Catherine Owens

Psychological Summary.

Name: John Doe

Sex: Male

Grade: 4

Background

John participates in most classroom activities without significant support. However, there are occasions where he displays inappropriate behavior that interferes with his academic performance. According to his teacher, “If someone does something that he perceives as wrong, he perseverates on it.” For example, if someone acts out in class, that will have him upset for the rest of the day. He becomes inattentive, fails to complete work, refuses to participate in class, and exhibits temper tantrums.

John lives with his parents and has three siblings. He was the product of an uncomplicated pregnancy and delivery. He did, however, exhibit many delays in development. His parents report that John takes the medications Paroxetine and Straterra. He was evaluated by both a psychiatrist and a psychologist with the resulting diagnoses of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and Asperger’s disorder.

Other information provided by his teachers report that John does not attend to details and follow directions consistently. He is easily distracted in class and does not complete most assignments on time. John has little interest in others and typically does not initiate conversations or contacts with his peers.

John achievement is on grade level in both reading and math. His skills and knowledge in these areas are sufficient for John to perform on grade level and to meet end of grade (EOG) milestones as a Proficient Learner the Georgia Milestone End-of-Grade Assessment (EOG) in third grade. His writing skills are a weakness and he does not preform at grade level expectations. John writes simple sentences and does not construct/write a meaningful paragraph. His overall EOG score in English language arts (ELA) was Developing Learner (Reading score was at grade level-Writing and Language scores depressed his overall score).

Previous Test Results

Achievement Levels:

Wechsler Intelligence Scales for Children: Fifth Edition (WISC-V) an intelligence test that measures intellectual ability

Verbal Score 98 - Average Range Performance Score 112 - High Average Range Full Scale IQ 105 - Average Range

Pragmatic Language Skills Inventory (PLSI) a norm-referenced rating scale designed to assess pragmatic language skills (language skills used in daily interactions with others, includes non-verbal communication)

Pragmatic language quotient of 94 (PLI < 89 suggests Below Average, Poor, and Very Poor) Areas of weakness identified: knowing when to talk and when to listen, understanding classroom rules, taking turns in conversations, initiating conversations, and predicting consequences of one’s behavior

Georgia Milestone End-of-Grade Assessment (EOG) Grade 3 a summative assessment that measures how well students are mastering state-adopted content standards

Content Area Scaled Score Performance Level English/Language Arts 512 Developing Learner Mathematics 570 Proficient Learner Science Not administered this grade Social Studies Not administered this grade

Diagnostic Achievement Battery: Fourth Edition (DAB-4) - Grade 3 an achievement test that measure students’ strengths and weaknesses across important areas of school achievement

Subtest/Composite Grade Equivalent Listening Composite 1.4

Synonyms 2.5

Alphabet/Phonics/Word Identification 3.4

Reading Comprehension 3.8

Punctuation/Capitalization 2.3 Spelling 2.8 Mathematics Reasoning 3.4

Mathematics Calculation 4.0

Asperger Syndrome Diagnostic Scale (ASDS) - Grade 3 a norm referenced rating scale that asks the respondent to note the presence or absence of behavior indicative of Asperger syndrome.

Asperger Syndrome Quotient 111 Probability of Asperger Syndrome – Very Likely

• Talks excessively about favorite topics that hold limited interest to others

• Uses words and phrases repetitively • Frequently asks inappropriate questions • Has few or no friends as school • Displays limited interest in what others say or find interesting • Does not change to match the environment • Exhibits a strong reaction to change in his routine • Exhibits difficulty with handwriting

Eligibility for Special Education: other health impairment, autism and speech - Established at the end of Grade 3 based on the test results presented above.

Information for IEP Meeting - Fall Grade 4

Achievement Testing Woodcock-Johnson Achievement Battery: Fourth Edition an achievement test that measures academic achievement (what children have learned in school)

Subtest Standard Score

Percentile Rank

Classification

Reading Letter-Word Identification 93 30 Average Passage Comprehension 94 42 Average Word Attack 92 31 Average Oral Reading 88 24 Low Average

Sentence Reading Fluency 88 24 Low Average Mathematics Applied Problems 110 75 Average Calculation 93 30 Average Math Fact Fluency 97 50 Average Writing Spelling 89 24 Low Average Writing Samples 79 8 Low Sentence Writing Fluency 69 2 Very Low

State Testing: On the Georgia Milestone End of Grade (EOG) administered at end of Grade 3. In English/Language Arts a score of 525 is necessary to be identified as a Proficient Learner. John earned a 512 in English/Language Arts (Developing Learner). On Mathematics a score of 525 is necessary for the student to be identified as a Proficient Learner and John earned a 570 in this area (Proficient Learner).

Speech Language Deficits were noted in the area of pragmatics (i.e. initiating conversations, maintaining conversations, staying on topic, and interacting appropriately with peers). The Comprehensive Assessment of Spoken Language, second edition (CASL-2) administered at the end of Grade 3 revealed a super linguistic standard score of 95 (Average range) and the Test of Pragmatic Language Skills, second edition (TOPL-2) completed at the end of Grade 3 showed a language quotient of 94 (Average range). Findings from these formal assessments of language skills, however, are not consistent with John’s actual performance in the regular classroom.

Socially appropriate behavior: For the most part John exhibits socially appropriate behavior when interacting with peers and teachers. He has a few friends. He exhibits a number of inappropriate behaviors. He perseverates on an issue if he believes that somebody has done something wrong or when he does not understand a class assignment. John also has occasional temper tantrums. Since the beginning of Grade 4 only two outbursts have been observed. He also displays a short attention span and it takes multiple verbal prompts for him to complete an assignment. Currently, during a 45-minute session, it takes an average of 7 verbal prompts for John to complete an assignment. These inappropriate behaviors affect his ability to turn in assignments and lower his class grades. He needs to stay on task and complete class assignments without multiple verbal prompts from the

teacher. Changes in his routine or his seating in the classroom also contribute to John’s behavioral inappropriateness. He displays anxiety (he worries excessively about what others in the class are doing at any given moment). For example, if someone is the class does something that is not typical, he will tell the teacher what has happened. He is more off task if any of routine changes occur. He perseverates (continues to repeat or prolong something after it is appropriate to do so) on topics and this leads to him ask multiple questions about something that is inappropriate and distracting to him and others.

Writing Skills: John does not write a cohesive paragraph on a single topic. Currently when given a topic, John writes simple sentences that are in the form of a list such as “I like bugs.” and “I like games.” He does not write a paragraph with a topic sentence, three supporting details, and a concluding sentence. He needs to increase his skills in communicating in writing to meet grade level expectations. He also demonstrates below grade level expectations in his writing fluency. When given a writing prompt, currently John writes 28 words in three minutes (Grade 4 expectations 41- 46 in four minutes).

Communication: John continues to demonstrate pragmatic language weaknesses in a social context within the school setting. Baseline data was collected on two different occasions for the following skills. Inconsistencies were noted during each observation; therefore, an average was calculated in order to obtain a baseline. John currently initiates conversation on an average of 4 times in one hour while in a social setting (PE, lunch). He can maintain a conversation by exchanging information with a listener 4 times in one hour. He demonstrates an understanding of social gestures when in a social context approximately 3 times in one hour. It should be noted that on one occasion, John misread a gestural cue by a student that resulted in a physical altercation between him and the other student. Grade 4 is a pivotal point for student’s social and academic life. It is during this time that social cliques begin to form and relational and social bullying and excluding are all too common. Academically, Grade 4 students are expected to be responsible for their own work and to work in groups.

Parent Concerns: Mrs. Doe attended the IEP meeting. She was concerned that John may have a tantrum behavior at school, as this has been a problem at home, and that he has so much trouble in the classroom completing his assignments. She noted that he is currently seeing a local physician and that

he is on medication for attention weaknesses (poor concentration, and impulsivity). At home and in the community, Mrs. Doe notes that she feels that is John shy (being nervous or timid in the company of others) in his interactions with others. She would like to see him initiate and maintain conversations with others on a more frequent basis and have more friends.

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