Keystone: Case Study

Case Study:

Faye Friedman

Dr. Hsu

Keystone- Case Study

Sara is an adorable 4-year-old in the class that I observe. She is an exceptionally bright student despite her various disabilities. Sara has a severe speech problem which makes it hard for her to communicate. It is often very hard to understand what she is saying making her get very frustrated. Being that Sara is a very bright student she often has what to say yet has difficulty expressing herself. As a result of her speech problem she developed social issues which prevents her from interacting well with peers and work in group settings. Since the classroom is often put into groups and peer work is encouraged Sara must be accompanied by an aide to enable her to be able to perform all the necessary classroom activities. Her aide tries to help her mingle amongst her classmates however, if needed they just work on their own. Additionally, Sara has sessions with a speech therapist at least three times a week. Being that she is a bright student she is able to follow along with the lessons despite her speech therapy sessions. There are times where her speech therapist is encouraged to work on Sara during the classes lessons to help her participate and be involved. Since Sara’s social awkwardness comes from her speech problem she does not have difficulty paying attention or maintaining proper eye contact and classroom behavior she just has difficulty interacting and conversing with her peers. She is a lovable child and whoever comes to work with her enjoys working with her. With the help of speech intervention, she will most definitely thrive and this will help her socially as a result as well.

The SETT Framework scaffolds was a great tool to enable me to record exactly what issues Sara was having. Using the SETT Scaffold for Consideration of AT Needs, I was able to identify exactly where Sara’s deficiencies were. She has trouble with communication, academic performance such as oral expression, environmental control, social competence and vocational performance. She has trouble communicating with her peers and her surroundings, cannot express herself orally, cannot interact with her environment, is not socially up to par, and has trouble working and having social interactions. All these issues came about from her severe speech impairment. She has intense speech therapy and is accompanied by an aide throughout the day. Her teachers try everything they can to enable Sara to have a positive learning experience and are constantly trying to help her to the best of their ability. With the proper intervention and guidance Sara will be able to succeed.

Using the SETT Framework, I encouraged the aide to start using a tablet or iPad to allow Sara to type in or allow the aide to type in for her any of her responses throughout the day. Her responses will be submitted and will show up on the teacher’s tablet or iPad. This way Sara will have a chance to interact with the classroom without having to speak up out loud. Additionally, being that she may not know how to write everything the device will be programmed with the day’s lesson and provide her with pictures and illustrations she can use to express her opinion or answer. This way Sara can follow along with the class even if they are in a group setting since she can converse with the teacher in her own way. In order to help Sara, interact with her peers and fellow classmates I asked her aide to accompany her once or twice a day to a group activity and ease her into trying to speak to her peers. Although it may be hard in the beginning with enough motivation and intervention she may be able to be part of a group setting for part of the day.

SETT Scaffolds:

Lesson Plans:

Summary

Following the SETT Framework was a real eye opener. Through thoroughly assessing Sara’s strengths and weaknesses and being able to advise further I was able to see much success. Sara now has an effective way of communicating despite her disability and she is slowly learning how to communicate with peers despite her social issues as well. She showed much success and growth by using this set of aides and accommodations. I have encouraged her teachers and aide to continue using this framework to help her and over time it may really help her succeed despite all of her disabilities.