Special Education

Jonathan’s skill level for arithmetic computations is at the beginning Grade 2 level. He continues to need concrete materials or his fingers to perform simple addition and subtraction. He is not yet able to tell time on the hour and half-hour. He also does not have a good sense of time: at one o'clock in the afternoon, he may ask, “Have we had lunch yet?” He does not have a solid concept of the sequence of numbers. He cannot find a page number in the middle of his textbook unless he pages through the book from the beginning. He confuses the temporal concepts “yesterday” and “tomorrow.”

Jonathan’s fine-motor skills are improving, but they are still weak for his age. Jonathan’s printing is messy in the formation and spacing of the letters. He doesn’t know how to organize his work on a page. He has difficulty copying from the blackboard. He grips his pencil tightly, holding it with his thumb over his forefinger. He makes his letters quite large to help control a slight tremor. He cannot rotate his wrists. His hand gets tired and cramped easily and he cannot sustain writing for any length of time. His longest journal entry to date is two lines. Jonathan cannot think about what he wants to say and write it down. He does, however, have a vivid imagination.

In contrast to his weak handwriting, Jonathan is very artistic and draws elaborate robot men. Jonathan is a whiz at computer games and the computer is always his first choice during “centre” time. His gross motor skills are appropriate for his age, and he likes to ski — fast!

Socially, Jonathan usually chooses to play with younger children. He often bugs and pokes other children to get their attention and then cannot understand why they are angry with him. He is disruptive in class: calling out, making odd noises and bothering other students. He has trouble learning and remembering the rules of games. As a result, his friends constantly accuse him of cheating. His impulsive behaviour makes it unsafe for Jonathan to cross the street on his own or to walk alone in a parking lot. He acts without thinking and puts himself or others in dangerous situations by climbing and jumping from high places, throwing things and skating recklessly on his skateboard. He is constantly “getting into trouble.” At times, this is because he follows what older kids tell him to do. He has been banned from the school bus because he is disruptive and poses a safety risk. Detentions seem to make no difference. Jonathan has a high pain threshold. He once broke his arm falling from a jungle gym and did not tell anyone it was hurt. He is overly friendly with adults and is easily approached by strangers.

Jonathan is often overwhelmed by too much going on around him. This can result in temper tantrums, during which he will throw objects across the room, or withdrawal, which may result in him crawling under his desk. This tends to happen more often in the afternoon when he is tired, when there is an abrupt change in activities, and when he is frustrated by the difficulty of the work. When the classroom aide breaks down the work step by step, and guides him through it, Jonathan can complete his assignments successfully.

Jonathan has been identified as a student with Severe Learning Disabilities (SLD). In addition, he has a processing disorder and Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD).