Intellectual Disabilities Observation Papers

This semester I had the privilege of observing and working with John, a second grader at Liberty Elementary. John’s primary strength happens to be his social personality. He loves playing with other children, has a good awareness of the needs of his peers and likes to help others wherever he sees a need. He knows how to get a fun playground game going yet also has ability to have individual, meaningful conversations. John is a pleasant student to work with. I get the feeling that John is probably a very loving son, and as far as he tells me, he is really good at taking care of his dogs too.
Where academic tasks are concerned, John’s strength is that he always begins an assignment in a strong, optimistic manner. He listens to instructions, tries hard, and seems to use all of the skills he has. He is interested in learning new things and loves to discuss his projects, showing his progress as he goes.
John’s greatest needs are academic in nature. He needs small group, direct instruction for reading, language arts and math. Based on observation, it is my opinion that he needs to feel success and encouragement in order …show more content…
Reading the chapter on intellectual disabilities helped me to partially understand John’s mindset and functionality. Listening to his stories about his home and family told me a little bit about how the world looks, from his perspective in relation to the role he plays within his family. Also, reading his IEP and talking to the special education teacher who works with him on his learning interventions, really helped me to understand what we currently know about John’s intellectual capabilities and big picture learning and growth. I know that this rich experience will give me a strong platform to operate from when I have my own classroom one