Running head: INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES PROFILE 1

Individual Differences Profile

Kendra Baker
Instructor: Dr. Egbert
Education 205: Developmental Differences











IDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES PROFILE 2

Individual Differences Profile
Every child is unique and different. Not all children learn, play, or live the same. Most
children with learning disabilities, conditions that give rise to difficulties in acquiring
knowledge and skills to the level expected of those of the same age, need extra help to learn the
skills they will need throughout life and while attending school. In this student profile, I will
discuss the physical, cognitive, and socio-emotional development of the student and discuss what
will help this student succeed in the future.
General Information
Jay is a ten year old Hispanic boy. He lives with his mother and three year old sister. Jay
daily schedule includes waking up around eight in the morning so his mother can drive him to
school. He goes to school from eight thirty to three thirty. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, Jay has
soccer practice from six to seven in the evening and he has soccer games on Saturdays. When he
isnt at school or playing soccer, Jay enjoys playing Xbox and riding his bike. Jay was diagnosed
with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, which is a behavioral disorders occurring
primarily in children, including such symptoms as poor concentration, hyperactivity, and
impulsivity.
Physical Development
The physical description of Jay is: he has brown hair, hazel eyes and his skin is light tan.
Jays physical maturation is the same as his peers. He doesnt have any birth marks that he
knows of. Jay has perfect eye sight and doesnt need glasses.
Jay doesnt have any physical health issues and is a healthy child overall. Physical
education is his favorite subject. He loves to swim, ride his bike and play soccer and baseball. He
IDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES PROFILE 3

is right-handed and his large muscle development is normal compared to his peers. Running,
jumping, and climbing have never been a problem for Jay. In fact, it can be hard to get him to sit
for any long period of time. His small muscle development is also normal compared to his peers.
Cognitive Development
Jay is in the third grade. He attends classes in a regular classroom setting and a special
education classroom setting. Special education is the practice of educating students with special
needs in a way that addresses their individual differences and needs.Jay goes to the special
education classroom for help in writing and math, but stays in the regular classroom for reading,
social studies and science. He loves to learn and is very smart, but he has a hard time focusing
and staying involved in the subjects. Jays third grade teacher started the Individualized
Education Program process, the cornerstone of a quality education for each child with a
disability, to get him into special education classes because of his learning disability. He started
falling behind and needed more direct instruction, highly structured instructional approach
geared to teaching the specific skills the student lacks. Since Jay started going to the special
education class he has improved greatly (Pierangelo & Giuliani, 2008).
In Piagets stages of cognitive development, Jay seems to be a little bit behind. He should
be in the Concrete-Piaget stage, which is the stage where the child is now mature enough to use
logical thought or operations but can only apply logic to physical objects, but from observing and
interacting with Jay he seems to be more in the Preoperational stage because, he is able to think
about things he is told, but seems to get confused easily and things need to be explained in great
detail. The Preoperational stage is the stage where children do not yet understand concrete
IDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES PROFILE 4

logic, cannot mentally manipulate information, and are unable to take the point of view of other
people (Berns, 2007).
Socio-Emotional Development
Jay has good social skills, behavioral skills that allow student to interact more appropriately and
productively with other and to cope with social situations. He interacts well with his peers when
he is not on his medication, but when he is on his medication he is a bit of a loner and doesnt
seem to have any close friends. He has a great personality. He very caring and loves to joke
around, but he has low self-esteem, which is confidence in one's own worth or abilities; self-
respect, and he thinks is stupid. Some students bully him and he told me that his mother calls him
stupid. Jay is also social with adults and school staff members, but he has power struggles, a
battle of wills that typically result in a win/lose situation, and he get in trouble for not listening
(Pierangelo & Giuliani, 2008).
In Ericksons Psychosocial Stages, Jay is in the Industry vs. Inferiority stage, because
he gets very emotional and upset when he is frustrated and cant figure out how to do the work
he is doing. When this happens he tells himself he is stupid. In this stage children are learning to
see the relationship between perseverance and the pleasure of a job completed. Jay has goals of
going to college and becoming a school teacher (Berns, 2007).
Summary, Conclusion and Implications
The summary of the major findings of this data collection is that Jay will do great in
school as long as the teachers are willing to pull for him and help him in any way they can.
Teachers cant do everything for him so he will have to realize his responsibilities in his own
education. Without having his mothers support, he needs all the teacher support he can get.
IDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES PROFILE 5

Active listening, listening attentively to what is being said and then repeating what the listener
thinks the speaker said, would be a good strategy to make sure Jay is staying focused. His
mother is not very concerned with his schooling and hasnt been very supportive. Jay has a great
third grade teacher that has been doing anything in her power to help him. She helped to get him
into special education classes so he can succeed and learn at his full potential (Pierangelo
& Giuliani, 2008).
Jays physical development is normal for kids his age, but his cognitive development is
lower than his peers and has a hard time keeping on track. He doesnt have vision, hearing, or
any chronic health issues due to his learning disability. He needs to take medication because of
his ADHD. The medication helps him stay focused and on track. Jay seems happy, but at times is
too hard on himself and has a hard time expressing his emotions. Sports have kept him active and
seem to help him get a lot of his built up energy out. He loves to be at school, but sometimes has
a hard time focusing and finishing all his work. Since Jay was put in special education classes his
grades have climbed from Cs and Ds to Cs and Bs.
There are many teaching strategies, a combination of instructional methods, learning
activities, and materials that actively engage students and appropriately reflect both learning
goals and students developmental needs, which can be used to help Jay. One teaching strategy
that works well with Jay is modeling, acting in a way that you want the student to imitate.
Learner centered teaching, where the focus is on both the teacher and the student, would also
be a great teaching strategy for Jay. Teachers working with Jay should focus on his specific
leaning styles, which is where teaching and learning is based on the childs strengths and
abilities, and chunk his assignments so he doesnt lose focus or get lost. One of the biggest things
that will help Jay is having one on one time with his teachers and aides (Berns, 2007).
IDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES PROFILE 6

Self-esteem is a big problem with Jay. Therapy or counseling would do great things for
him. Teachers should focus on positive encouragement, group activities and group assignments
to help him interact with his peers and boost his self-esteem.
Whether a child has a learning disability or not they are all unique and special. Teachers
must focus on getting to know there students and finding ways of teaching that are affective for
every student in their classroom. Every child wants to learn and be successful they just need the
correct tools to do it.



IDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES PROFILE 7

References
Berns, R.M. (2007). Child, family, school, community: Socialization and support (7
th
Ed.).
Belmont, CA: Thomson Learning, Inc.
Pierangelo, R., & Giuliani, G. (2008). Classroom management for students with emotional and
behavioral disorders (pp. 1-134). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press A Sage Company.