INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES STUDENT PROFILE ESSAY

Individual Differences Student Profile Essay

Michaela Hare
Professor Natalie Raass
Introduction to Special Education
Spring 2018
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES STUDENT PROFILE ESSAY

Over the past few weeks, I have had the excellent opportunity to get to know and observe

a young boy whom I will refer to as Milo. Milo is 6 years old and is attending a half day

kindergarten classroom. Milo was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder during the

beginning of the school year. I will talk about Milo’s general information, physical development,

cognitive development, socio-emotional development, and give a summary of my observations

and findings.

Milo is a 6 year and 1-month old Caucasian boy. As stated above, he attends half day

kindergarten at a local elementary school. Most days, he gets dropped off by his mom around

1:00pm and rides the bus home at 4:00pm. Milo is an only child and lives at home with his mom

and dad. He is assisted with a one on one special education teacher and attempts to stay in the

general education classroom as much as possible. I have not had the opportunity to sit down and

meet his parents as they are both busy full-time workers.

Physical Characteristics

Milo has light brown skin and dark brown eyes. He is fair in skin color. He seems smaller

and frailer than his peers. Although he looks to be a healthy child, he has noticeable veins that

run across his forehead and a smaller build in his arms and legs. He is right handed and seems to

do fairly well with his fine motor skills. As any kindergartener, Milo is getting to know how to

use his pencil, but he can quite legibly write his name and other words, letters, and numbers

when directed. He also does well with worksheets that require cut outs. Again like any

kindergartener, he does not cut exactly on the lines but he can cut and glue small paper pieces

with ease. As far as gross motor skills, he does not seem to lack any large muscle development

besides his frail build. He can run fast, kick hard and even jump rope with the other children.

During recess, Milo usually eats a healthy snack. This usually consists of applesauce or whole
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES STUDENT PROFILE ESSAY

fruits. He loves to play jump rope in particular and does this seemingly everyday without tire. He

seems just as physically capable as his peers.

Cognitive Development

Milo is currently in a half day kindergarten classroom. He also uses multiple resource

rooms such as the Speech Language Pathologist, the Special Education room, and utilizing tables

outside the classroom located in the hallway. Milo’s IEP states that he has a one on one

instructor. Ms. Ryder follows and assists him throughout his whole day at school.

Milo does fairly well in school. He seems to be a bit behind in his reading and literacy

skills but there are a handful of his classmates at this same level. He, just like most in his class,

struggle with writing a bit but once given guided instruction, he is able to write correctly and

legibly. One time, he did have a bit of an outburst with his instructor as he did not know the

difference between a capital g and a lowercase g. However, after his outburst, he calmed down

and realized they were both the letter g. Milo does well in math lessons with the teacher’s

assistance. He also really likes music class. He seems to enjoy art, although I haven’t been there

for art class, I have seen that he likes to draw pictures, especially with “sharp crayons”.

Milo does struggle with his attention span. He often gazes around the room during

instruction or story time. Often this is accompanied by him asking an interrupting random

question. Milo does not like to participate in class activities. The teacher organizes her classroom

in three rotations: independent worksheet, iPad time on iRead, and teacher table (small group

activity with a guided lesson). Milo almost always refuses teacher table and iPad. He does like to

do the worksheets but insists on doing them outside in the hall. If it weren’t for the instructor’s
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES STUDENT PROFILE ESSAY

gentle encouragement to stay with his classmates, he probably would not be spending anytime in

the classroom.

Socio-emotional Development

Milo does well with others around him. His interactions with teachers is not quite the

same as other students as he a hard time listening to instruction and tends to make his own

decisions on what he wants to do. He frequently has outburst if the teacher does not allow him to

do what he wants to do. To curtail this, his resource teacher will provide him two choices instead

of letting him pick from a wide variety. This seems to help him with buckling down and getting

his work done.

As for interaction with peers, he seems to select a few friends and really loves them. He

tends to play with one girl at recess. He does not like to do any group work and does not

participate in circle time on the rug. Many times, he does not even like to work in the general

education classroom and insists on working out in the hallway. In specials, Milo stays away from

other students. It seems to be that recess is really the only time he likes interacting with his

friends.

Milo seems to have a high self-esteem. When writing his name, he seems to be proud

every time he completes the task. According to Piaget’s developmental model, Milo seems to fall

in the preoperational stage of development. He has a self-concept and seems to still think very

egocentrically. He knows his name and will talk about his family life. He does tend to focus in

on himself and not think outside of his world. In addition, his language development is about the

same as his peers although he struggles with harder concept such as rhyming words.
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES STUDENT PROFILE ESSAY

Summary

Although Milo tends to be a bit frailer than his peers, his physical nature is not different

from the other students. He struggles a bit with the fine motor skills such as writing but most of

his class mates struggle with this as well as they are all learning the art of writing with a pencil.

Milo comes from a supportive family. Hi mother seems o be engaged and helpful in his

academic pursuits. He talks very fondly of her as well and his home life seems to be a stable and

warm environment. His school staff is always accommodating and ready to help him in any way

he needs. His teacher is also very encouraging for his participation in the classroom but also

understands when he is feeling overwhelmed.

Implications

Milo, like all of his peers is in the preoperational stage of development. Because of this,

he thinks very egocentrically. There are days when he will randomly run down to the Special

Education classroom with no notice at all. He also has outbursts when he does not get his way,

but his one on one teacher has been helpful in curtailing this. Milo also loves to tear things. For

no reason, even when scolded, he laughs whenever he tears up a student’s worksheet or art

project. I am not sure why this outburst occurs because he seems to get along with the other

students well.

Milo seems to be getting ample support from all angles and areas of his life. He has

shown a bit of progress too with his new resource teacher. His general education teacher has

noticed hi reading and writing to have been improving. Milo is a wonderful student and with

help along the way, I am sure he will achieve new heights throughout his educational journey.
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES STUDENT PROFILE ESSAY

References

Hallahan, D. P., Kauffman, J. M., & Pullen, P. C. (2009). Exceptional learners: An introduction

to special education. Boston, MA: Pearson/Allyn & Bacon.