Case Studies
Gregory
Gregory Smith is a second grader, age 8. Gregory attended Head Start at age 4. He adjusted well to school and liked it. Gregory loved the gross motor activities both in and outside like swings climbers, and big blocks. He enjoyed water play, the sand table, and listening to music. He showed age-appropriate social development. Gregory’s health screening revealed he suffered from frequent ear infections and colds. His speech screening showed mispronunciations of w, s, th, and l in all positions. The speech teacher also noted that Gregory did not focus visually on her during assessment. He did not seem to pick up on subtleties in language such as plurals and possessives. His teachers reported that he had difficulty following directions, attending to stories, and answering questions. He also had trouble with tool control and generally did not choose centers that involved fine-motor control.
Gregory’s kindergarten teacher reported that Gregory was a sociable youngster who enjoyed school. He was good at singing and seemed to learn the alphabet and other things through music. His math skills were age-appropriate. He exhibited great difficulty with concentration on rhyming activities and associating sounds with alphabet letters. In oral language, Gregory often used incorrect noun-verb agreement and he often had trouble selecting the correct word when speaking. His lack of progress in pre-reading and writing prompted his teacher to refer him to the Child Study Team.
Music is Gregory’s favorite class. He looks forward to seeing Mrs. Fletcher each week. He waits for Thursdays all week long! He seems to veer away from Orff Instruments when given a choice in the classroom. He has trouble focusing on Mrs. Fletcher during group instruction. He can, at times, be a distraction to other students. Gregory also has difficulty waiting his turn because he is so excited about being in his favorite class. He wants to answer all the questions and pick his instrument first - perhaps to avoid instruments requiring fine motor skills. Mrs. Fletcher finds this lack of attention confusing because he likes music class so much. Gregory has difficulty relating to peers who often tease him because of his differences.
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