Student Profile

Alex Smith is an eight-year-old boy in the 3rd grade. He is a loving child and will go out of his way to help anyone. He loves school and his parent report during the school year he is up and ready to go. Alex makes friends easily but can be too aggressive, which some students do not like. In the classroom Alex have trouble staying in his seat, careless with his work.

Alex is very talkative, which causes Alex to misbehave. His work is disorganized and he is easily distracted. Alex has trouble focusing and has poor listening skills.

The teacher has to repeat the instruction to Alex three or four times before he understands. Even after he understands the instruction, he is unable to complete the seatwork. When given homework he forgets to turn it in on time.

Alex will blurt out answers and when another student is talking he will interrupt the student. During game time Alex will have trouble waiting his turn. He is easy frustrated because Alex has trouble with his listening skills and following direction his academic in math and reading are very low.

Alex’s parents work with Alex on his behavior, but in discussion with his parents their report shows Alex is easily distracted and shows no motivation in doing his homework. They are persistent and want to help in any way they can. During the discussion Alex’s parents aware Alex is hyper and impulsive.

His parents have been aware of his learning disabilities before he started kindergarten. Alex has interest in science and is very excited when we have experiment in the classroom. He is interested in knowing how the world works. Alex works well in groups when he does not have to sit still.

Reading is Alex’s poor subject.

He has trouble with the vocabulary and meaning of words. The teacher teams Alex up with peer students, which helps him with his reading skills. The teacher meets with Alex twice a week to help improve his reading skills. Alex could have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and a learning disability. Definition of ADHD student is impulsive, has a low attention span, cannot stay still, interrupts class, does not follow direction and is very talkative.

Alex demonstrates many if not all of the characteristics of a student with ADHD.

Alex also has a learning disability. He has little or no motivation to do his school work or his home work. Alex has trouble processing words correctly. Testing should be done to test for dyslexia, (Rosenberg, Westling, ; McLeskey, 2007). The prevalence for ADHD is three to seven percent of the student population between the ages of 6 and 16 has ADHD, and the prevalence of students with a learning disability is 5.

24% of students between the age of 6 and 17. According to Rosenberg, Westling, ; McLeskey the number of students with a learning disability has grown over the past 30 years.

School are helping to slowing the grow rate by using the Response to Intervention (RTI) approach to helping students with learning disability. The prevalence rate for students with ADHD declines as the student moves through the different grade levels. Most ADHD students are in the regular educational classrooms. Boys identified with ADHD are 3 to 1 more than girls.

ADHD can cause learning problems and many ADHD students are identified with a learning disability or emotional/behavior disorder. The prevalence rate does vary depending if the parent or teachers reports the student’s problems.

A student with ADHD behavior is worse in late afternoon, and when he/she has heavy work load, schedules change, and when left alone for long periods of time, (Rosenberg, Westling, & McLeskey, 2007). Many students with ADHD and a learning disability are not recognized before they enter school. Many parents are the first to notice a problem with their child, but either the parent does not want to face the problem or does not know what to do. Once a student’s enter school, the pressure to following the rules and conforming to school structure is too much for the student to handle.

Behavior problems become a concern for the teacher and parent.

ADHD is less severe in older students, but a mild form of ADHD can persist through adulthood. The cause of ADHD is not known, but some contributing factors could be brain injury, brain abnormalities, hereditary, and family issues. Some students use mediation to help control their behavior, (Rosenberg, Westling, ; McLeskey, 2007). Identification of ADHD condition was first identified by the Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder test.

This test will determine if Alex has ADHD. The intelligence test and the achievement test are tests to determine the student’s current grade level.

Once Alex is diagnosed correctly the teacher will seek help from psychologist to determine the best course of action to take. The multidisciplinary team should make all the decision to the parents if a referral to a physician is needed. The physician will talk with the psychologist, teacher, other school administration and parents to determine Alex disorder and determine whether Alex will benefit from medication, (Rosenberg, Westling, & McLeskey, 2007)..

Early intervention is the best approach to helping a child with a learning disability and ADHD, but many students will not be identified until after he/she have entered school.

For some students who are identified early home-school partnership can help the student overcome many barriers. One program, which is successful, is the behavior report card. Teachers complete a daily behavior report card to inform the parents of the behavior areas, such as class work, obeying the rules, and class participation. The parents use the report card to discipline the students at home. Parents take away rewards depending on the students behavior at school, (Rosenberg, Westling, & McLeskey, 2007).

Teachers use similar reward programs in school to help students behavior. Some programs are the reward tokens program, social skills training, teaching replacement behavior, functional behavior assessments and teaching students self-control. Using strategy instruction and curriculum design gives the teacher different way of teaching. Using Mnemonic devices such as acronyms and acrostics, rhymes, number letter system, and video help enhance memory, and self-regulation strategies are useful tool to help students learn how to correct their own behavior.

In extreme behavior problems some students are on stimulant medication, (Rosenberg, Westling, & McLeskey, 2007). Working with students with ADHD or any other disability is a challenge for teachers, but knowing how to help students control their behavior will help the student succeed.

An important part of any student success is teachers and parents working together. Reference Rosenberg. M, Westling. D. , McLeskey J. (2007).

Special Education for Today’s Teachers. Published by Prentice Hall. Copyright © 2007 by Pearson Education, Inc.