Case Study Introduction

Emily is the name of the child that I will be using for my case study. She is not a child that is officially on my caseload but I have been asked to consult on her case due to concerns raised by her current instructional team. I have been assisting with her treatment sessions, classroom recommendations and shortly, her reevaluation. Emily is 4 and 1/2 years old and will be transitioning into kindergarten in the fall (Sept. 09). Her early intervention career (3-5 years of age) began with her receiving services (OT, ST) within a specialized preschool classroom run by the IU. She had limited opportunities for typical peer interaction in this setting and the IEP team felt it was time to transition her to her current educational, inclusive placement in a Head Start classroom which occurred in the fall of 2008 . Emily is attending the classroom 18 hours per week (4 days per week) and receives supplemental education services from a special ed. teacher (60 minutes per 4 week cycle) and OT services (45 minutes per week) consisting of pull out, integrated therapy into the Head Start classroom and consultation to the regular and special ed. teachers.

Emily demonstrates relative strengths in the areas of preacademics, self-care, and in her innate desire to interact with her peers. She needs assistance to expand her play, learn appropriate methods to initiate with others, learn strategies to assist with self regulation, to follow teacher directives for task participation (fine motor development, postural control) and following classroom routines.

Emily lives with her mother and father who both report special education needs growing up. Her mother is very concerned with Emily's behavior but is afraid for her to be labeled special ed. based on her own experiences. While family is very loving and there is extended support from grandparents, carryover or follow through is limited. The family tends to spend most of their time indoors watching TV or playing video games with little exposure to other children outside of the school environment. Socio-economic resources are also limited for this family further reducing Emily's exposure to novel situations or activities.