Reason For Referral: His family referred Jace because of academic concerns at school. Parents referred Jace for a comprehensive evaluation. Jace had originally been placed on a 504 Plan last year as a tenth grader to address academic concerns. • Mother is concerned that Jace is unable to express his needs and concerns to his teachers because of his quiet nature. She feels that Jace does not ask for clarification if he does not understand information presented in class. He is afraid of what others will think of him so he avoids speaking up to others.
• Mother addressed both on a form and in conversation with the chool psychologist of a discrepancy between Jace’s cognitive ability and his oral expression. During a phone conversation, mother gave an example that occurred this summer; when called to do a job, she had to walk him through each step or else he did not gather enough information to complete the task. Often it is difficult for Jace to present orally in class (presentations). Mother notes that Jace knows the information, but struggles when he has to present to a group.
• Mother noted that Jace struggles with his reading and writing. It was described as more of the process such as organization, and task nalysis more than vocabulary. • Concerns also center on his social maturity- his friend typically have always been younger than Jace. • As Jace has become older, the family has indicated that the discrepancy has become more apparent. Father noted that Jace’s academics appear to have become “worse” as he has aged. • Family is concerned about the impact of Jace’s anxiety on his well-being. • Received speech services as a third grader for stuttering.
Strengths: 1. Mother notes that Jace is more successful in math. 2. He is very hands on, can build almost anything and understands how mechanical things work. . Kind, hard working, wants to please others. 4. Teachers report that he is a leader in class, especially those requiring mechanical skills. Mr. Paxton (Auto Mechanics) noted that he has no issues in his class, and he can count on him doing well in class. 504 Plan (2014) Concerns Interventions Recommendations Teacher Concerns: Inattentive Organization Following directions (multiple step) Following oral directions Loses concentration Teachers Responsible for:
1. Preferential seating-in front of the class or by self for testing. 2. Testing to occur in a small group setting or individually 3. Extra time given for tests and long written assignments if needed 4. Jace be provided notes or outlines of lessons when requested Accommodation(s): Close communication with parents. Teachers would be responsible for monitoring and implementation. To address his being easily distracted accommodation(s) were made: 1. Preferential seating-in front of the class or by self for testing. 2. Testing to occur in a small group setting or individually 3. Extra time given for tests and long written assignments if needed 4. Jace be provided notes or outlines of lessons when requested
1. lf teachers notice Jace is acting abnormally, they should ask im in a private setting if he has taken his medication. If he has not, they should send him to the nurse, and she will make contact with the parents. This is especially important for first and second hour teachers. 2. Preferential seating- classroom teacher will have Jace sit where they decide is the plac least amount of distractions, and where they feel Jace can be the most focused. 3. lf his teacher notices Jace is having difficulty on a test, the teacher will place Jace in a smaller setting for the test. Also, if Jace does poorly on a test, the teacher should place him in a smaller setting for the next test. . Jace will keep a monthly calendar of upcoming test in his classes. He should communicate with his teachers on a weekly basis t become aware of any upcoming tests or quizzes. Teachers can help Jace to remember to do this, but it is ultimately up to Jace to fill out his calendar. 5. Extra time will be given for tests and long written assignments if needed.
6. Teachers will provide Jace copies of the notes or lessons on days when he feels he did not get everything he needed. Jace will ask teachers for these notes. with the Medical: ADHDMedication: Vyvanse and Adderall Academics: State Assessment: 013 Grade 8 2012 Grade 7 2011 Grade 6 Reading 83 Exceeds Standards 87 Exemplary 84 Exemplary Math 76 Exceeds Standards 81 Exceeds Standards 85 Exceeds Standards Science 83 Exemplary Writing 3. 13 Meets Standards There are five categories: Exemplary, Exceeds Standards, Meets Standards, Approaches Standards, Academic Warning Classroom Performance: As of the completion of the first quarter this school year 2015-2016, Jace is passing all classes and is maintaining a high “B” average. His strongest areas are his vocational classes.
Lowest grade was in a lecture class. Evaluation: Medical: Results Hearing Screening Date: 10/2015 Vision Screening Date: 10/2015 Passed Passed Takes medication at school daily for ADHD. Nurse reports that he is responsible and comes in without reminders to take his medication. Cognitive: The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale – III (WAIS-III) was administer Jace in order to determine the cognitive processes which may be interfering with his academic achievement as they relate to his learning and attention in the classroom. This measure was not administered to determine overall general intelligence, rather as a specific determinant of cognitive processing needs.
Jace received the following scores given in Standard Score (average is 91-109) and Percentile (percentile is the ranking of an individual person in relationship to one hundred individuals. The score given indicates the number of individuals that scored the same or lower than he did on the test- example 45th%tile would mean that an individual scored as well or better than 45 individuals who took the test. ) Scale Standard Score Percentile Rank Range Verbal Comprehension 94 34 Average Perceptual Organization 118 88 High Average Working Memory 94 34 Average Processing Speed 91 27 Average Verbal IQ 96 39 Average
Performance lQ 106 66 Average Full Scale IQ 100 50 Average Jace displayed an significant strength in Perceptual Organization index which is a measure of non-verbal and in-the-moment reasoning. It assesses ability to examine a problem, draw upon visual-motor and visual-spatial skills, organize thoughts, create solutions, and then test them. It can also tap preferences for visual information, comfort with novel and unexpected situations, or a preference to learn by doing. On this index, Jace performed in the High Average range. The additional index indicators are all within the average range.
In comparison to his academic performance in school and on assessments, Jace is performing above his expected range. Achievement: Achievement Tests Administered Woodcock-Johnson IV Tests of Achievement Form C and Extended Norms (Norms based on grade 11. 1) Woodcock- Johnson IV Tests of Oral Language (Norms based on grade 11. 1) Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Oral Language Cluster GESS Oral Language 8. 895 Oral Expression 13. 0 103 Phonetic Coding 13. 0 105 Speed of Lexical Access 8. 496 Tests Picture Vocabulary 10. 6 99 Oral Comprehension 7. 091 Segmentation 13. 0 103 Rapid Picture Naming 8. 97 Sentence Repetition 13. 0 104 Sound Blending 17. 9 106 Retrieval Fluency7. 694 Woodcock-Johnson IV Test of Achievement Form C and Extended Cluster GESS Reading 7. 892 Broad Reading 7. 289 Basic Reading Skills 13. 0 102 Reading Comprehension 9. 697 Reading Comp (Ext. ) 11. 1 100 Reading Fluency 5. 984 Reading Rate 7. 189 Mathematics 13. 0 103 Broad Mathematics 9. 898 Math Calculations Skills 8. 595 Math Problem Solving 10. 399 Written Language 11. 0 100 Broad Written Language 9. 598 Basic Writing Skills 11. 6 101 Written Expression 8. 596 Academic Skills 10. 299 Academic Fluency 6. 89 Academic Application 9. 697 Brief Achievement 11. 2 100 Broad Achievement 8. 594 Letter-Word Identification 9. 096 Applied Problems 13. 0 105 Spelling 11. 4 100 Passage Comprehension 6. 588 Calculation 11. 6 100 Writing Samples 10. 299 Word Attack 17. 9 110 Oral Reading 4. 679 Sentence Reading Fluency 6. 688 Math Fact Fluency 7. 090 Sentence Writing Fluency 7. 092 Reading Recall 16. 8 115 Number Matrices 7. 294 Editing 11. 7 101 Word Reading Fluency 7. 792 Reading Vocabulary 13. 0 105 Additional testing was conducted for this evaluation, because there appeared to be splinter skills in Jace’s learning.
An analysis using the Cattell-Horn-Carroll Theory of Cognitive Development (CHC) was used to discover if a disorder existed in Jace’s learning Through the CHC analysis, it was determined that Jace had difficulties in reading comprehension (SS=88), and he scored low in tasks that involved auditory processing. On both of these areas, Jace performed in the below average range (Letter Naming and Digit Span). These subtests indicated areas of concern in short term memory and reading for comprehension. In comparison, the significant area of strength for Jace is Fluid Intelligence.
Fluid intelligence is the capacity to think logically and solve problems in novel situations, independent of acquired knowledge. Fluid intelligence involves the ability to identify patterns and relationships that underpin novel problems and to extrapolate these findings using logic. In this area, Jace scored in the Very Superior range. Classroom Observations: Two observations were conducted on Jace in separate classes, The first class he was observed in was Earth Science. In that class, most of the time Jace worked with a partner to complete a task assigned the day before.
During review time by the teacher, Jace did appear to be listening. When they broke into groups, Jace and his partner took some time to settle down to the task, but then began working on the assignment. Jace after a few minutes had a question. He raised his hand and the teacher acknowledged him and told him she would be with him in a few minutes (she had students in line at her desk). When she did not come back immediately, Jace went up to her desk and asked for assistance. A time sampling was conducted between Jace and a peer. During the 10 minute observation, Jace was on task 60 % of the time; the peer was on task 90% of the time.
Jace and his partner were not always focused on the assignment. At one point they began conversing with another student about a personal matter. When the teacher came near, both boys began working. After class his daily work was reviewed by the teacher and school psychologist. The work completed by the boys was below the class average. The work did not appear to be very original and was not detailed. To Jace’s credit, as he was leaving class, he asked the teacher if instead of completing a report, could he do a project and she responded that he should come in and they would discuss the option.
The other observations was in Jace’s Auto Mechanics classes. Students in this class were reviewing for a test. Jace was on task 100% of the time. He studied the pictures and information that Mr. Paxton reviewed and answered questions when he was called on during class. Twice he raised his hand to answer a question. The only off task behavior noted, was Jace passed a note for another student. Recommendations 1. To allow Jace to do manipulative projects rather than having him to do extensive writing projects.