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Running head: JACOB SECONDARY CASE STUDY PART 1 1

Jacob Burns: A Secondary Student Case Study

Part 1 - Assessment

Julio Barrios, Erica Buettner, Joseph Chapman, Gracia Herrera, Kim Matias,

Kourtney Morgan, Christina Reno, and Vanessa Torres

California State University, Long Beach

JACOB SECONDARY CASE STUDY PART 1 2

Jacob Burns: A Secondary Student Case Study; Part 1 - Assessment

Assessment is a crucial aspect of education. Through the process of assessment, a

teacher can discover students' strengths and areas of need in order to plan an enriching academic

curriculum that incorporates all of the supports and strategies required for students to reach their

full potential. In special education, this process is legally mandated for students with disabilities

so that teachers can create an Individualized Education Program (IEP) specifically tailored to

each individual student's unique needs, desires, and strengths. This paper will focus exclusively

on the planning process for a student named Jacob Burns.

Background

Jacob Burns is a spirited young man in the 11th grade. He attends Canyon High School

and is 16 years old. Jacob has autism, but autism does not have him. He was born in America

and lives in an English speaking household with his mother, father, siblings, and part-time

caregiver. His father’s name is Davis; his mother’s name is Abby. Jacob has an older brother,

Cody, who also has a learning disability. In addition, he has two sisters by the names of Covina

and West. Jacob is very healthy and does not receive any medication. He sleeps well (unless he

is up late playing video games) and has a healthy appetite (except for when it comes to fish or

vegetables).

Jacob is a hard worker employed at Smith's Grocery as a bagger. He also earns extra

income by completing chores around his house. Jacob’s hobbies include going ice skating with

Mr. Karst (his special education teacher), playing video games, and watching TV. Jacob has

multiple strengths: reading a newspaper to learn about interesting events, counting bill and coin

combinations, using the calculator to perform addition and subtraction, bagging groceries at

work, reading simple stories, and practicing skills on the computer.


Jacob is currently taking both general and special education courses throughout the

school's “A/B” block schedule. His general education classes include Adult Roles in Financial

Literacy, Theater Design and Construction, Food and Nutrition, as well as Computer

Technology. For his special education classes, he is taught by Mr. Karst and a paraeducator, Ms.

Jackson. Jacob’s previous assessment records indicate his Woodcock-Johnson scores being mid-

range and that he is struggling with reading, writing, and math. Recently during class, he has

been working on identifying reading concepts and explaining vocabulary in his own words,

building a personal financial program, as well as learning self-management activities such as

grocery shopping for healthy food items and making leisure time. He has had success with

accommodations such as peer-support, flash cards, and audio recorded materials. At home,

Jacob is currently establishing budgeting categories, setting up a personal schedule, and working

with his father on software fluency.

Concerns

Because Jacob is a high school student with autism, he is legally entitled to educational

services. His annual IEP is due very soon, so his IEP team met to discuss and conduct

assessments to find what supports and accommodations Jacob needs to be successful. Jacob's

parents expressed concern about his ability to live independently, so he needs to learn life skills

such as budgeting money for savings and purchases. Jacob struggles to keep up with his

schedule, so he needs to learn to use a tool like Microsoft Outlook in order to help him keep up

with his activities during the week. His parents said it is important for him to learn how to go to

his two local grocery stores and learn how to read food labels so that he can buy appropriate,

healthy foods. According to his parents, Jacob has trouble with socializing. He is able to have

conversations with his peers and teachers, but he needs to learn when to change subjects.


Assessments

Ecological Inventory

The IEP team conducted an ecological inventory to determine Jacob's present and future

functional needs. For his current needs, his academic, work, and leisure environments were

analyzed to determine which skills Jacob specifically needs to practice. Because Jacob will soon

be leaving high school, his future needs must be considered for successful transition into adult

life. The IEP team discussed his needs in the areas of living skills, education, and employment.

This inventory is attached to the back of this report.

Family Interview

In order to discover more about Jacob and his family's perception of his needs and

desires, Jacob's special education teacher conducted a family interview. This interview provided

a more in-depth background than the team could find through a review of the minimal existing

IEP information. This interview is also included at the end of the report.

Results

After reviewing records and conducting an ecological inventory and family interview, the

IEP team determined Jacob’s strengths and areas of need. Jacob enjoys his job, likes playing

video games, and prefers staying indoors. He is able to socialize with other people, but he needs

to learn how to make close friends and maintain conversational flow. Jacob can read stories in

books, but he needs to read for information, such as nutritional labels on foods at grocery stores

in order to purchase healthy items for himself. Writing is also an area in which Jacob requires

additional support. He needs practice with math, namely adding and subtracting without a

calculator. Jacob can identify and count currency, but he needs support in financial literacy so

that he can live successfully on his own, purchase food, ride the bus, pay bills, and spend money


on recreational activities. Multiple skills required for leisure activities should also be practiced.

For example, he needs to be able to calculate how much money he has and needs in order to ride

the bus. Jacob also needs to be able to read and understand a bus schedule in order to know

when to arrive at the bus stop and when to request a stop at his destination. Jacob needs to

increase his knowledge of computer technology. He must learn how to use computer programs

to help him budget money, set and check his weekly schedule, and access the internet for

research.

Future Implications

The IEP team decided that transition oriented goals should be created for Jacob to

become a successful, independent adult. Goals involving the use of technology, particularly

Microsoft Office, will be discussed in relation to Jacob's planning and budgeting needs. The

team may also consider mathematics goals in order to address his struggles with money handling

and saving.

An assistive technology assessment should also be conducted in order to find other

supports that may help Jacob with his academic assignments. Members of the team suggested

that he could use computer technology for scheduling to assist with his memory and

organizational difficulties. For his challenging writing assignments, the team may provide

Speech-to-Text software.

Jacob's teachers may include special units in their curriculum to help Jacob with other

needs. For instance, a math unit focusing on budgeting money could be helpful, and Jacob could

use his software as an accommodation. A special nutritional unit could be incorporated for Jacob

to learn about a healthy diet; he could use nutrition vocabulary flash cards as an accommodation

to help him remember the daily recommended value for each nutritional element. His teachers


may also create a unit specifically on how to make weekly and monthly schedules that can help

him with his scheduling software.


Parent Questionnaire

Student Information:

1) Is Autism his primary disability? Does he have a secondary disability? Yes and he does not have a secondary disability.2) What is the main language spoken in the home? What is his native language?

Jacob is an English only student. Both Jacob and his parents only speak English.

General Information:1) What are his parent’s names?

Davis and Abby Burns2) Does he have any peers and what are their names? Do any of them have a disability?

He has an older brother and two sisters. Jacob is the third child. His brother’s name is Cody. His sisters’ names are Covina and West. Cody has a mild learning disability.

3) Is there anyone else living at home?A part time caregiver helps in the house.

4) What is Jacob’s nationality and culture? Jacob was born in America. He is American.

5) What is the main language spoken in the home? What is his native language?English

6) Does he live with both parents? Who has legal guardianship?Jacob lives with both parents.

7) What is his race?He is White.

Health Information:1) Does he have any health concerns?

No2) Do you know when he/she did his last vision and hearing? And did he pass?

He had it this year and he did not pass the vision exam. It was recommended that he gets glasses.

3) Does he wear glasses?Yes

4) What does he eat at home?I do not have to worry about him eating. He does not like greens and fish but he eats everything else.

5) How is his sleep schedule?He sleeps late because he loves to play video games.

6) On any medications? Any particular diet like gluten free (we know he's learning nutrition)? He is not on medications. He is not on any particular diet but he watches what he eats. He does not eat more than the recommended daily allowance.


Strengths/Preferences/Interests:1) What are the things he is good at?

Jacob likes video games. He likes simple short stories.2) What things does he like to do for fun outside school? Does he have any friends?Jacob does not like socializing. He does not like going outside. One of the reasons my husband and I decided to do a weekly schedule for him is to remind Jacob to spend some time outside.3) Does he have any friends? Jacob does not have friends.4) Anything else he's good at or likes? Any strong dislikes? Favorite chores? Jacob does not like doing chores. However when prompted he will do them5) Any other problems/difficulties? Any supports that did not work in past? Any current supports that are needed (that he's not getting)?At first Jacob struggled with the A/B schedule. So we would write his schedule out and place it on the refrigerator. Every morning we would go over the schedule. It did not work that well that is why we go the computer and asked Mr. Karst for help during the last IEP. When Jacob was younger did a home ABA program with the Regional Center. It helps a little.

Academic Concerns:1) How do you feel your son is doing with writing? What does he do well in and what is an area of

need?This is an area of need. It was decided to get him to use the Microsoft word on the computer. He is learning Microsoft Outlook and he will learn Word soon.

2) How do you feel your son is doing with reading? What does he do well in and what is an area of need?

He does OK with reading. However he does not like to read.3) How do you feel your son is doing with math? What does he do well in and what is an area of

need?Math is Jacob’s weakest subject. He needs to use a calculator to add and subtract. He is learning to develop money skills.

Assessment Schedule:1) Do you have any assessment data that you can share with us? Is he taking the CAPA, CMA, SBAC,

CELDT?I am his parent and not the teacher. In general his Woodcock Johnson scores are in the mid-range. He is struggling with reading, writing and math.

Communication Development (SP/L):1) How is his communication development?

It is hard to get him to talk. He enunciates fine.2) Do you have any speech concerns?

No


Gross/Fine Motor Development (OT/APE)1) Does he ride a bike? Play sports?

He does not do any of those things. He does not like going out the neighborhood.2) Does he like skating? They go there during class?

He only goes ice skating when Mr. Karst brings him.

Vocational:1) How does he like working as a bagger? Is that something he is interested in?

He enjoys being a bagger at Smith's Food Center. However he has difficulty with some of the customers. He tries to talk about one topic and has to be redirected.

2) What does he want to do when he grows up?He does not know what he wants to do when he grows up. We get different responses. One time he told us that he wants to write books, which was strange because he does not like to write. Another time he told us the he want to work in the ice skating ring. Finally, he told us that he wants to work at Smith's Food Center forever. He really needs direction with this.

3) What steps has he taken? Has he looked at colleges or vocational schools, etc?No, but we hear that there is a great program at Cypress college for students like Jacob and it is near our house. We would like more information about the program.

4) Where will he live later? Ideally we would like him to live on his own. We have limited resources so we went to the regional center. They are going to help us with multiple options with residential living with roommates etc. Hilda Sramek is in the board there and we will meet with her next week. We have heard about her daughter Carla. She is such a success story.

Adaptive/Daily Living Skills:1) Does he like to fix breakfast, make his bed, etc?

He needs to be prompted, especially with making his bed. At times he waits to make his bed until he is ready to sleep. Then he needs it to be a certain way.

2) Does he brush his teeth?Yes

3) Does he get his own snacks?He grabs things out of a jar or a box.

4) How is his health?Overall he is in good health.

5) Does he have any problems with behavior? If yes, what?When there is a drastic change of routine, he acts out. He likes things to stay the same. A few months ago we had guest over that spent the night and it was really hard for Jacob.

6) Is the outlook schedule helping with his afterschool schedule?It is still at the beginning stages so it is not helping that much.

7) What do you do for redirection when he is focused on something?I call out his name. It that does not work I tap his shoulder and that usually works.

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