Observation of Children Ages 1-10, Essay Example

Interview

Introduction/Gross Demographics

On September  27, 2010, I observed and interviewed a nine-year-old boy named Gabriel, who has been placed in a special classroom for behavioral disorders and special needs. Upon first meeting Gabriel, he was very shy and appeared to be anxious, frequently leaving to get reassurance from his teacher who had an excellent rapport with him. Once I began asking him questions, he gave very short responses, with no eye contact. Gabriel lives with his single-parent mother and an older brother.

Background Information

Gabriel has always lived in the United States and is Caucasian. His religion is of the Jewish faith and Gabriel offered enough details to further specify he is non-practicing, non-orthodox. His household doesn’t frequently attend any religious events.

At his current educational level, Gabriel has completed developmental delayed pre-school, and was quickly assessed as having ‘behavioral problems’. His current grade level is grade 4, and he has been accommodated with special needs teachers since grade 1. Medical and Health Problems for Gabriel include mild asthma, poor vision that is corrected with eye glasses, Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD), and conduct disorder.

Age Appropriate Development

Gabriel could first sit up on his own at 1 year of age. At fifteen months, Gabriel could stand on his own. When he was two-years, two-months old, Gabriel took his first steps and was slow learn how to steady himself.  At 20-months-old, Gabriel could speak single words, and at 30-months, Gabriel was putting his first coherent sentences together.

Role Performance

Gabriel is a student in the Special Needs/Behavioral Disorder classrooms. He has no extracurricular activities at present, but wants to join boy scouts. At this,, Gabriel becomes slightly angry and speaks bitterly about how his mothers won’t let him join. When asked why he doesn’t respond and refuses to speak on the subject anymore. His leisure activities include video games, collecting trading cards, and drawing.

Activities

Gabriel has a time allotment of 20-30 minutes for each activity due to the fact that his ADHD won’t often allow him to focus beyond this length of time. During the 20-30 minutes, he is given constant reinforcement and redirection by his teacher and the teacher associate in his classroom.  His focus is better if he has active activity involvement due to the restlessness he suffers as a result of his ADHD.

Observation

Gabriel was given some blocks and some ‘Lego-like’ building pieces, an activity he especially loves and usually chooses for a free-time choice, and was told to build some bridges and towers, any height or appearance. He was told to use his imagination, but mostly to ‘enjoy himself.’ Gabriel began the activity very happily.He erected several three to four block high structures, but became agitated and anxious when one fell down. He did, however, rebuild them carefully and seemed both absorbed in his work and pleased at his successes.

It was observed that, when several classmates came over and  tried to join in Gabriel’s play, he moved away slightly and turned his shoulder toward them.   He did  not verbally reject them or become aggressive, but he indicated with body language that he preferred to play alone. His parallel  play was  more typical of a four-to five year old than a student of nine. He exhibited almost autistic symptoms in his desire to play alone, and this is characteristic of  his classroom behavior at other times, including recess and physical education.

Gabriel took over twenty minutes to construct a simple bridge and  tower combination that satisfied him. He showed above normal levels of stress and anxiety over creating  just the right configuration, and his final result was typical of an average five to six year old boy. The outstanding and most abnormal part of this activity came at its conclusion, however. Gabriel seemed not only to need a great deal of praise and approval, along with reinforcement from several teachers that he had followed the directions perfectly and had done a wonderful job; he also became agitated and upset when the blocks were supposed to be put away so that other students could build the next day.   He refused to disassemble his project himself and had to be restrained from sweeping all the blocks to the floor. When tears threatened, he was told that his great project could be left up for a few days so that other teachers and students would be able to come and admire it. He then seemed relieved far beyond what would be normal. His face was wet with sweat and he wiped his eyes several times, as though trying to avoid crying.  During this last emotion, he did not appear embarrassed about his fellow students to see him weeping, however; his sorrow was completely connected to the loss of the project he had assembled so painstakingly.

Summary

Gabriel appears to be a student who is operating at least two to three grade levels below his peers, both academically and emotionally. His home life is unstable and he might have sexual identity problems which could manifest themselves more clearly at a later time. At present, he is a ‘loner’ and has few friends.   This does not seem to bother him; indeed he avoids and even shuns play with the other members of his special education classroom.

Gabriel needs a specific behavior plan which will address his anxiety and his need for higher levels of reinforcement and verbal praise than typical children his age would have.   This behavior plan could be incorporated into every aspect of his school day.   He should have goals that allow him to learn at his own level and pace, with a smaller student-to-teacher ratio which is found in special education as opposed to general or mainstream classes. His plan should also include social skills, including stress management and roll play situations where he can be shown how to make friends, problem solve, handle peer pressure, and  control his tendencies to become aggressive or abnormally upset over very small occurrences.

With this kind of specific plan, addressing both Gabriel’s academic and behavioral issues, he has a greater chance of success. Gabriel has, as do all children, a right to a free and appropriate public education.  By addressing his specific areas of need and concern, the school effectively ‘levels the playing field’ for him and enables him to both enjoy school and to have the greatest opportunity for social, emotional, and academic success.