Watkins 1 Word Count: 5,580 Allison Watkins Dr.

DeCarlo Infancy, Childhood, and Adolescence 28 November 2011 Case Report * The following data is based off of observations completed at the CDC between October 14th, 2011 and November, 11th, 2011. The children observed include 3 year old Chase and 3 year old Elliana. Visit 1 (October 14th, 2011) Cognitive Chase: Chase exhibited organizational skills during both snack time and play time. During snack time, he kept his crackers neatly stacked upon his napkin, eating one at a time. During play time, Chase decided to play with the trains, moving one and then another around the track. Chase seemed to have some trouble paying attention at specific times during the observation. Often, he would look away when I was trying to ask him questions. Also, during reading time, Chase appeared distracted as he continuously turned around to look at the teachers and other students. His language skills seemed average for his age. For example, when another observer asked him, What are you going to be for Halloween?, Chase clearly responded, Captain Jack Sparrow. Chase also exhibited his decision making skills as he decided, by himself, to go to the bathroom to clean his shirt after spilling juice upon it.

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Elliana: Elliana showed advanced organizational skills as she played with blocks, trucks, and tiny schoolhouses, to make a garden. Along with other girls her age, she arranged and then repeated a pattern with the block on the floor. When she put the blocks away, she was aware of the correct place to put them with one exception; she and the other girls had trouble placing the arched blocks on the shelves in a way that prevented them from falling. I needed to help the girls with this task. Elliana played close attention and followed tasks efficiently. She spoke in complete, and for the most part, grammatically correct sentences. When I asked her, What are you going to be for Halloween?, Elliana responded, I am going to be Tinkerbell. Elliana also knew all of her ABCs which she exhibited as she proudly sang along with the rest of the class. Social Chase: Chase displayed his understanding of directions when he followed the teachers instructions on where to sit, when to wash his hands, and when to clean up after play. During play time, Chase chose to play trains along with a boy from the older age group. The two boys exhibited parallel play, as their interaction within the same activity was limited. Chases interaction with the observers, with me in particular, was at times even more distant and seemed slightly aggressive. For example, when I asked Chase, Do you need help opening your juice box, he seemed be become frustrated as he said Shhhhhhhh! and then turned away. However, at other times, he turned to me and smiled. In particular, he began a conversation with me about his favorite activities within the CDC.

Elliana: Elliana seemed enthusiastic about learning from her teachers. She gave

Watkins 3 them respect and paid close attention to anything they said. During singing time, Ms. Hallam acted out parts of the song and Elliana mirrored her, repeating these motions herself. She was friendly with me and answered all of the questions that I asked her (What is your name?, How old are you?, What are you going to be for Halloween?, etc.). She played well with other students, especially other female students who belonged to the same age group as her. Not only did Elliana exhibit parallel play with these other girls, but also some cooperative play, as they all worked together to create and clean-up the garden. Emotional Chase: As previously mentioned within the Social section of this observation, Chase told me Shhhhhhhh! when I asked if he needed help opening his juice box during snack time. I feel he had trouble regulating his sense of embarrassment and shame about not being able to complete this task on his own. (However, Chase was not alone in his need for assistance; all of the other children had to have adults open their juices for them as well). At times when Chase had more control over the situation, however, he seemed to have greater control over his emotions. In particular, when Chase was the one to initiate the conversation, he appeared much more at ease and confident. When Chase spilled the juice on his shirt, he seemed to take pride in the initiative he had in cleaning it up himself.

Elliana: Elliana seemed very prideful of her knowledge and excited about learning. During story time, Elliana sat as close as she could to the guest reader and paid close attention to the story. She also seemed eager to learn the new song that Ms. Hallam was teaching the class. Elliana did not exhibit any shame when she needed

Watkins 4 assistance opening her juice box. Elliana also spilled this juice upon her lap, but kept control over her emotions. Instead of becoming embarrassed or frustrated, she simply told me, Its okay; my mom will wash them later. At times, however, when asked a direct question, she seemed slightly shy, hesitating a few seconds before responding. Physical Chase: Chase seemed to have no trouble with his gross motor skills as he walked around the classroom taking his seat as he was told. Like the other children, though, Chases fine motor skills lacked as seen when he was not able to open his juice box. Chase also dropped a few crackers while eating and spilled juice on his shirt. Chase also had difficulty and required assistance buttoning his jacket when it was time to leave. He was, however, more adept at playing with the trains and moving them around on their tracks. Elliana: Ellianas gross motor skills were advanced along with the rest of the students. Like the other children though, she needed help opening her juice box. Her fine motor skills also were not fully developed as shown by her spilling of her juice box. I also noticed that she had difficulty holding up only three fingers. Although she is 3 years old, she held up four fingers when showing me her age. However, it was clear that Elliana knew there was a difference between 3 and 4. When counting on her hand, she held up one finger for 1, two fingers for 2, four fingers for 3, four fingers (again) for 4, and five fingers for 5. Other Chase: Overall, Chase seemed to be developing along the same track as the other students. Emotionally and socially, though, Chase seemed to have trouble

Watkins 5 understanding how to respond to certain situations. Perhaps this is because Chase is one of the few boys in the class and may feel out of place. Regardless, Chase was able to use his social, emotional, physical, and cognitive skills to eat, play, and listen to a story along with the other students.

Elliana: Elliana seemed to be average, if not advanced, in her development compared to the other students. She interacted with others throughout the day in a calm manner and followed instructions when necessary. She was excited to learn and to tell others what she knew. Elliana also displayed creativity when she sang the Barney Clean Up Song, adding her own lyrics to coordinate with her actions as she put away her blocks.

Cognitive

Visit 2 (October 21, 2011) Chase: During snack time, Chase chose to have crackers. However, as the other children ate, he did not touch his crackers. When asked what was wrong by Mrs. Hallam, he replied I hafa go home, not clearly annunciating his speech. After snack time, Chase agreed to play with the iPads. Shortly after, though, he began asking to play on the computer, unhappy with his initial decision. Mrs. Hallam agreed to allow Chase on the computer and had an aide play games with him. First Chase played a volcano math game. He seemed to have trouble paying attention, but responded to many of the math problems correctly. Next, Chase decided he wanted to play Goofy. He did not seem to understand that he could control the games character as he kept asking the aide, Is Goofy going to go in

Watkins 6 the water?, or Do you think Goofy will go on that bridge?

Elliana: Elliana displayed her memorization skills as she sang all of the words to the H Song along with the rest of the class. During iPad time, Elliana chose to play sing-along games, displaying her fondness for music. During snack time, Elliana decided to eat popcorn instead of crackers. Initially, she played with the foam during playtime. However, she soon seemed to grow bored and decided to go play with the blocks in the other room as she did the previous week I observed her. After play, Elliana put on her jacket and waited at her locker to go home, though it was much too soon to leave. It seemed that Elliana had simply misread the time and believed it really was time to go home. Social Chase: Chase was not very enthusiastic about interacting with others during this observation. Any time I asked Chase a question, he refused to respond. During snack time, he kept his back turned from the rest of the members of the table. When another student noticed Chase was not going to eat, she hesitantly began to take his crackers and eat them herself. Chase did not seem to mind. However, when she touched his arm and said, Hes just shy, Chase appeared to be annoyed. He did, however, talk to Mrs. Hallam in order to express his desire to go home. Despite his unhappiness, Chase seemed to get along well with the aide while he played with her on the computer. Also, he answered most of her questions in a polite manner.

Elliana: Elliana seemed to get along with her classmates during this period of observation. During play time, she participated in parallel play with the other students with both the foam and the blocks. While playing with the foam, though,

Watkins 7 she cooperatively played with a fellow observer as the two of them made hamburgers together out of the foam. During iPad time, Elliana was at first shy when I came over to observe her. However, she soon became more comfortable and even began singing London Bridge is Falling Down along with me. Emotional Chase: Chase appeared very upset throughout this observation period. He did not seem very enthusiastic about playing or eating and instead was only concerned with going home. When anyone other than Mrs. Hallam or the classroom aids tried to talk to Chase, he appeared frustrated and turned away. It seemed that his sadness kept him from focusing on particular tasks at hand. However, when Chase began to play on the computer, he seemed to forget some about going home and appeared to be slightly less upset.

Elliana: Elliana was shy initially when interacting with me during this observation. However, she soon warmed up to me and became quite friendly. Her pride and excitement about learning were most apparent during the group circle time as she enthusiastically sang along with Mrs. Hallam and the other students. When Elliana had trouble putting on her jacket, I asked to help her, and she was insistent that she was putting it on correctly. When Elliana realized that this was not the case, she simply accepted the fact without displaying any shame or embarrassment about needing help. Physical Chase: Since he was upset, Chase was not very active during this observation. When he played on the computer though, he showed some of his fine motor skills as he used the arrow keys to control the game. Chase, eager to go home for the day,

Watkins 8 was also able to put on his jacket and backpack by himself in preparation to leave the CDC.

Elliana: Elliana displayed fine motor skills as she used the iPad. She seemed to have to difficulties touching the parts of the screen in which she desired in order to control the games. During play time, she was able to mold the foam she was playing with into the shapes she wanted. While putting on her jacket, though, Elliana had some difficulties. She kept trying to put the jacket on upside down. However, I offered her help, and once we had the jacket in the proper position, Elliana was able to put both of her arms in correctly and zip the jacket herself. She also had no trouble putting on her backpack at the end of the day. Other Chase: Although Chase was upset, he still participated in all of the days activities, aside from snack time. It seemed to me that Chase was able to accomplish tasks more efficiently when motivated. For example, when given the incentive of going home, Chase quickly and properly put on his coat and backpack. Something that struck me as particularly interesting, though, occurred as Chase played on the computer. In order to control the game, Chase tried to put his hands on the computer screen and drag items around just as one would while using an iPad. I found it interesting that he took his knowledge of using the iPad and applied it to the computer as well, making a connection between the two technologies.

Elliana: What struck me about Elliana during this observation was her eagerness to learn. During class time, she took that eagerness, and used it as a way to relate to not only her teachers, but the aides, observers, and her fellow classmates as

Watkins 9 well, a valuable skill for any child looking to gain knowledge and make friends.

Cognitive

Visit 3 and Visit 4 (October 28th, 2011) (2 Hours of Observation: 10:00am-12:00pm) Chase: During snack time, Chase decided to eat popcorn, a snack he was not interested in during previous observations. During play time, Chase decided to play house with some of the girls in his class, which was a new behavior for him as well. Chase was more open to answering questions during this observation, so I was able to get a better understanding of his language mastery. For the most part, Chases speech was average for his age. However, he had trouble annunciating some words. For example, at times when he was talking about his mom, it sounded as though he was saying dog instead. During circle time, when asked what color he was standing on before he could be seated, Chase replied red. However, the color was actually orange. After giving Chase the correct response, she asked him again and he replied orange the second time.

Elliana: During show-and-tell, Elliana decided to bring in a tiny toy gumball machine to show to her classmates. While at free play time, Elliana chose to build puzzles, which she quickly and accurately completed with one of her classmates. Then she began playing with Halloween sewing kits, which included yarn and cardboard cut outs with holes in them which the yarn could be laced through. At snack time, she chose to eat popcorn. During circle time, when asked what color she was standing on, Elliana immediately responded with the correct answer: pink.Yet, when Mrs. Hallam asked what makes the I sound, Elliana stated

Watkins 10 ant. Although this response was incorrect, it is reasonable to see why Elliana made this mistake. During regular play time, Elliana kept switching between activities. First, she went to play on the loft with two other girls after being told by Mrs. Hallam that only two students were allowed on the loft at once. She soon became distracted though, and went to play in the corner with another girl. Then Elliana played with the blocks, as she had in previous weeks. Elliana also showed her language mastery as she showed me a witch doll and said, This is Wanda. She is a mean witch. Social Chase: Chase was much more interactive during this observation. I suspect it was because he was excited about Halloween, as many of the other students were. Chase was more open to his classmates and played alongside them while engaging in sociodramatic play. Chase even carried purses while playing, not concerned about the fact that they were a toy generally played with only by girls. Chase answered many more of my questions than usual. He also did not ignore me, or try to hush me as he had in previous weeks.

Elliana: Elliana interacted mostly positively with many of the observers and teachers during this session. During snack time, Elliana asked Mrs. Hallam to sit by her. She approached me more than usual, asking me to remind her of my name and talking to me about Wanda, the mean witch. Elliana, however, also ignored others more than usual during this observation. When Mrs. Hallam told Elliana she could not play in the loft, she disregarded the teachers request. When Elliana was building a puzzle with another classmate, another girl from the class asked to

Watkins 11 play as well. Both students, however, told the girl that she could not play. Elliana also told another girl that she could play with another classmates toy, claiming that it belonged to her. Emotional Chase: Chases demeanor seemed much more positive than usual during this session. He calmly regulated his emotions throughout the observation and did not once appear upset. When I asked Chase, Are you still going to be Captain Jack Sparrow for Halloween?, he gave me a big smile as he nodded yes. He also appeared quite excited when I asked him about trick-or-treating. He was also less reserved than usual and played alongside others without becoming frustrated.

Elliana: Elliana appeared upset when Mrs. Hallam initially did not come to sit next to her during snack time. However, for the most part, she regulated her emotions quite well during this observation. She displayed pride during show-and-tell as she revealed to her classmates her gumball machine toy. While playing with the Halloween sewing kit, Elliana stated: This is too hard. However, she did not appear discouraged and continued with the activity. When a fellow classmate said to Elliana, I beat you, after completing a puzzle, Elliana did not display any shame or embarrassment and simply responded, No you didnt. Physical Chase: During play time, Chase used his fine motor skills to pick up the play food and chew on it, a sort of exploration that the students were not supposed to be engaging in. He also exhibited his motor skills as he put on his jacket and zipped it by himself at the end of the day. Initially, he had some difficulties putting on his backpack, but was eventually he was able to do so on his own.

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Elliana: Elliana was very eager to put her jacket on by herself as she watched some of the other students getting praised for doing so. However, she had difficulties getting her arms into the jacket. With Mrs. Hallams help though, she was able to successfully put on her jacket and zip it up herself. While playing with the sewing kit, she had very little trouble treading the yarn through the holes in the cardboard displaying her fine motor skills. Despite the difficulty of the task, she showed risk taking and exploration as she strived to achieve the goal nevertheless. Other Chase: Chases excitement about Halloween left him in a good mood during this observation. He was more outgoing, interactive, and emotionally regulated than usual. He took more risks than he previously had, such as choosing something new to eat during snack time. He also showed promise with his interaction skills.

Elliana: The excitement of the day also seemed to place an effect upon Elliana. She seemed to become distracted more easily than usual and paid less attention to directions for tasks. However, her interactions with others during this day of observation were plentiful.

Cognitive

Visit 5 (November 4th, 2011) Chase: During snack time, Chase chose to eat apples and drink orange drink. When I asked Chase if he needed me to open his packet of apples and his juice box, he said yes. After I opened everything for Chase though, he soon decided that he wanted to take his snack home instead, which he no longer had the opportunity to do. After some time, he finally decided to eat his snack, eating one apple slice at a

Watkins 13 time avoiding biting any of the fruits skin. Later, during play time, Chase opted to play house with some of the girls as he did the previous week. During reading time, Chase sat quietly displaying close attention toward the classs guest speaker.

Elliana: During circle time, Elliana did not seem to remember all of the words to the song the class was singing, yet she still hummed along, singing the words that she did know. During snack time, Elliana chose to eat crackers and have orange drink, as did the rest of the students at her table. When given the choice for play, Elliana decided to paint with watercolors. When I asked Elliana what she was painting, she said Im painting a rainbow, displaying her language mastery complete with a full sentence and proper grammar. As she continued to paint though, Elliana constantly changed her answer of what she was painting. The rainbow became a house, which became a house with a rainbow, which became a monster. It seemed to me that her answers to what the painting was changed with what the painting looked like to her at each precise moment in the process. Social Chase: As during previous observations, Chase was shy this day. When I asked him any questions, he would quietly answer with short responses or nod yes or no. Chase did, however, get along very well with others while playing house. Although he used little verbal dialogue when playing, he interacted well with the other students particularly by sharing toys. When Chase sat under the table to play, Mrs. Hallam told him to play somewhere else, and he quickly did so without questioning her directions.

Elliana: Elliana was very friendly during this observation. When she first saw me,

Watkins 14 she said, What is your name? When I responded, she said to me I like that name. She interacted well with the other students, but in particular she spent much of her time this day with another student named Abigail. Whenever she and Maggiewere not able to sit near one another during circle time, Elliana said, Dont worry Abigail. Im over here. Make sure to keep an eye on me. During snack time, Elliana exhibited a desire for adult interaction as she requested that Mrs. Hallam sit at her table. Emotional Chase: Although Chase was very quiet and shy this day, he seemed to do a good job of regulating his emotions. After Chase was told he could not take his snack home since it had been opened already, he appeared to be slightly upset. However, instead of refusing to eat or physically displaying his frustration, he used reasoning and decided to eat the snack along with the rest of the class. When he was told that he could not play under the table, Chase did not exhibit and guilt shame or embarrassment and simply followed the directions and continued to happily play.

Elliana: Elliana was very successful at regulating her emotions this day, and seemed to take pride in her artwork. Elliana also showed pride for other accomplishments. For example, when Elliana and Maggiewere washing their hands, Maggiecould not get the paper towels out of the dispenser on her own. Elliana explained this task to Maggieand showed her how to do so correctly. When finally Maggieaccomplished the task, the two girls became very excited and started cheering and dancing around, pleased with their actions. Physical Chase: Chase needed help opening his apple packet and juice box during snack

Watkins 15 time. However, he exhibited his fine motor skills while playing house during play time. He was able to successfully grasp and arrange the play food, and lay out blankets on the toy beds. Before playing, Chase took off his shoes without needing any help. His shoes were slip-ons with Velcro, so he did not need any help putting these shoes back on as well. Chase was also able to use his fine motor skills to zip and up-zip the purses in the house play area.

Elliana: Elliana also needed help opening her snacks. However, she used her fine motor skills as she efficiently used the paper towel dispenser on her own and as she showed Maggiehow to do so as well. She also displayed these skills as she painted. She held the paintbrush in the correct and comfortable manner, and seemed to have control over it while she painted. She also avoided any spills of her cup of water while paining. Other Chase: Chases emotional regulation and enthusiasm to play helped him to interact well with the rest of his classmates. However, his hesitation to speak with others sometimes created problems for him. For example, if Chase would have spoken up sooner, he would have been able to take his snack home with him. As Chase becomes more comfortable, though, I believe he will be less hesitant and more confident, therefore experiencing less displeasing situations like this one in his day to day world. Elliana: Unlike Chase, Ellianas outgoing manner and enthusiasm to voice her opinions ensure that others have a better understanding of what she is thinking or what it is that she wants. Ellianas openness and ability to express herself will

Watkins 16 likely be a useful skill in her day to day life. Her enthusiasm to learn will also benefit her in her cognitive development.

Cognitive

Visit 6 and Visit 7 (November 11th, 2011) (2 Hours of Observation 10:00am- 12:00pm) Chase: Chase decided to bring in a toy car for show-and-tell. During snack time the students were given both fruit snacks and cereal bars and told to choose one to eat and one to take home. Without hesitation, Chase chose to have the fruit snacks to eat. During play time, Chase first decided to play with farm animal figurines. However, when he saw students next to him playing with Play-Doh, he soon switched tasks. Again, due to his lack of conversations, it was difficult to gauge Chases speech mastery. However, he did tell me, Mommy getting Harry Potter this weekend. Although he did not annunciate this e perfectly, I realized that Chase meant that his mother was going to buy him the new Harry Potter DVD. When I asked Chase who his favorite character from the movie was, he said, Mommy, showing that he did not process my question completely.

Elliana: During free play time, Elliana decided to play with a puzzle, but was having difficulties. She stated, This is too hard. I will play something else. Instead of playing with the puzzle, Elliana decided to play a game in which one student took turns hiding a toy in the classroom and the other one searched for it. During snack time, Elliana chose to eat the fruit snacks as well. She was very methodical in her approach to eating them, saving all of the green snacks for last. I asked her if she did that because they were her favorite, and she said yes. Elliana

Watkins 17 again asked me my name this week. Together we then spelled my name and counted the number of letters. I asked Elliana to spell her name for me which she did correctly. However, when I asked her to spell her last name, she was unable to do so. Social Chase: Much of Chases play during this observation was parallel in style. Also, Chase had some difficulties interacting with his classmates during this observation. During show-and-tell, one girl said that Chase could not play with her lion stuffed animal, yet he continued to try to play. Chase and another girl also fought over the farm animal figurines during play time. When given verbal cues to stop misbehaving, Chase did not respond. Instead, when the teachers went over to him and guided him to where he should be, he did a much better job of following rules and directions.

Elliana: Elliana was very social during this observation. She exhibited cooperative play along with her classmate Caitlin as the two hid a toy around the classroom and had the other one find it. Elliana and Caitlin even had another observer and me participate in this activity as well. Elliana did not have any misunderstandings with her classmates or behavior problems. She listened to directions given to her by her teachers. She was also quite friendly with me and the other observers both asking questions and starting conversations on her own. Emotional Chase: Chase was full of pride as he displayed his toy car during show-and-tell. He pulled the car out of his backpack, with a big smile on his face, and exclaimed, ta duh! He also appeared excited when he was talking about Harry Potter and

Watkins 18 his mother. However, this excitement was short-lived. When Chase was yelled at for leaving his group and fighting over a toy, he did not seem to display and shame or guilt. Instead, he seemed to ignore the discipline and therefore did not react to it.

Elliana: When Elliana was playing with the puzzle, she did not seem to get discouraged or embarrassed even though it was too hard for her. Instead she put the puzzle away and moved on to a new task that was more enjoyable to her. Elliana seemed especially pleased as she played the game of hiding the toy with her classmate, Caitlin. The excitement of finding the toy made Elliana giggle and jump around. When she would hide the toy herself and others could not find it, Elliana became very proud of herself stating, I did it! I tricked you. Physical Chase: Chase displayed gross motor skills and risk taking as he hopped around the classroom like a frog. However, any time Chase attempted to do so, he was scolded and forced to stop. Chase also exhibited his fine motor skills as he played with the Play-Doh. He was not quite as messy as many of the other students and kept much more of his Play-Doh on his placemat, as opposed to all over the floor. During snack time, he needed help opening his snacks. At the end of the day, he was able to put his jacket on by himself, but needed help zipping it.

Elliana: Elliana displayed gross motor skills as well as risk taking as she ran around the classroom. However, twice she tripped over her own feet. Nevertheless, she got herself back up and continued to play. Like Chase and many of the other students, Elliana needed help opening her snack. At the end of the day,

Watkins 19 she asked me to help her put on her jacket. She seemed to have difficulty finding the hole to place her arm into. She also needed help putting on her coat overtop of her jacket, as well as zipping her coat and putting on her gloves. Other Chase: After completing my observations of Chase, I have concluded that his physical development is average, if not above average. After all, he needed help putting on his jacket and zipping it up less often than the other students. While playing he seemed to display both gross and fine motor skills. Aside from a sometimes unclear pronunciation of words, slight use of improper grammar, and uncertainty in certain vocabulary terms (such as colors) Chase seemed to be developing quite normally cognitively. Chases emotional development and social interaction, on the other hand, seemed to be lacking slightly. To me, this seems to be the case simply because Chase is shy. I feel that around those that he knows better, Chase would be able to better regulate his emotions and be more enthusiastic to interact. When it comes to behavior problems, I think Chase would be much more responsive if it was clearly explained to him why his actions are wrong. I found many times during observation that when Chase was doing something wrong, if I would simply get down on his level and state Now Chase, that is not safe; you might get hurt or hurt someone else. How about we play over here instead, he would listen. If such actions are taken, I feel that overall, Chase will be able to be successful in his day to day world.

Elliana: After completing my observations of Elliana, I have concluded that she physically developing averagely. Cognitively, Elliana seems to be developing ahead

Watkins 20 of some of the students. To me, this is likely because of her great enthusiasm to learn. After all, Elliana was able to answer most of the questions presented to her, not only correctly, but with proper grammar and pronunciation. Socially, Elliana is very outgoing, which will likely make many friends for her in her day to day world. She is also very good at expressing herself so that others understand what it is that she wants or is feeling. Emotionally, I also think Elliana is developing quite well. Not once did I observe Elliana cry, become abnormally upset, or throw a tantrum. Instead, she appeared happy and enthusiastic many of the times I observed her. I feel that enthusiasm, as well as controlled emotional regulation, desire to interact with others, and cognitive abilities, Elliana will be quite successful in her day to day world.