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Running Head: INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES STUDENT PROFILE

Individual Differences Student Profile

Megan Gallegos

Instructor: Tracey Meyerhoeffer

EDUC 205: Development/Individual Differences

Spring 2017
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Individual Difference Student Profile

Adolescent years are perhaps the toughest times in human development. Dealing with

new hormones, that cause physical and emotional changes, and finding a balance between

family, friends, and school is all rough. Then, add in a learning disability and things seem to get

even messier. This is what my friend, Manuel, is dealing with right now. He is a 7th grader in a

small Idaho town. He has a severe learning disability and is very limited in reading, writing, and

mathematics. In this profile, I will discuss Manuels development physically, socially, and

academically while living with this learning disability.

General Information

Manuel is a thirteen years and one month old, Hispanic, male student. He comes from a

very large blended family. His father is Hispanic and his mother is Caucasian. His dad works at

a dairy in Gooding, Idaho, while his mom is a stay-at-home mom. They are of middle-to-lower

social-economic status. His father has children from previous relationships, and together

Manuels mother and father have more of their own. Some of his other siblings suffer from

severe learning disabilities as well as handicaps. Coming from two different races, he is

bilingual, speaking both English and Spanish. He spends most of his day at school, but after

school, he spends his free time playing sports, like soccer, and helping take care of his younger

siblings. Although his mother and father are together, they live in separate households due to

conflicts between family relationships. He spends most of his time at his mothers house. At

school, his routine consists of mainly bouncing from classes to the resource room, where he

gets extra help so he doesnt have to worry about much homework at home when hes alone.
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Physical Development

Manuel looks like an average 7th grade student. He has brown eyes, black hair, and tan

skin. He is slim and hes taller than most other students his age. He looks to be in perfect

physical health. Manuels hearing is perfect as well, but he found out he was nearsighted in the

second grade and now wears contacts to school. Manuel has a slight lisp when he speaks, but

from what I observed, it does not bother him. He was rather shy and quiet though when I

interviewed him. When speaking with his teachers though, they describe him as the exact

opposite. His instructors label him as outgoing and friendly. He shows a tremendous amount of

respect for his teachers, and tends to cling on to the ones hes developed good relationships with

over the years. Hes developed an attachment to these individuals and confides in them daily.

Manuel is a very physically active adolescent. His favorite sport is soccer and his favorite

class is PE. He excels at physical activities by displaying his talents and seems more coordinated

than others his age. His Hispanic culture plays a part in his admiration of sports, especially

soccer. His siblings and close peers play soccer as well. He is right handed. He does not appear

to have any problems with fine motor skills or show any limitations in his gross motor skills.

His nutritional level is also normal when compared to his peers.

Cognitive Development

Manuel currently attends Gooding Middle School. Half of his day is spent with his peers

in normal classes. Manuel seems to struggle with focusing and keeping his attention on his

work. During his normal classes, he is on an individualized education plan (IEP). He stays in the

classroom most of the time, but is allowed to take his coursework, quizzes, and tests to the
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resource room where an instructor helps guide him and keeps him on task. The other half of his

day consists of math, reading, and spelling courses in the resource room. This room is designed

for students with learning disabilities. Education personnel in the resource room help break down

content further and go at a slower pace. He is currently enrolled in academic courses beneath the

normal level for his age because of his learning disability. He is unable to read or write at the

appropriate level for his grade. This makes learning even more difficult for other academic areas

because he cannot fully understand the content.

Socio-emotional Development

While observing Manuel, he seems to have good and healthy relationships with his peers,

but he does not have a few stand-out, best friends he associates with. He seems more readily able

to talk to other Hispanic students, often speaking in Spanish. Manuel interacts with peers

normally for his age and demonstrates great relationships with his teachers, although his grades

may not reflect that. He is, however, quick to ask for help for content he finds confusing. Manuel

is also very respectful towards his teachers. During PE, his teacher and I discussed how he is

always eager and willing to get equipment for the day from the supply closet, set up the

activities, and help take them down at the end of class. I believe Manuel is operating in the fourth

stage of Erik Eriksons eight psychosocial stages. This stage deals with industry vs inferiority. In

this stage, children are still learning how things work, as well as how to understand and organize

concepts, while teachers and parents are the main influence. Manuel also is learning to cope with

the new social and academic demands of middle school.

Summary of Major Findings

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My major findings indicate that Manuel struggles in most academic areas, but otherwise

blends in with typical teenagers. I believe Manuel is operating in Piagets Concrete Operational

Stage. He has not begun to think abstractly yet, but he does display logical thinking, which

shows he has moved beyond Piagets Preoperational Stage. He struggles with cognitive self-

regulation on a daily basis at school. His teachers all agree that if he focused more, he would be

able to understand more content and realize his academic potential. When doing school work, he

tries to use rehearsal as a memory strategy, but he does not understand the underlying concepts

of using this strategy.

Manuel seems to be independent and has a good grasp of who he is in comparison to

others his age. He has seen his siblings struggle with learning disabilities far more severe than

his own, so I believe he has had to step into roles more mature than his age would typically

indicate. Additionally, Manuel shows compassion and sympathy for his siblings. This kind-

heartedness is part of what makes up Manuels identity. He is a unique, kind kid who has a

bright future ahead of him. With the right tools and support, he can accomplish whatever he

wants to put his mind to.

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References

Berk, L. E., & Meyers, A. B. (2016). Infants, children, and adolescents (8th ed.).

Boiston: Pearson.