Group_1_Allegra

Allegra Case Study - click "edit this page" to get started

What types of tasks are difficult for Allegra?

Allegra struggles with keeping her focus and attention consistent during most school tasks. She has trouble sitting still. She has difficulty with number sequences. She has trouble with gross and fine motor skills (running around obstacles, balancing on one foot, riding her bike, building a tower of blocks and copying circles). She is unable to understand concepts related to time and size. She has difficulty with one-to-one correspondence as evidenced by her inability to move her game piece the number of spaces she spins during Chutes and Ladders. She can't integrate multiple pieces of information as evidenced by her inability to move her game piece forward three spaces. She is able to understand that she has to move it forward but cannot integrate the amount of spaces into the equation so she focuses on the forward movement. She has trouble understanding abstract concepts as evidenced by her inability to understand the phrase, "let's pretend" and as noted by her teacher. She cannot synthesize different pieces of information when presented with abstract concepts. She produces irrelevant speech. She is overly excitable and cannot regulate her energy level. She has trouble with her working memory--she loses track of her objective when working on an academic task. She is struggling with social problems due to her weaknesses. She has trouble with group work as she seems to not understand her effect on others or how to take input from others and modify her own opinions. She gets lost when changes occur or when something is chaotic as evidenced by her reliance on routine.

What patterns do you notice over time?

Social Patterns: Allegra displays a desire to be socially connected to others from the first except through the last. In the first excerpt she is conducting a school session with her stuffed animals where she is the teacher. Here she is socially connecting with the so-called students. In the second excerpt she is attempting to engage in a game of Chutes and Ladders with several other kids. She is eager to play although her lack of understanding causes upset. In the third excerpt her teacher notes that she is eager to engage in social conversation and is a social child. Her teacher states that, "Allegra has a powerful need for attachment to others. Her desire to be accepted by her peers and have close friendships is very strong; however, she feels frustrated and unsuccessful in this area."

Attentional Patterns: Allegra seems to struggle with keeping her focus and attention on tasks she is engaged with. In excerpt 1 her mother states that she is a child who can never sit still. Allegra herself acts out presumably her own school experience by telling the stuffed animals to pay attention. In excerpt 3 the teacher notes that Allegra has difficulty maintaining focus and concentration. In fact she has so much trouble maintaining attention that she often loses track of the task at hand.

Patterns in trouble with abstract thought: Allegra seems most unable to understand concepts that are abstract. From excerpt 1: " Allegra did fine on colors and some shapes, the same with rhyming. She had difficulty with number sequences and with both the gross and fine motor skills, and she was completely unable to understand time and size concepts, or even understand "let's pretend". She didn't know what "let's pretend" meant." Number sequences, time and size as well as the phrase "let's pretend" require a person to think abstractly. In excerpt 2 she is unable to integrate the concept of the number 3 on the spinner relating to moving 3 spaces on the game board. Being able to relate those concepts requires abstract thought. In excerpt 3, her teacher states that, "Her perceptual analysis and synthesis skills are poor when stimulus material is abstract in design." Excerpt 4 states that Allegra thrives in an environment of structure and routine which make things very concrete for her.

How does her profile relate to the disability categories you have investigated?

Allegra appears to be struggling with learning disabilities. According to her mother, "LD is a neurological disorder. Information isn't processed as straightforward information but as a chaotic jumble of words, numbers, and thoughts tumbling over each other in the brain. Social cues are often misunderstood and can lead to tension in relationships. Often attention deficit disorder will accompany LD, adding more confusion and disorder to the mix. This is not mental retardation, autism, or Down's syndrome, and often there is no outward sign of the turmoil within." (NCLD)

Here is how we relate her profile to the categories we have investigated:

Dysgraphia

Allegra does not seem to present many of the symptoms typical of a child with Dysgraphia. There is not a lot of discussion about her writing abilities except that she does struggle with fine motor skills. She has trouble copying circles during her assessment. She does not seem to have trouble with reading or spelling as stated in the excerpt from her 13th year. She struggles most with abstract concepts so I would presume that creative writing might be difficult for her.

Dyslexia

As far as I could tell, Allegra did not show any tell-tale signs of dyslexia. Her teacher commented that she was progressing in the areas of reading and writing and showed room for improvement. Although she exhibited difficulty with one-to-one correspondence when she played Chutes and Ladders, and mathematical concepts can be a challenge for children with dyslexia, I am not comfortable saying that this alone is an indication of dyslexia.

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

Allegra exhibits several cognitive/intellectual and developmental deficits that correspond to Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, according to the CDC’s guidelines for Referral and Diagnosis ( [] ). The traits she exhibits are Functional Central Nervous System abnormalities in several specific domains, including: //Significant developmental discrepancies, especially in math; poor academic achievement//. When Allegra was 13, her school sent home a report saying that she had “reached a plateau in terms of her general mathematical development” and that “she may have difficulty progressing beyond her current academic level”. //Motor functioning deficits: gross motor and fine motor skills impairment; clumsiness and balance problems; poor dexterity.// On Allegra’s early evaluation, she had trouble with both the gross and fine motor skills tests. Later on, her mother noted that she could not ride her bike well. //Executive functioning deficits: poor planning and strategy use; difficulty following multistep directions.// Allegra was unable to follow the rules while playing Chutes and Ladders. She could not associate the number she spun with the number of spaces she was supposed to move. Also, her school’s report when she was 13 noted that “her obvious difficulty maintaining focused attention and concentration is evident throughout interchange. Although persevering when tasks become difficult, she loses track of the task objective.” //Attention and hyperactivity problems: overly active; difficulty calming down; difficulty completing tasks.// Allegra was unable to sit still and pay attention in class. Her school report at age 13 also noted that she frequently became overexcited. //Social skills problems: immaturity;// //inappropriate initiations or interactions//. Allegra had trouble interacting with her stepsiblings, who were five years younger, because of her developmental delays. She was unable to play with them in an age-appropriate way. When she was 13, Allegra’s teachers reported that she felt frustrated by her attempts to make friends but did not specify why. They noted that while she had a pleasant interpersonal demeanor and a strong desire to form attachments with others, she felt unsuccessful and frustrated. They also noted that she engaged “in irrelevant speech and displays that may not be modulated”. The other 2 criteria for FAS diagnosis are a growth deficit and the presence of three specific facial abnormalities (smooth philtrum, thin vermillion border and small palpebral fissures). The excerpts did not discuss Allegra’s physical appearance, so it is impossible to say whether she exhibited either of these traits.

Down Syndrome

Down syndrome is not listed as a LD on the NCLD site but does fall under the window of an Intellectual Disability according to NICHCY. By this classification alone it would seem that Allegra is not a child affected by Down syndrome. As Allegra’s mother herself says, “LD is a neurological disorder…This is not mental retardation, autism, or Down syndrome, and often there is no outward sign of the turmoil within.

The part, however, that did seem to resonate with one of the aspects of Down syndrome is the frequent mention that Allegra wants to be included in social situations so badly and that she is quick to engage in social conversation. Of what I have read, it appears that social understanding and skills are strengths of many adults and children with Down syndrome and often exhibit high social intelligence.

Nonverbal Learning Disability

Nonverbal Learning Disability is believed to be a neuropsychological disability as studied by Byron Rourke, Ph.D. It is often thought to be similar to Asperger's Syndrome. Allegra seems to have many characteristics of Nonverbal Learning Disability. One of the characteristics of NLD is that they have problems with Visual-Spatial-Organizational skills; meaning these children may have issues with spatial relations and visually processing something. Allegra is seen to have this characteristic. As she was playing Chutes and Ladders with her younger step-siblings, she was not able to comprehend moving three spaces and instead moved five spaces. When they told her that she needed to move only three spaces, she showed how confused she was as she did not understand what they meant. The younger kids even accused her of cheating because they did not know that she did not understand that rule. Another way this is shown is when Allegra was thirteen, her mother received a transitional report. Under weaknesses, they described Allegra as, "Although persevering when tasks become difficult, she loses track of the task objective. Her perceptual analysis and synthesis skills are poor when stimulus material is abstract in design." This description shows that Allegra does seem to have this characteristic of NLD. Another characteristic of NLD is that most children have problems with their motor skills such as problems with coordination, balance and writing. Allegra seemed to have problems with riding her bike. She could not ride it well as her mother stated but it was never implicitly said that she had problems with balancing on her bike but one can assume that she had problems with balancing. She also had difficulty when she was younger with number sequences and both gross and fine motor skills. Those who have NLD also struggle with conceptual skills. They do not get the big picture and also larger concepts such as cause and effect and other concepts like it. Allegra seems to have this struggle. This can be seen in the evaluation done on Allegra. She did not understand the large concept of time or even size concepts and she could not understand the concept of let's pretend. Another way that this is seen is when she is playing chutes and ladders with her step-siblings. She could not understand the rules of the game and that is why she could not play it correctly. In her transitional report, it was noted under weaknesses that " Although persevering when tasks become difficult, she loses track of the task objective." This means that Allegra does not always understand the meaning of what she is doing and she often loses track of what she is supposed to do when it becomes to difficult for her. Another struggle that people with NLD have is social skills. They usually have trouble with nonverbal communication and peer interactions. Throughout the excerpts, Allegra shows that she has problems relating with her peers even if she has a strong desire to become friends. It is seen how awkward she is at making friends and how she is often times lonely. It was even suggested that she takes a social skills and life skills class so that she can have fewer frustrations in regards to that area. NLD children are also supposed to be hyperactive when they are younger and have problems with their math skills. Allegra has shown that she has both these problems. She has difficulty with some math concepts, and when she was younger she mimicked her teacher telling her to sit down quietly and listen to the story. NLD children have very good rote verbal and expressive and receptive language. They are able to memorize a great deal of information and usually have a good language background. Allegra was able to read and write and it was seen that she was progressing beyond her current academic level in her reading and writing skills. When she was younger, she memorized the story of "Goodnight Moon" and could tell the story to her dolls. These children are also supposed to have very good auditory processing skills, which means that they learn better when they hear something rather than any other way. This wasn't so obvious in any of the excerpts except when Allegra showed her memorization after listening to the story of Goodnight Moon. It was obvious that she did not memorize it through reading as when she was telling the story, she was "reading" it upside down. Lastly, one of the suggestions for NLD children is to be organized. They have a problem with change and need routine and order in their lives. Allegra was one of the children who need plans and routines. She was very organized and even though she could eventually adjust to a new routine, she hated change and would have a difficult time until she created a new routine. It seems that Allegra has many characteristics that are similar to children who have NLD and this is how her profile relates to Nonverbal Learning Disabilities.

Dyscalculia

Allegra does exhibit several behaviors that relate to dyscalculia symptoms. During the game of chutes and ladders, Allegra seemed to struggle with mathematical concepts in terms of her movement of her piece. She struggles to move the piece the correct number of spaces - whether this is one-to-one correspondence or struggle to comprehend the rules is unclear - but both are outlined in dyscalculia symptoms. Allegra also had difficulties with abstraction which children with dyscalculia sometimes experience in terms of abstract mathematics. Additionally, Allegra was often only able to comprehend a piece of the information and not the whole picture, which is again characteristic of students with dyscalculia. However, individuals with dyscalculia struggle with mathematics in particular, whereas Allegra's difficulties seem to be more widespread. Although she shares common symptoms with dyscalculia, her difficulties extend beyond the mathematics arena.