RUNNING HEAD: INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES STUDENT PROFILE IDP/1

Individual Differences Student Profile

Kayla Bordi

Dr. Tracey J. Meyerhoeffer

EDUC 205 Development/Individual Differences

Online, Spring 2018

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Individual Differences Student Profile

Children have an incredible desire to learn and the ability to develop despite hardships,

disabilities, or various life circumstances. Because those desires and hardships differ with each

individual child, it is important to have an understanding of underlying theoretical ideas on

development as well as real-life observations of the unique child’s circumstances and operation.

In this essay, I will dive into one particular child’s development and learning by providing

observations and connecting them to theoretical ideas and proven classroom strategies.

General Information

Jane is a four year and three months old female with spina bifida who uses a wheelchair.

She lives with her mother, father, and eight year old brother. She comes to preschool Monday

through Thursday from eight to eleven-thirty and there is no preschool on Friday. She rides the

bus to and from school every day except on Wednesday when her mom picks her up for weekly

physical therapy sessions. When there is no preschool Jane is home with her mother. Her leisure

activities include individual playtime as well as playtime with her older brother. Normal bedtime

for Jane is eight PM and normal wake time is six AM.

Physical Development

Jane is Caucasian with blonde hair and blue eyes. She is average in height and shows

similar physical attributes as her same-age peers—average hair length, torso, arms, etc. Jane’s

overall general physical health is not compromised because of her wheelchair use and she has

good eyesight and hearing. Jane is dominantly right handed but will sometimes switch to her left

hand on occasion, which is normal for her age.

Jane’s muscle development is significantly hindered as a result of her spina bifida. She

has weekly physical and occupational therapy sessions, provided by the school district, where
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she works on both large and small muscle development. Precedence is put on developing her

large muscles and, with the help of a para, Jane spends an hour a day in her stand-up walking

braces where both her legs and her back are straightened. Her small muscle development is not

as affected by her condition as she can use a pencil, cut paper, serve herself food, and buckle her

wheelchair seatbelt, but with little fine motor fluency.

Cognitive Development

Jane is in the second year of her three-year preschool program. This program provides

unique early intervention plans for all eligible students. The classroom combines characteristics

of both Piagetian and Vygotskian classrooms, accepting individual differences and planning

accordingly, but leans more toward Vygotskian practices of assisted discovery and peer

collaboration (Berk & Meyers, 2016). It is very interactive with an appropriate amount of adults

present to aid and engage students. Jane participates in all classroom activities except outside

time where she instead plays inside with a para.

Jane’s academic strengths include counting up to ten, knowing the letters in her name,

and recognizing colors. Her academic weaknesses include limited writing and math ability.

Generally, Jane shows healthy motivation and initiative through her desire to participate in

classroom stations and activities. However, when Jane participates in cognitively demanding

tasks, such as writing or math, she is very distractible and her attention span is short. She

constantly needs redirection and adult engagement. When the task is not cognitively demanding,

such as story-time or playtime, Jane is more attentive than the majority of her peers.

Based off of her age, Jane is in Jean Piaget’s preoperational stage of development and

this is evident in her accurate use of symbols and representations during her make-believe

playtime (Berk & Meyers, 2016). Jane’s thinking and learning are consistent with that of her
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peers in the same-age development stage. She can accurately count up to ten but shows an

inability to conserve in number related activities.

Socio-emotional Development

Jane has two distinct peer interactions. When she is in her wheelchair or sitting on the

floor she tends to be shy and quiet, preferring nonsocial activities or parallel play where peer

engagement is very limited. When she is in her standing braces with an adult holding her up she

begins to interact more with her peers, engaging in both associative and cooperative play,

politely asking her peers to get things for her that are out of her reach or playing pretend kitchen

with her peers. Jane answers any questions an adult may ask but does not initiate conversation or

ask questions unless she is comfortable with the adult and he/she is fully attentive and ready to

aid her.

Jane’s self-concept is developing normally for her age. She shows an understanding of

her individuality and describes herself in physical and emotional attributes when asked. Jane’s

self-esteem is definitely not a negative one. She is full of joy and loves to play games when she’s

comfortable. However, she does understand the limitations that come with her disability and uses

phrases like “Me can’t do it” when faced with a challenging task. Based off of her age, Jane is in

Erik Erikson’s initiative vs. guilt stage of socio-emotional development and this becomes

apparent during classroom and social activities where she shows a more active desire to

participate when aided by an adult than when on her own (Berk & Meyers, 2016).

Summary, Conclusion, and Implications

In summary, Jane has characteristics of both typical and atypical levels of development.

Due to her spina bifida and wheelchair use, her muscle development is hindered and thus

complete participation in classroom activities is difficult to achieve. She is also not at a typical
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level of socio-emotional development. She spends the majority of her time with adults and she

does not have any outstanding peer relationships or friendships. In addition, her developing self-

esteem is different than that of her peers due to her disability. On the flip side, Jane displays

typical cognitive development for her age as she can grasp certain concepts that line up with that

of her peers as well as theoretical findings of both Piaget and Erikson.

Jane is very cooperative and compliant. She will complete tasks when asked and she

shows a desire to overcome challenges with the help of an adult. Jane does need considerable

attention because of her atypical muscle development but her joyful and willful temperament

make work and progression toward developmental goals a fun and worthwhile activity.

In order to support Jane’s learning and development, she needs extra practice performing

various motor development skills. Improving her small muscle development would significantly

benefit her classroom participation and her self-esteem. Frequently engaging Jane in various

tasks such as writing her name, coloring, or using scissors will increase her fine-motor skills and

give her more confidence in her abilities. In addition, Jane would benefit socio-emotionally from

an increase in same-age peer interaction. Providing more opportunities for cooperative play in

the classroom will give Jane that increased interaction.

Most children at one point or another will face difficulty in school whether it is because

of a disability or various life circumstances. It is up to teachers to recognize when a child is in

need and to act on his/her need. In situations like Jane’s the need will be obvious, but there are

also those students with a less obvious need, perhaps experiencing internalizing emotional

disorders. In all cases, it is important to be able to recognize need through direct observations

and to apply that to theoretical ideas and implement effective classroom strategies.
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References

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

Pearson.