of this
and other behaviors, he is unable to stay focused and follow even the simplest instructions.
Additionally he is not at the appropriate socio-emotional developmental level for his age
category. He lacks social and cognitive skills. Additionally, he is immature and defiant.
In contrast, Buddy values relationships with adults and is very loyal to those he loves.
Though he communicates and befriends adults easily, he needs to strengthen his skills on how to
cope and communicate with peers of his own age without getting frustrated or aggressive. Some
teaching strategies for Buddy might include conversational assignments such as saying the ABC
song together or taking turns reciting it to each other. Another suggestion might be for him to
work with others in small groups so he can take turns, play fair, and follow the rules. Buddy is a
wonderfully, smart young boy who needs help improving his weaknesses and ill behaviors so
that he can achieve a positive academic future.

References

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Benaroch,Roy. Piaget Cognitive Stages of Development. WebMD. WebMD,06 Nov,
2012. Web 28 Apr. 2014.

"Theories of Developmental Stages - STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT." - Trait Theory, Famous

Psychologists, Children, and Moral. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2014.