| NEXT PARTS OF ASSESSMENT STUFF . . . Read this assessment write up. |
| Name of child: Juan Lopez Address: 780 Forest Street Telephone: 462-3550 Chronological Age: 5 years, 0 months Sex: male Parent(s) name: Maria Lopez |
| Corrected age: the age of an infant from birth, less the number of weeks premature. Example: Baby J was born at 28 weeks gestation. He was 10 weeks premature (38 weeks = full term) Today it is 6 months past the day he was actually born (6 months = 24 weeks)(6 months chronological age) Corrected age = 24 weeks - 10 weeks premature = 14 weeks old, corrected age. For most premature infants, the corrected age should be used until he or she reaches 2 years when plotting length, weight, and head circumference. For the premature infant weighing less than 1000 grams at birth, the corrected age is often used until age 3 years. If the child's growth "catches up" before 24-36 months of age, chronological age is used instead of corrected age. |
| REASON FOR REFERRAL: Maria Lopez is a single mother, and Juan is her only child. Juan was eligible for the local Head Start program. Ms. Lopez enrolled her son because she felt that he should be with peers and have the stimulation of an inclusive program. She was also concerned with Juan's behavioral difficulties and wanted him to be evaluated by the transdisciplinary team at the Head Start center. Ms. Lopez reported that Juan was a behavior problem in the home, exhibited temper tantrums, and was often aggressive. The mother also reported that he didn't eat well and was uncooperative in dressing. Juan is currently attending a Head Start Center 5 days a week. He has since experienced chronic ear infections, pneumonia, and croup. It has also been found that he has an immature esophagus. He is presently being treated for asthma. ATTITUDE TOWARD TESTING: Juan was a talkative boy who smiled or giggled frequently during the formal testing. When formal tests were to be administered, Juan came willingly with the examiner to the child-sized table and chair in the hallway away from the classrooms. During the initial period of time that he was being tested, he gave his full attention to the examiner. Most of the time he was redirected back to the testing if he became distracted. However, after about 10 or 15 minutes had passed, he would become restless and his performance would change dramatically. The weather was extremely hot during the times that Juan was tested, which may partially account for the short attention span. Therefore, Juan was tested during several short time periods. In addition, Juan was informally evaluated through observation in the natural settings of his classroom and playground. PSYCHOEDUCATIONAL ASSESSMENT: The information contained within this report was obtained through the following methods: interviews with Juan's mother and other professionals on the early intervention team; examiner's observations; **TPBA-Selected Social-Emotional Guidelines; Brigance Inventory for Early Development (Revised); Preschool Language Scale-3 (PLS); Hawaii Early Learning Profile (HELP), edition for 3- to 6-year-olds **Transdisciplinary Play-Based Assessment Tool GROSS MOTOR Juan enjoys gross motor activities and was observed on the playground performing at approximately the 5-year age level on the Brigance except for two tests. These were being able to hop on his nonpreferred foot and throwing a playground ball and tennis ball. He could catch a playground ball with both hands and throw it approximately the distance of 13 feet, which is at the 4-year-old level. Juan appeared confident when performing gross motor activities and had appropriate strength and agility. The teacher and occupational therapist observed him running down the stairs, jumping off steps, and climbing playground equipment with good coordination skills. FINE MOTOR According to Brigance, Juan was at age level in performing fine motor tasks except in the area of copying designs. He was not able to copy designs, such as the cross, square, and triangle. Juan was very restless at the time he was asked to cut shapes with scissors and when drawing a person. Both of these tasks were performed inappropriately. However, when observed in the classroom by the teacher, he could cut circles with scissors at the 5-0 level and made a representational drawing at approximately the 6-0 level. The teacher and the examiner observed that Juan could successfully complete fine motor activities, such as coloring and working on a pegboard puzzle, in the preschool class. PERSONAL-SOCIAL and SELF-HELP SKILLS Juan has age appropriate adaptive behaviors according to the HELP checklist. His adaptive behavior is approximately at the 4--7 to 5--0 age level. His teacher reports that Juan is able to adapt to changes in his environment and has demonstrated appropriate behaviors at group times (circle time, music, etc.) He exhibited responsible behavior in the classroom by sitting quietly to listen to a story and cleaning up after himself. He can initiate and complete a task assigned to him. On a number of occasions, the examiner observed Juan willingly assisting his peers. However, Juan also resorted to physical means (hitting) within active play with others. He did display age-appropriate behaviors in his interpersonal relationships by sharing toys and comforting a classmate in distress. From other observations, Juan has the ability to undress and dress himself, independently go to the bathroom, and eat. LANGUAGE -- RECEPTIVE On the PLS, Juan was able to perform at the 5 year, 10 month level in receptive language. He had no difficulty comprehending left from right, body parts, animal parts, and directional commands. He could successfully repeat taps, count blocks, and add numbers to five. He was not able to understand action agents, which is a 4.5 year skill. His auditory comprehension quotient was 117, which is in the bright average range. On observing Juan at play, the speech and language therapist and the examiner saw him readily respond to teacher requests and understand questions asked by his peers. LANGUAGE -- EXPRESSIVE Juan also performed at the 5 year, 10.5 month level on the PLS section of expressive language. He was able to comprehend physical needs, the senses, remote events, and morning versus afternoon. He was not able to correctly answer all of the questions about opposites at the 4 to 4.5 year level. The articulation of beginning and ending consonant sounds was at the 6-year level. His language quotient for expressive language was 117. His total language quotient was 117 and his language age was 5 years 10.5 months. The speech and language therapist reported that Juan could clearly state his wants and needs in the classroom, was very verbal, and his sentence structure and articulation were age appropriate. COGNITIVE Juan's cognitive skills were generally well above his chronological age. On the Brigance, he places in the 5--6 age level for receptive and expressive understanding of body parts. The examiner observed Juan's knowledge of body parts when he successfully played a game called "Simon Says" on the playground. He could name colors at the 7 year level when in the classroom playing a color game called "Candy Land." Juan was able to name design concepts and knew what to do in different situations at the 6-6 age level. He was just at age level for correctly knowing uses of objects. The examiner also noticed that Juan had one-to- one object correspondence when setting the table for a snack. TRANSDISCIPLINARY PLAY-BASED ASSESSMENT Selected guidelines of TPBA in the social/emotional area were used in play-based assessment of Juan. The examiner observed that Juan was able to adjust well to new situations in appropriate ways. For example, when a new child entered the class, Juan was often the first class member to include him or her in his play. Most of the time, he appeared persistent in finishing a challenging task, such as a complex puzzle. If he needed help, he would ask another peer or the teacher. His level of play was cooperative. Often, Juan was a leader in free-play activities and appeared popular with his peers. The only time he exhibited aggression (hitting) was during the stimulation and excitement of the gross motor activities. However, he stopped the aggression promptly upon teacher request. CONCLUSION Juan exhibited age-appropriate skills for his chronological age of 5 years. His overall development was consistent with his cognitive abilities and his quality of responses during testing and observation. He functioned like an active 5-year-old despite health problems. Juan's cognitive ability and expressive language were definite strengths. He clearly articulated despite an immature esophagus. He also functioned above age level in receptive language skills. Fine motor, self-help, and gross motor skills were developing appropriately for his age. He was slightly below age level in throwing a playground ball and a tennis ball, which may be due to lack of experience with this activity. Juan's short attention span in the one-to-one situation during testing was not observed during group. He could become physically aggressive during gross motor activities but was able to control himself upon a teacher's verbal request. His likeable personality and adaptability were real assets in how well Juan functioned in his environment. FAMILY RESOURCES AND CONCERNS Juan's mother was concerned about his development. In addition to spending time with Juan, she continues to bring him to the Head Start center. The teacher, with the assistance of the other members of the team, including Juan's mother, focus on the behavior management skills that help him control his impulsive, physical actions. Juan's mother also provides experiences that enrich his cognitive growth. Juan and his mother have a strong resource in Juan's maternal grandmother because of her willingness to babysit, do household chores, and have a nurturing relationship with her grandson. One concern for the family is that Juan have a surrogate father as a male model. There is no contact with his biological father at this time. Ms. Lopez also would like to spend more quality time with her son. RECOMMENDATIONS Juan should continue attending the Head Start center for him to maintain age-appropriate skills with peers and adults. This will help him focus on tasks and respond to peers with less aggression during gross motor activities. A suggestion for his mother would be to find regular times during the day in which she and Juan could play together and enjoy each other's company. Another suggestion, which may locate a surrogate father, is to ask interested male members of the extended family, friends, and neighbors if they could spend some time with Juan on a consistent basis. |
| 1. Mother report revealed: single-mother family low socio-economic status behavioral problems doesn't eat well chronic ear infections pneumonia croup immature esophagus asthma |
| 2. This section revealed: child giggly, talkative formal testing in hallway formal testing in short bursts, too hot child distracted during testing observations during natural settings |
| Formal and Informal Assessments Informal observations by mom, members of the team, and the examiner Formal assessment tools used (in italics) -- 4 formal tools |
| Gross Motor Assessment (Brigance and observations) Does this report indicate any problems with Juan's gross motor development? If so, are they severe enough to require further assessment? |
| Fine Motor Assessment (Brigance and observations) The formal assessment tool and informal observation seemed to arrive at opposite conclusions. What do you think of this? Do you think that Juan's fine motor skills are delayed and he needs intervention, or not? What conclusions can you draw from this seeming conflict? |
| Personal-Social and Self-Help Skills (Hawaii Early Learning Profile) What are your initial impressions about Juan's social skills and self help skills? The formal assessment tool, HELP (Hawaii Early Learning Profile) assessed him within his age range. Observations seemed to back this up. |
| Language-Receptive (Preschool Language Scale) The PLS is the Preschool Language Scale - 3. How do you think that Juan did on this part of the assessment? |
| Language Expressive (Preschool Language Scale) Are you having any thoughts as you are reading this? Do you see problems for Juan? Juan placed nearly one year ahead of the norm on this portion of the test. |
| Cognitive The examiner in this section used the Brigance assessment tool, but also used a more naturalistic assessment mode. What was this? What does "one-to-one object correspondence" mean? If you can't find it anywhere, what do you THINK that it means?? Does Juan seem to have cognitive delays? |
| Transdisciplinary Play Based Assessment This assessment appears to have taken place in the classroom instead of a separate arena. Do you think that this type of assessment is realistic or not? What is your personal assessment of Juan's social/emotional level from this short paragraph? |
| Conclusion Does this writer conclude with a diagnosis for Juan to receive special education services? How are the conclusions presented? What is your reaction to these paragraphs? |
| Family Resources and Concerns What do you think are the concerns that Juan's mother has for her child? What concerns can you glean from other areas of this report, which are not listed in this paragraph? What are the resources that Juan and his mother have available to them? |
| Suggestions. What do you think of this list of recommendations? Disagree? Why? Agree? Why? |
| ALWAYS be thorough with any data; i.e., Juan's age is listed according not only to years but months also, which can make a difference. |
| Either parents or professionals can refer a child for assessment. Professionals referring a child however, cannot proceed with the assessment until the parents have given their permission. Without this, the assessment does not happen. |
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