Dymerski, Ariana CAP

8/13/2019 Dymerski, Ariana CAP

1/10

Ariana Dymerski

10/16/13

SPED 461 CAP

Summary of Results:

J.C. is 20 years old and is a student in the Young Adult Program in Champaign, IL. J.C.

is a male student diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. He receives instruction in a

functional life skills curriculum and has been in this type of curriculum since he was 11

years old. The natural setting is used for instruction and he is involved in community-

based instruction. J.C.s goals currently focus on daily living skills such as hygiene, cooking,

and shopping, vocational training for an hour each day, communication goals in using his

Ipad, going out to eat in the community, working out at a fitness center, and participating in

recreation activities. He is very compliant with adults and is respectful of new adults in the

room. J.C. currently uses vocalizations and his Ipad to voice his needs and refers to a

picture schedule throughout the day. J.C. has needs establishing and maintaining

communication with others. Currently, J.C. primarily uses vocalizations, yet cannot

pronounce the entire word he is referring to. Also, J.C. rarely initiates using his Ipad,

making it difficult for him to be independent in community activities. He always carries his

Ipad on him during the day, yet it remains in the bag if the teacher is not diligent about

insisting he uses it daily. Due to the Ipad being dynamic and offering other applications

outside of Proloquo2go, J.C. has related his Ipad to playing his bowling game that he enjoys.

Specific and daily instruction is needed to break J.C.s habit of only initiating to play his

game on the Ipad and learn to use the Ipad for communication purposes also.


2/10

For J.C.s expressive communication skills, he is quick to respond to prompting from

the teacher as was indicated in my direct observation assessment. For expressing himself,

J.C. varies between using vocalizations and his Ipad to express his needs. Currently J.C. is

able to vocalize wanting to use the bathroom, say when he is hungry, and indicating yes or

no. A coping strategy for J.C.s loud humming and bouncing is for the teacher to say calm

and gestrure her finger to her mouth. J.C. is also able to repeat the word gesture so to self-

monitor himseifl. He is also quick to express greetings and gratitude such as thank you and

hello once prompted by the teacher.

Although J.C.s Ipad is equipped with phrases to use and the speech path instructs

with the device once a week, he is not receiving instruction from the teacher or being

consistently prompted to utilize the Ipad. During community outings, he may receive

prompting from others to say hello, yet still needs prodding from the teacher to engage in

expressing himself. Also, J.C. is limited in expressing himself in the community due to beign

reliant on teacher cues and because he is not expected to communicate with his device on a

regular basis. Independence is a level of competency that J.C. needs instruction in. He

relies on the teacher to remind him and guide him through his routines. Also, since he does

require a device for proper communication in the community on a consistent basis, he is

not able to initiate conversations or independently function within the unique needs of

each place, such as ordering food at a restaurant. These unique needs occur in other

activities as well such as playing a game. He has learned the rules of the game and through

prompting he does limited expressive phrases during the game, i.e. saying Uno when he has

one card left. Due to limited practice with the Ipad, J.C. does no willingly engage in side

conversation using his conversations folder on his Ipad or help in the flow of the game such


3/10

as reminding a friend that it is their turn. He needs to learn to use the Ipad as a part of

everyday routines so to allow him to express himself as other adults do.

For J.C.s receptive communication, he is very strong in understanding through

many modes of communication. During the direct interaction, J.C. was competent in

responding to directions through the communication modes of written words, pictures, and

verbal instructions. Although there were a few times J.C. did not respond within 10

seconds during each mode, he was able to recover through a teacher prompt of pointing

towards what was commanded. Throughout the teacher interview and direct observation,

it is also apparent that teacher prompting is a strong suit of J.C.s receptive communication.

J.C.s teacher noted that given 1-2 step directions in different modes, J.C. was very

competent in following through. He not only is able to follow directions, but he is also able

to use expressive language once prompted by the teacher, showing the strength in his

receptive communication.

Although J.C. has strengths in receptive communication, he also has some needs that

he should receive instruction on. During both the direct observation and direct interaction,

J.C. demonstrated weaknesses in responding during social conversations and after being

asked a question. During lunch with his friends, he was too preoccupied with his food that

he did not make any comments into conversations occurring even though the Ipad was on

the table. When being asked questions that required more than a yes or no response, J.C.

would also not respond using his Ipad, stunting the conversation. J.C. needs instruction in

consistently using his Ipad to respond to others, specifically questions that he cannot

answer using vocalizations.


4/10

For J.C.s social interaction communication skills, he has many friends at school that

he greets when he walks in. He uses body gestures of hugging and hand shaking to express

his fondness of each peer and adult he works with. Whenever J.C. switches to a new

paraprofessional to work with, he is quick to greet the new adult with a smile and

handshake. When prompted by the teacher, J.C. will use his Ipad to say Hello or use

vocalizations such as hi or good to greet others. Typically, J.C. says yes or no appropriately

when asked direct questions and if asked questions such as what do you like to do, hewill

say short responses such as bowl or pod, meaning Ipod. During the direct interaction, J.C.

demonstrated competency about what is right and wrong to do at school and in public. He

was able to say no to voice his opinion that what was happening was inappropriate, and

through questioning of why by the teacher, J.C. was able to give one-word vocalizations as

to why the actions were inappropriate. J.C. has been taught how to act like an adult and

responds in a way that shows understanding.

However, J.C. has limited abilities in initiating and maintaining conversations.

Although J.C. is friendly with his peers, he does not engage in peer relations that are typical

of his age. While playing games, J.C. tends to hum to himself and only respond to questions

once prompted by the teacher. He will also express physical needs such as needing ot use

the bathroom, but will not initiate side conversations with others at the table. Also, when

J.C. is out in public, he has limited interactions with other adults due to his limited usage

with the Ipad and dependence on a teacher. He currently does not engage in social

conversations when he is eating a meal, giving no reactions to comments or commenting on

others conversational contributions. He will also not engage in typical adult greetings that

consist of personal questions such as how are you today? to show politeness to people met


5/10

in public. J.C. needs instruction in how to be receptive to social conversations and respond

using hi Ipad that is equipped with a folder dedicated to these types of interactions.

For J.C.s assistive technology usage, he is comfortable finding items that he

practices on a more consistent basis with the speech pathologist once a week. During this

time with the speech pathologist, J.C. will use his device to say hello, how are you?, and I

like you, to order lunch menu foods when getting his meal in the cafeteria, and to talk about

activities he likes to do such as bowling and saying say or no to activities she asks about.

During the direct interaction assessment, J.C. was competent in finding these particular

items by navigating through the different folders. Some items such as finding the button

for recycling, the work he does everyday, he needed more teacher prompting. Although he

needed extra prompting, he was still able to independently locate the communication

button.

For items that J.C. did not find during the assessment, he often could not find the

folder they were located in. This could be due to J.C.s inconsistent use of the Ipad on a

daily basis, making it difficult for him to navigate to the correct button. When he was

unable to find the correct button he agitated and would repeatedly tap other buttons that

he was more familiar with such as I like you. Also, J.C. had very little prompting to use his

device during the direct observations when he was in the community amongst other adults.

He is not competent with all buttons on his Ipad because he is not being expected to use the

device in order to have his needs met. J.C. needs instruction on where all necessary items

are in his device and should be given direct opportunities where he can practice using each

folder of responses.


6/10

To prepare for J.C.s preference assessment, an interview was done with the teacher

and J.C.s mom to receive answers about his current preferences that they are aware of.

Insight was given into a unique variety of preferences ranging from foods J.C. likes to eat to

particular touches J.C. likes to feel. This information was used to develop a list of seven

objects that he had a range of preference for based on his rankings of 16 objects. The

objects chosen were an Ipad, Ipod Nano, Sun Chips, computer, wristband, pop can, and pen

and paper. From the preference assessment, it was determined that J.C. most preferred Sun

Chips. During each session, J.C. chose the Sun Chips first, showing a strong interest in food

items and for eating. He also strongly preferred his wristband, Ipad, and Ipod Nano. These

preferences could be used as reinforcement objects because the are tangible, easy to allot

time for, and are age appropriate. J.C. also showed his interest in these objects because he

immediately engaged with the item once he was given the chance to choose one.

Identifying this type of behavior as a form of interest can assist in other communication

instruction. Noting when he prefers a particular activity or person can assist in finding

tasks that he prefers to do when instructing on skills that are undesirable.

J.C.s nonpreferences were a pop can, computer, and pen and paper. Although these

items are age appropriate, compared with the appeal of the other items, J.C. did not prefer

to work with these items and often chose them last. His disinterest in the items was shown

through his lack of interactions with the items. He would pick up the itmes to take back to

his desk nad then would immediately place the items on the desk and stop touching them

for the remainder of the time. He showed very obvious disinterest in the items and this

behavior can be utilized when teaching communication skills that he does not prefer. If the

student shows this type of behavior during an activity, differentiation should occur so to


7/10

prevent frustration or disinterest in the student towards learning. Communication should

be a positive experience and so avoiding tasks that the student will show little interaction

with can better the quality of instruction.

Priority Communication Skills:

The two most important skills for J.C. to address in his instruction is expressive

communication and social interactions. For expressive communication, the data collected

during the direct observation and direct interaction show that he struggles to use greetings

without being prompted by the teacher. Although others in the environment may give cues

such as saying hello first, J.C. will only respond once a teacher prompts him to say hi. At

that time, J.C. will only use vocalizations that are limited to one-word responses. It is

important for J.C. to become confident in using his Ipad to express forms of greetings to

other adults he comes across in the community. He has developed relationships with peers

and teachers at school and so he uses gestures to express himself. When he is in the

community, it is not age appropriate for him to hug or handshake adults he communicates

with, specifically those providing a service that he is using. Instruction on the Ipad will

help him to become independent in interacting with other adults that is appropriate for the

setting.

For social interactions, J.C. struggles to engage in conversations that occur during

naturally occurring times. The data collected during the direct observation shows that

during a meal, J.C. ignores others at the table and will not use his Ipad that is accessible. He

may respond to simple questions, but for the most part, he will not maintain turn taking or

commenting to others responses. At the age of 20 years old, it is important for J.C. to be

able to use mealtimes as a social event for health reasons and mental wellness reasons. It


8/10

is important for J.C. to be able to socialize with other adults using a form of communication

where he can expand more on a subject. Currently, J.C. is limited to his vocalizations that

allow him to say yes or no most of the time. Due to the poor consistency of using his Ipad,

he has grown accustomed to choosing the form of communication that is the easiest, yet is

also the most limiting for him. Ipad instruction would expand his quantity of conversations

and quality of information being exchanged.

Downing, J. (2005). Teaching communication skills to students with severe disabilities (2nd

ed.). Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Company.


9/10

Cooperating Teacher Interview Worksheet

Interviewer: Ariana Date:

9/20

Time:

10:00am

10:30am

Interviewee Initials: L.C.

Student Initials: J.C. Age: 20 Grade: Young

Adult Program

Primary Special Education Eligibility Category: Autism

Student Overview: J.C. is in a functional life skills curriculum with goals in domestics, recreation, communication,

and vocational skills. He is also involved in community-based instruction. J.C. is proficient at his

workout routines and at his job that he works five days a week at in an office. J.C. has

communication needs in his expressive language in using his Ipad and single words to convey his

wants and needs. He also has needs in problem solving, being aware of strangers, and utilizing

calming strategies. In the past, teachers have tried teaching sign language to J.C., but he persisted

in using vocalizations as his primary form of communication.

Expressive

Communication:

J.C. is able to vocalize the first syllable of a single word to communicate needs (ba for bathroom)

and use his Ipad to make choices, although it takes the prompting of the teacher for him to take out

his Ipad to be used. He may hit or push when he cant express his needs or if others dontunderstand his needs. In order to show caring towards another person, he will hug and squeeze the

other persons hands.

Receptive

Communication:

J.C. is able to follow 1-2 step directions from a verbal prompt without needing reminders. J.C. is

also able to use a visual schedule where he personally manipulates the pictures to change the

schedule on a daily basis. All pictures and routines are familiar to him.

Social Behaviors and

Interaction Skills:

J.C. does not initiate social interactions beyond greetings with hugs and hand shakes. Once

prompted by the teacher, J.C. will engage in a game or sport based on what the teacher suggests.

Priority

Communication

Needs:

J.C.s communication priorities focus around his Ipad usage. J.C. is very passive about using his

Ipad, making it important for the teacher to be vigilant about insisting that J.C. uses his Ipad to

make requests. It is also a priority for J.C. to use his Ipad or words to ask for help when it is

needed.

Current AAC, AT,

Related Services, andOther

Communication

Supports.

On the Ipad, J.C. uses the app Proloquo2go to express wants and communicate in isolated settings

such as lunch selections. When prompted by the teacher, J.C. also uses the Ipad to requestpersonal needs such as needing to use the bathroom. J.C. also uses visual schedules at work and

for planning his day schedule. He is able to manipulate the schedule with direct prompting by the

teacher, recognizing all pictures and order words such as after and before. J.C. receives 60 minutes

of speech a week. J.C. has received PECS training in the past, however is inability to initiate

picture trades makes it difficult for fluent communication.

Students preferences

and non-preferences.

J.C. prefers his Ipad to play bowling, Ipod Nano to listen to music, food, hangers, and hand-sized

balls. J.C. does not like computers, reading, watching movies, puzzles


10/10

Dymerski, Ariana CAP

Documents

Transcript of Dymerski, Ariana CAP