Case study on children behavior

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How much do Behavioral Disorders Affect Academic         Development?

Introduction to the Case Study

                            Who is the school age student?        

        Travis is in third grade and is ten years old. He attends  Elementary School. Travis has a number of friends at this elementary school that are in different grade levels. He enjoys playing sports, video games and enjoys laughter and jokes. His educational history at this school encompasses a proficient number of excellences in all content areas of the curriculum but Travis has difficulty conducting himself in social environments.

        Travis performs well when he is not under self-constraint or stress. When he is given assignments that are irrational or difficult, he has incapability’s to cope with the given situation. His desire for success and fear of failure seem to hinder his development academically and socially. When he is given a task in which he feels is too difficult, he appears to build high anxiety in forms of aggression and expressions of crying. In his past classes, he has had problems with teachers who have traditional settings. Travis needs his own space and room to work. He is above average in his height and weight for his age level. He doesn’t like to sit on the floor and must sit on a chair for activities. This has been a problem in his previous class settings because in primary grades, there is much instruction in reading circles on the floor and in many lower level grade classrooms the students sit at tables instead of having their own desk. Travis works better independently and needs an adequate amount of space to work.

        Travis’s exquisite display of independent work may be from his habitual experience from his family life. Travis is the only child and hey may receive a large amount of direct attention and he may be use to working alone. His parents are divorced so he lives with his mother and his grandfather. Unfortunately, I have been unable to retain information regarding his relationship with his father but his mother is going to remarry and from vocalization with Travis, he seems to have a positive relationship with his mother and his future stepfather. His parents were born in Jamaica and they came to this country before Travis was born. His family places emphasis on his academic career because they themselves have a high school diploma as their highest levels of education. Travis’s teacher has informed me about Travis’ family and his prior educational experience. His teacher is very supportive of his behavioral responses.

        Travis meets with the school psychologist once a week for a period of one hour. Most of the symptoms and distress associated with behavioral disorders are alleviated with timely and appropriate treatment and support. There are many factors that cause disruptive behavior disorders which happen very early in a child’s life so it is important to recognize the problems as early as possible and get treatment. The treatment which appears to have shown the best results is a combination of specialized Parent Skills training. Parent training and therapy with the child is most effective when done in the family home. The school psychologist conducts behavior therapy to teach Travis how to control and express his feelings in healthy ways. Travis is not prescribed medication because the school is unable to pin-point his exact diagnosis. They think he has some relation to an anxiety disorder but they have not diagnosed him with a specific disorder because he is still going through the screening process.

        Travis is currently labeled has having a behavioral disorder because of the past discretions with students. Travis has a tendency to fight during recess and other recreational activities. The school as been unable to obtain an adequate description of his family history to account if there is a genetic or social learning factors that contributes to Travis’ behavioral proceedings. Even though Travis does have a tendency to not get along with his peers during certain activities, he does have many friends that he plays with during school. Travis appears to get upset when he doesn’t have control of a situation. When he is performing any activity he tries to model himself as the group leader. He also enjoys participating in school activities but easily gets frustrated when he feels incapable to perform a task. His reactions to anxiety from feelings of incompetence result in aggressive words or phrases, or just expressions of crying and seclusion.

Travis’s behaviors need to be thoroughly examined to assist in his diagnosis for assistance in developing coping skills.  

                        2. Focus/ Purpose of Case Study

        Travis has been chosen for this case because of his unique coping skills with high anxiety provoking tasks. Travis appears to get upset when he doesn’t have control of a situation. His reactions to anxiety from feelings of incompetence result in aggressive words or phrases, or just expressions of crying and seclusion. When Travis becomes upset, he has a tendency to portray a primary body language signal. This significant sign is indicated through his facial expressions. Travis’s eyes role up toward the sky and then his eyes become very watery. His bottom lip then exceeds over his top lop and his face becomes clenched and stiff. Depending on his level of rage, he can make these facial expressions and not cry, he may yell at someone and then cry, or he just begins to cry and ignores everyone. When he does become enraged or upset he will put is head in his arms when he is sitting at his desk or he will throw a jacket over his head so know one can see him.

        Travis’s displays of anxiety have me wondering how much behavioral disorders affect academic development. I will be investigating his actions during the daily school activities. I will be conducting running record and anecdotal record observations to analyze Travis’s behavior in the natural school environment. I will research Travis’s prior academic work by discussing his abilities and efforts with his third grade teacher. I may also research certain behavior symptoms and treatments through the internet to predict supportive elements that may help Travis cope with his situations.

        When I have collected my data, I will analyze the data and interpret my findings. My primary goal is to investigate Travis’s behavior and predict if his actions to provoking stimuli will further impede his academic development.

                        3. Assessing Through Observations

Running Record Observation

        Travis is capable of behaving appropriately with his teacher and with his peers. His seems to admire the support he receives from his family, especially his mother. He is curiosity and acknowledges his mother with respect.

        When he is working with his peers, he wants to maintain control of the current situation. When he feels he is unable to access control or becomes confused, anxiety then initiates from frustration.

Observation Reflections

        

        Too many organizations today have cultures of perfection. They contain a set of organizational beliefs that any failure is unacceptable. Only pure, untainted success will do. To retain your reputation as an achiever, you must reach every goal and never, ever make a mistake that you can’t hide or blame on someone else. There may be a large amount of stress and terror in feels of incompetence. The constant covering up of the smallest blemishes is one of Travis’s characteristics. He refuses to admit when he feels or knows he has performed poorly. Successful people like to win and achieve high standards. This can make them so terrified of failure it ruins their lives. When a positive trait, like achievement, becomes too strong in someone’s life, it’s on the way to becoming a major handicap.

        Travis has a tendency not to engage in an activity in which he fears failure. He may not participate because he is safe from failure. Children with a fear of failure make fake injury, illness, and they may damage equipment, or pretend to forgot or loss materials. There may also be an apparent lack of interest or motivation, or just plain refusals to take part are common ways in which children can avoid failure to maintain their personal and social esteem.

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3- Assessing through Observations

Running Record Observation

        Observing Travis’s various encounters with school academics and his peers has assisted in investigating the causes for his behaviors. Travis is capable of socializing appropriately with his teacher and with his peers. He seems to value the support from his family, especially his mother. Travis appears to become upset when there is an interference with his academic performance. He tends to become upset if his peers interfere with his school performance. Travis exhibits plenty of pride through his ...

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