2. Background
S New student (1st grade) at Rayberg Elementary school
S Lives with parents and younger sister
S Father is an engineer and isn't home often
S Began kindergarten in Alabama
S Following summer moved to Kansas
S In October of that year he moved to Indiana
S February moved to a “southern state” where he is at now
3. Referred
S Frank was referred by his first grade teacher for:
S High levels of distractibility and activity
S Short attention span
S Both were affecting his daily classroom performance
S Seems to be happy, intellectually curious and very verbal
4. Difficulties
S His short attention span affects both his comprehension of
directions and reading skills.
S Frequent reversals of letters and numerals when writing
S Disorganized in his work habits
S Easily distracted by his own thoughts
S When frustrated and tired, he acts immaturely and throws
temper tantrums
S Hits his head saying “It wont work”
5. Mother’s thoughts
S Mother indicated that Frank has always struggled paying
attention in school
S All of his teachers had concerns about his behaviors
S Mother was under stress during pregnancy
S Prolonged labor
S On oxygen for the last 8 hours because decrease in Frank’s
heartbeat with every contraction
S Doctor said he had normal neonatal health
7. Difficulties due to Physical
Impairment?
S Many teachers thought he might have difficulties due to hearing
problem
S Frank had extensive ear infections that required tubes in his ears at
age 3
S Recently checked his hearing and he was found to have normal
hearing
S Also passed both near and far vision screenings
S Receives speech therapy for articulation problems.
8. Teaching Strategies
S Modified instruction and use of multisensory literature-based reading
program
S Receives math instruction through an activity-based manipulative
program
S Supplementary texts and materials such as tapes, word cards, and
dictated stories
S Received praise for appropriate responses by his parents and teachers
S All efforts resulted in improvements in Frank’s academic skills and
behavioral responses
9. School based testing
S Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test 4
S Standard score: 115 Percentile: 84
S WIAT-II
S Cluster scores
S Oral language: 105
S Reading: 97
S Math: 114
S Written Language: 97
10. Cont.
S WIAT-II
S Subtest scores
S Listening Comprehension: 115
S Oral Expression: 95
S Word Reading: 99
S Pseudoword decoding: 95
S Comprehension: 98
S Spelling: 95
S Math reasoning: 113
S Numerical Operations: 116
11. School Psychologist
S Performed complete psychological evaluation
S He was attentive to individual activities
S Put forth good effort
S Very bouncy and physically restless throughout
S WISC-IV
S Full scale IQ: 118
S Verbal Comprehension: 119
S Perceptual Reasoning: 112
S Working Memory: 98
S Processing speed: 100
12. WISC-IV results
S Overall abilities fall within average to high-average
S Minor weaknesses in areas affected by attention and
processing speed
S Underestimate his true potential because of his physical
restlessness and distractibility throughout
13. Additional assessment
S Short term visual and auditory learning
S Responses suggested strengths in immediate memory for
auditory and visual cues
S Reversed several numerals
S Formation and spacing of his numerals suggested impulsivity
in responses
14. WIAT-II results
S Deficits in academic skills, which were reflected in his
classroom performance
S Difficulty with basic phonetic skills affects his ID of less
familiar words
S Some of his correct answers on the passage comprehension
were achieved by guessing
S Used pictures as clues when he didn’t recognize a word
S Written responses revealed week phonetic skills
15. Attention Deficit Disorder Behavior
Rating Scale
S Significant concerns about his:
S short attention span and impulsivity
S weak listening skills
S poor concentration
S high level of distractibility
S weak organizational skills
S tendency to interrupt or speak out of turn
16. Result
S Frank is a student who would benefit greatly from a more
detailed medical evaluation to further evaluate his activity
and attention
S His mother is all for it because of his current difficulty in
school
