Case Study #1: Justin

Justin is described to be a high energetic, creative, and artistic 6 year old boy. He is now completing his 1st semester of Kindergarten and now entering 3rd quarter. His regular education teacher stated that when he is preoccupied with an activity, he often does not reply. This may be due to his diagnosis as having a hearing impairment. He uses hearing aides to assist him in hearing. Although Justin is hearing impaired, he can now speak about 150 words both receptively and expressively in the classroom. Although he is considerably slower than most in acquiring language, he is expanding his vocabulary at a steadily increasing rate. Along with having a hearing impairment, Justin exhibits lots of energy at play and frequently falls down which causes problems with his hearing aides. Instead of having one set of hearing aides, Justin needs to have two sets in case the other one gets damaged.
At the beginning of the school year, the IEP team members met for their first IEP meeting for Justin. Seven team members were present at the meeting. In attendance were the parents of Justin, the regular education teacher, the special education teacher, the school principal, the IEP coordinator, speech therapist, and occupational therapist. At the meeting, Justin’s IEP goals and objectives were discussed for the entire school year. Three goals with objectives were planned out for academics, behavior, and gross motor skills. The first goal and objectives were geared towards Justin’s language skills. The second goal and objectives were focused on Justin’s hyperactivity and lack of attention, and the last goal and objectives were concerning Justin’s gross motor skills.
The first goal for Justin was to complete his thoughts and ideas into full utterances for at least 60% of the time. For instance, Justin would need to state full utterances such as, “I need the toilet” or “I am hungry” instead of “toilet” or “hungry”. This goal was agreed upon by the regular education teacher and the speech therapist. In order to increase Justin’s language skills and social skills, the regular education teacher and the speech therapist found it important for Justin to respond in full utterance. By using a teacher made picture board (low tech assistive technology device), Justin will need to point to the object of his needs and state in full utterance at least 60% of the time. Of course this objective can be modified at any time by taking out the picture board if not needed. If this goal cannot be accomplished 60% of the time, the teacher will then correct Justin and state in full utterance; have Justin repeat the teacher; and Justin and teacher will state the utterance together with 95% accuracy.
The second goal for Justin was to respond at least 75% of the time to the teacher or peers when spoken to, and to make eye contact with his teacher and peers. The IEP team members decided this goal was essential in Justin’s IEP because it would increase Justin’s social skills and language skills. The IEP team members came up with one way to approach this goal; however, they knew that if this objective did not work, they could always modify the objectives to meet the goal. The way the team members carried on with the objective was to have Justin raise his hand 75% of the time when he hears the teacher speak to him. His hearing aid is a necessary device that must be worn at all times in order for Justin to meet this goal. When Justin hears his teacher, he must make eye contact with the teacher with 75% accuracy. Justin will also do the same for his peers.
The last goal the team members came up with was involving Justin’s gross motor skills. Justin’s team members are concerned about Justin having two pairs of hearing aides at school. They feel that if they can modify Justin’s gross motor skills, he will no longer cause damage to his hearing aides. The high tech device that will be needed for this goal would be orthopedic braces for his legs due to his imbalance. The orthopedic braces will help Justin balance and would not allow Justin to fall over unless he trips. The goal for Justin is to wear orthopedic braces during his break and for physical education at least 95% of the time. The objective is for Justin to remember to place the orthopedic braces on before break and physical education. The teacher will also remind Justin to wear his orthopedic braces. Justin is not allowed to take the braces off until he has completed the task or until break is over. Therefore, Justin will be in orthopedic braces for at least 1 year to prevent him from tripping or falling. If he meets this goal before he enters 1st grade, the team members will then modify the goal to where he does not need a high tech device during break times or for physical education.
Any time the three goals and objectives are not correct or will need modification, Justin’s IEP team members will meet to adjust to his needs. Hopefully, these goals and objectives will help Justin live up to his full potential and meet his needs in life. With the correct support, Justin will lead a full, healthy life and receive the best education possible.