High School Special Education Case Study

By: Kathryn Morehouse

The purpose of this case study is to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions
currently being used with Phil Smith and explore the influence of introducing new
interventions.
I studied the students background information by gathering the following data:
Observation
Student Interview
Teacher Interviews
Individualized Education Plan
Assessment Scores
I observed the student over a span of six weeks, Monday through Friday. I chose
this student because I would have the opportunity to implement a biology unit and Duck
Dynasty themed language arts unit with him. I am seeking to understand strategies that
are in place for this student and implement new strategies that will help this student
learn in engaging and meaningful ways.
Phil Smith is a sixteen-year-old male enrolled in the tenth grade. His parents are
married and he has one younger sister who is in ninth grade. His father is a farmer and
his mother is a stay-at-home mom, and they are living a middle-class lifestyle. Phil has
a cognitive disability and ADHD. His sister is also identified as having a cognitive
disability. He was recently diagnosed with diabetes in April 2014. Phils transition goal is
I will work on the family farm. To meet this goal he will learn farm skills with on-the-job
training from my dad.
Phils current cognitive, social, emotional, and academic developmental levels are
lower than his typically developing peers. His lessons are built around the kindergarten
to first-grade Common Core State Standards. Some of Phils strengths are that he can
answer main idea questions after listening to a story, count and read numbers up to 50
and he is working to write basic sentences more independently. Phil has an IQ of 50. He
reads at the kindergarten to first-grade level. Weaknesses that he has displayed are
that he guesses words and sounds of letter combinations, phonemic awareness, cannot
write a letter, cannot tell time to the minute, and needs assistance taking medication. He
has expressed that he feels low self-esteem when materials used in lessons do not
visually look like high school level materials.
To make lessons meaningful and engaging for Phil, educators should relate them to
real-life situations and theme activities around his interests such as farming,
transportation, and his favorite show Duck Dynasty. When working with Phil, I have
noticed that he becomes highly involved in the activities that are centered around these
ideas as opposed to spelling or vocabulary that is based on a different curriculum. A
strategy to keep his attention is to relate these words back to one of his interests.
When working in biology there are many words that can be hard to read for him. The
words precipitation and condensation proved to be very difficult. A strategy that I
implemented was I had him segment those words each day to learn how to properly
pronounce and read those words. During the language arts unit we made hush-puppies.
This required Phil to read the recipe and tell the time to the minute so they were cooked
properly. Students who have a cognitive disability often need extra time to practice and
be retaught concepts. Cooking is a real-life skill and something he enjoyed doing that
allowed for practice.
Due to the recent diagnosis of diabetes for this student, he will need explicit
instruction on different foods he can and cannot eat, practice telling time, and how to
care for his diagnosis. Looking back on the interventions being used, I believe he will
successfully transition into this new part of his life. Based on the observations,
feedback, evaluations, usage of evidence-based practices, and outcomes from the
student, it is determined that the interventions being used with Phil are effective.