As Kaylee enters fourth grade her family has made the decision to keep her on ADHD medication. The doctor says that it is most effective after a few years of use and he recommends keeping with the same course now and observing her progress. They can revisit the possibility of taking her off her current prescription in the future, preferably in her middle school years. The behavioral methods put in place in the first and second grades are still proving useful though the fourth and fifth grades. The picture schedule still serves as her most important tool for maintaining focus through the day. As she gets to the fifth grade the teachers allow her to take an active role in planning the schedule. She gets to have a say when certain activities are done as long as she puts it on the board.
In school, Kaylee is progressing at a pretty consistent rate, although much slower then her peers. Her reading level is at a steady second grade level. She has special education reading classes in the morning because that is when her attention span is at its best. Teachers and doctors attribute this to the fact that she takes her ADHD medication in the morning. Her math is also improving as she has a better understanding of basic arithmetic skills such as addition and subtraction. Her lessons are always assisted with visual aids. Her books still have a heavy amount of illustrations and in her math problems the numbers are accompanied by picture representations. She is becoming much faster at calculating the problems.
It is her speech and language that is making the biggest strides in improvement. Her lexicon has made leaps and bounds and she now has the vocabulary of about a third grader, though she still has to work harder than others to put it to good use. A new diagnosis has been made as well. The school SLP’s have agreed that Kaylee is a clutterer, which is a common coexisting condition with both ADHD and Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. Cluttering is a thought organization disorder, characterized by difficulty organizing thought to put into a coherent expression, frequent revisions, stops and gaps in speech. The biggest difficulty with cluttering is that, unlike its sister disorder stuttering, the individual usually is completely unaware that they are doing it. There is no clear understanding of what exactly causes this issue and it is more difficult to treat because of the fact that Kaylee is usually unaware that she is doing it. With therapy she is beginning to be able to slow down, take a breath and clearly state what she is attempting to without going around in circles.
A major improvement in Kaylee’s life is that peace seems to reign at home. Her father has finished his degree and got a decent paying job. He has been able to financially provide for Kaylee and now that he no longer has school he can spend more time with Kaylee on the weekends. Trish has also maintained mental stability. She is now going back to school to finish her degree. Kaylee’s grandmother is also in remission.
In fifth grade her reading levels make it to that of a third grader, which is a huge achievement for someone with Kaylee’s diagnosis. Her math is improving in speed, but has hit no major milestones again and she is still doing basic arithmetic. She is gaining better control of her speech but it requires a lot of work. She has gotten much better at following directions and focusing on tasks.
Kaylee is still spending a lot of time outside of school in her art therapy and pottery classes. She even had some of her art displayed at the local library kid’s art show.
One of the problems beginning to really emerge is in her social life. Kaylee often cuts off other kids by speaking over them or completely changing the topic when another kid is in the middle of talking to her. When they were younger they did not notice or take as much offense to it because all little kids have the tendency to overstep those bounds. Now that they are older though, it is beginning to put a distance between Kaylee and her mainstream classroom. This is causing Kaylee to have poor self-esteem accompanied by frequent fights with her classmates. On one occasion Kaylee got so angry she ended up pushing another child.
Kaylee’s parents are becoming exceedingly worried about her being in the mainstream classroom but at the same time they know it is important for her to have social interaction with her peers. They are beginning to think that they should temporarily keep her in the special education classroom all day while they can find a better way for her to learn social skills outside of school.
Decision Point: Is Kaylee placed in all day special education classroom while finding other ways to learn social skills in a less formal setting or does she stay in a mainstream classroom while attending more behavioral therapy?
Questions:
1. Is it common for children with fetal alcohol syndrome end up being isolated by their peers?
2. What are some other social settings that might help Kaylee learn appropriate behavior outside of school?
3. What are the benefits of having Kaylee in the mainstream classroom?
4. What are the benefits of keeping Kaylee in the special education classroom?
Week Four-- Kaylee Morris Response
ReplyDeleteDecision Point: Kaylee's family decide to keep her in a special education all day during her fifth grade year while they decide what type of behavioral therapy will suit her most. Although it is very important for Kaylee to be around her peers, her social skills are not developed enough for her to stay in the general education classroom. Kaylee still will see her friends from her general education classroom at lunch and at recess. The doctor's believe that she will be more prepared for middle school if she takes more time to learn social skills in a more personalized classroom.
Questions:
1. It is common for children to feel symptoms of depression or social isolation. Their under-developed brain causes them to have impaired social judgment that cause improper behavior when around other people.
2. Signing Kaylee up for pottery classes or an art class will give her time to relate to her peers on a topic that is more familiar to her. Because she can bond off of a personal hobby, she is more likely to learn proper behavior in social settings.
3. Some benefits of having Kaylee in the general education classroom include more time around typically developing peers and more opportunities to learn about social environments. Once Kaylee goes to middle school, it is important for her to have a lot of time around her typically developing peers because she will be more prepared for more general social environments when she is older. She is more likely to have typical social development if she has more time around typically developing peers. She will also have more self-esteem and confidence in herself.
4. Some benefits of keeping Kaylee in a special education classroom is more time to practice proper social skills in a secured environment. Kaylee might be bullied or rejected which causes self-esteem issues in the future. Before she goes to middle school, Kaylee could learn more about how to act properly and make friends. Practicing and learning proper social skills is very important for children with disabilities because they do not come as naturally to them.