Case Study: Grace

Response to Intervention (RtI) came about initially in answer to the over-identification of struggling students as special education students. It was developed starting in the late 1970s by numerous researchers seeking a method of identifying learning disabilities that avoids the problems of the discrepancy model. Many educators were concerned that too many students were being identified as having a learning disability, not because they actually had one, “but because they had not been successful in a general education program” (Prasse, 2010). Many were also concerned that students with a true learning disability were not receiving the help they needed quickly enough. Before RtI, the accepted

Learning disabilities are a life long struggle but if caught at a young age and early intervention takes place. The stress on the child and family is greatly reduced. Learning disabilities spread to every part of a child’s life affecting them socially. Teachers must remain professional and refrain from calling students lazy as in Adams case. A good teacher or specialist can demystify a learning disability and help a child’s

Jasmine Keller is a fourth grade student who has been monitored and reported as a student at-risk. Jasmine has a, “weak short-term memory that affects her involvement and progress in the general education curriculum in the areas of reading decoding, reading fluency, reading comprehension, spelling, and math calculations. Her reading level is at second grade. Broken down word recognition is at an equivalent of grade 1.7, and comprehension at 1.3. She has relative strength in vocabulary. If given classroom assessments with a screen reader she is very successful. Her writing skills assessed to be uneven with only weak spelling skills, which is at a first or

There are many different types of learning disabilities; the most common ones are dyslexia and attention deficit disorder. (Jerome Rosner. –third ed. 1)

Karyss is a 2nd grade, who has repeated second. She will be turning 8 in August. She has an individualized education plan in place to support her writing and reading comprehension. As of April 29th, she started coming to for support with number sense, multiple step word problems and fact fluency. Her math grades have been three all quarter long. Cognitively, she has an even profile: General Conceptual Ability = 95 Average, Verbal = 96 Average, Nonverbal Reasoning = 96 Average, Spatial = 98 Average. These scores show that she has the ability perform on a grade level task. On the Second grade CASE 21, which is a county benchmark assessment she scored two at 39%.

At age five Stacey was diagnosed with a reading disorder and was place in a special education classroom for grades Kindergarten and 1st grade. She was placed in a general classroom in second grade but continue to receive the following accommodation extended time

Students with learning disabilities struggling with so many things and in so many ways. Problems with listening, reasoning, memory, attention, selecting and focusing on relevant stimuli, and the perception and processing of visual and/or auditory information are experienced by students with learning disabilities (Heward, 2010). These difficulties and struggles with learning may grow more apparent by middle school and will often continue for a life time. Not learning to read,

Consistent with classroom performance, testing indicates that Tyler is currently performing below grade level in reading and math. In the classroom setting, he shows difficulty processing information. Tyler’s teacher observes that he has trouble understanding concepts and learns at a slower rate. His performance is noted to improve when he is placed in a small group

Versyrus is a repeated kindergarten student attending Lake Forest Elementary School of the Arts and Sciences. He is receiving academic direct services with accommodations in an inclusive classroom. Versyrus is a very kind and friendly person who is very sensitive to the needs of his peers. However, he is very kind and friendly, Versyrus will completely shut down when frustrated. His academic strength is reading. He has excelled to the point of being on grade level. According to her i-ready results, Versyrus Test 1 and Test 2 overall scores increased from 338 to 370. He made a 32 point gain. He is on grade level in the areas of high-frequency words, vocabulary and comprehension informational text. He is able to recognize a few level K

Based on my observations of the assessments, K.M lacks proper fluency and comprehension skills. In addition, based upon her continuous pausing while reading, I can indicate there is a speech area of concern. K.M. battles with making the accurate connections needed to produce reading comprehension. She often appears lost and completely off topic. Although K.M. displays vocabulary understanding, there is a misinterpretation of linking the vocabulary meaning to the actually passage/text being read aloud. Furthermore, K.M. when uncertain about an answer tends to guess a whole heap. The fluency levels show a slight growth, however it is not a huge jump. K.M. assessment indicates she is reading below grade level (2nd grade) and needs intervention

Gianna Schillinger is an 8 year, 9 month old third grade student at Forts Ferry Elementary School. Gianna was referred by her teacher and the Pupil Service Team (PST) for a psycho-educational evaluation due to difficulties in the learning and retaining of concepts across her core subject areas despite receiving a high level of academic intervention services throughout her school years. To assess Gianna’s cognitive abilities, academic skills, and social/emotional functioning, norm-referenced testing was conducted.

The mother explained she cannot read or write in the English Language, but her son’s older siblings can and try to help the younger sibling. The two older siblings have been very successful throughout their educational experience and have not struggled as the younger. She stated that her son as no desire to read at home, and completing homework is an everyday struggle with him. This student is in Tier 3 of the Response to Intervention (Mesmer & Mesmer, 2008) process, and has been referred for testing for special education services.

Jennifer is a 2nd grader being referred for possible learning disabilities in reading. Jennifer has always attended Sand Hill Elementary and has not repeated a grade. She is eight years old. She has been screened for vision and hearing problems and was found to have normal vision and hearing. Her teachers have described her as cooperative and likable. She does not exhibit behavioral problems.

In an attempt to explain the level of Kelly’s disability, an in-depth explanation of the various levels of learning disabilities will now be examined. These can be grouped into four categories; Mild, Moderate, Severe and Profound.