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Idsp Essay-Caitlin May
Idsp Essay-Caitlin May
Every child’s ability to learn is different. They all progress on their own unique
schedules. Some follow the average patterns of society and some don’t. Those that don’t
progress educationally on track with what has been deemed average standards or have a
disability may be eligible for special educations services and accommodations. An IEP is one of
the services that may be provided, and it will outline any additional accommodations or services
that will be provided to the child. Each child’s uniqueness is in essence what defines an IEP. It
is an Individualized Education Plan. Within the contents of this essay a specific student who
has an IEP will be discussed. His history, his plan, his development stages, and his provided
accommodations will be discussed and critiqued. Some IEP’s will need to be completely
rewritten at the start of every IEP cycle and some just need to have small adjustments made
based on the students’ progress. The way an IEP functions and changes is all subject to the
student it is written for and how they are learning and developing year after year.
The student is a male, approximately just under 5ft tall and Caucasian. There are a few
small moles on his face but nothing that singles him out from the other students. He has brown
hair and brown eyes. He exhibits right-handedness and appears to be in good physical health.
His teacher has expressed that he misses quite a bit of school but that it is due to lack of wanting
to do his work rather than actual illness. He has never missed school on a day of observation and
always has appeared to be in good health apart from being visibly tired. His vision and hearing
appear to be functioning fine. He can read small print on the board even from the back of the
classroom and always responds when called upon even in a loud class. He appears to have
normal physical maturation as compared to his peers. He is one of the taller kids in his class,
but he does not stand out amongst the other students. The student has also been observed talking
to his peers about playing sports during break times. This shows that he is physically active, at
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least while in school. This example also shows that his gross motor muscles are developed and
functioning properly. The student also plays an instrument for the school’s band class. His hand
writing is poor but legible. He seems to struggle with writing in small print but can handle using
a pencil to write and record information. He has also been observed coloring, staying within the
lines, and keeping his work neat. These examples demonstrate that his fine motor muscles have
The student is currently enrolled in a 5th grade public school class. His LRE is in the
general education classroom where he spends most of his time. He leaves the classroom to go
to a resource room for three different subjects every week. He goes to the special education
room 225 minutes per week for reading/written language, 90 minutes per week for math, and 30
minutes per week for organization/management. He also sees a speech language pathologist 50
minutes per month for speech and 100 minutes per month for language. These subjects that he
receives extra assistance in are the subjects that make up his IEP goals.
He has academic weaknesses in reading fluency, writing, and mathematics. His struggles
with reading fluency qualify him for specially designed small group instruction that he receives
during his 225 minutes per week in the special education room. He also has access to other
accommodations that help him with this reading fluency and weaknesses in writing. Some of
these accommodations include: using text to speech, reduced pencil and paper tasks, reread
instructions, and a buddy reader. When working with him in the classroom it was observed that
his handwriting, spelling, and sentence structure are also weak areas for him. He is however,
strengthening when it comes to mathematics and reading. He can read assignments on his own if
he stays focused and even assists other students with math problems.
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In the classroom his academic behaviors vary. His IEP diagnosis declares that he falls
under the category of “Other Health Impairment”. His teacher claims that he has A.D.D or
attention deficit disorder. His attention in the classroom is poor. He tends to focus on a
personal object at his desk or he stares off into space. Another accommodation that is provided
to him is prompts to stay on task. If he understands an assignment or has interest in it, he has an
easier time staying focused. He has expressed that his favorite subjects in school are science and
math so those are good motivators for him. He also is motivated by break times. For example,
in his classroom the kids can lose recess privileges for bad behavior and so that motivates him to
stay on task and finish his work. His teacher has expressed that he likes to use going to the
bathroom as an excuse to not work on days that he is feeling unmotivated. Because of that he
usually must prove that he has completed a portion of his assignment before being allowed to use
the restroom. He works well with his peers and participates nicely during group projects if the
Based on Piaget’s scale of cognitive development the student falls between the concrete
operational stage and the formal operation stage. These are the last two stages in Piaget’s
theory and include the two biggest age groups. Piaget believed that children developed and
learned by essentially performing experiments and building up experience as they grow older
(Cherry K.). The operational stage is described as ages 7 to 11 and has the characteristic of more
logical and organized thinking. Children in this stage also begin to use logic and inductive
reasoning. I think with the student this idea is exemplified by the him being able to use his
critical thinking skills to work through word problems in math or social studies. The formal
operation stage is described as ages 12 and above. In this stage children and adults begin to use
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more abstract thought (Cherry K.). The student’s ability to work his way through hypothetical
situations for a writing prompt proves that he has entered the formal stage in some way.
The student’s social development seems to be on track with the rest of his peers. He has
no problems interacting with other students. He has been observed discussing spending recess
with the other students and plays with them outside. In class he is very quiet and doesn’t cause
any disruptions or interruptions. At first glance this could be mistaken for a child who is
antisocial because there were many other students who did cause disruptions and would talk to
other kids in class. However, during all the observed time with the student the conclusion was
made that he is just simply good at following the class rules of being quiet and working. When
given the opportunity for free time he would initiate and respond to conversations with his peers.
He does not engage in a lot of conversation with his teacher, but he is not uncomfortable talking
with her. When asked to get her permission for things such as leaving the classroom or being
able to work with an aid instead of at this desk he has no problems approaching or speaking to
his teacher. He is also good at responding when prompted, he never hesitates or gives any
defiant attitude.
His emotional behavior is difficult to define based on the small amount of observation
time and only being in the setting of the classroom. He demonstrated confidence in the subject
of math by volunteering to answer questions and even assist other students who needed help. In
social studies however, he seemed less confident and requested more aid. The fact that he felt
comfortable asking for help however is a demonstration of bravery and that he might be
confident enough to not care what his peers might think of him needing help. He seemed
confident in his abilities to play sports with other students during the recess times. There were
no obvious signs that he had low self-esteem. His peers liked him, and he had a confident
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attitude when he wasn’t displaying signs of fatigue. His teacher expressed that she had no reason
Erik Erikson created a theory explaining that each person’s personality develops over a set
of 8 stages ranging from birth to adulthood. Within each stage the person is said to go through a
crisis of some sort and how they handle this crisis can either positively or negatively impact the
development of their personality (Mcleod S.). After analyzing Erikson’s 8 different stages it is
determined that the students must me in stage 4 the industry or competence versus inferiority
stage. In this stage Erikson explains that the child’s teacher and his peers begin to play a huge
role in the development of the child’s self-esteem and confidence levels. Children in this stage
are from the ages of 5-12 and begin to feel as if they need to prove themselves to others so
therefore the opinions of the people around them are highly valued. The observed student is
most definitely at that age where he wants to be liked by the people around him. He seems to be
well liked by his peers so that aspect of stage 4 shouldn’t prove to be an issue. However, it will
be important that the teacher never makes him feel inferior based on his learning abilities
because that could have a negative impact on not only his willingness to learn but also his self-
esteem.
In conclusion I am in agreement with the student’s IEP team about his goals. I don’t
think I would make any major adjustments to his IEP. I believe with time his reading skills and
speaking skills will improve to the point where he might not need goals in those areas. He can
speak very well and was never hard to understand. His reading was strong, but I support the
accommodation of having a partner to read with. If he reads with a buddy, it seems to keep him
on track more and that other person can help him through words that might still be difficult for
him. I also was in support of his other accommodations, especially the one about providing
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prompts to stay on task. I truly believe that his ability to focus is his biggest weakness which
makes sense because that is what is affected by his disability. I attempted to acquire knowledge
about any medications that may have been proscribed to him for A.D.D. I wanted to know if
there was something better that could be done to help him stay focused on his work in the
classroom. His teacher explained that he has been on medications before, but they seemed to
give him even less energy than he has now. Knowing this I support his family’s decisions to not
have him on medication. However, I do think that the student should be getting more sleep at
night, so he is more rested and alert for class. Unfortunately, it was expressed that the student’s
family does not do much to aid the student in his education and probably does not encourage
much at home. These factors are out of the control of an educator and can be difficult to deal
with in the classroom. I believe his teacher is doing all the right things to help him in the best
ways she can and would not have any critiques for her. My only suggestion might be that if he is
so tired in class that he can’t function I might let him go to the nurse to take a 20-minute nap
which I believe is something they already allow at his school. Overall my experience working
with the student was joyful. I had a blast getting to know him and was really impressed learning
about all his progress in school so far. I believe if he sticks to his current IEP and has the right
educators by his side he will succeed and excel in school and hopefully go on to live a long
healthy life. I look forward to working with more students like him and others with unique
Works Cited
Cherry, K. (n.d.). What Are Piaget's Four Stages of Development? Retrieved April 10,2018,
from https://www.verywellmind.com/piagets-stages-of-cognitive-development-2795457
https://www.simplypsychology.org/Erik-Erikson.html