Special Needs Case Study

1) What classic symptoms of a learning disability does Nathan exhibit?

He does his work but forgets to turn it in. He gets distracted easily and doesn't finish tests and quizzes but he knows what the answers are and he is very smart. He probably has ADHD.

2) What accommodations has Nathan received in the past?

In the past, doctors prescribed him medication to help him with his disability. The medication seemed to help, but he did not like the side effects of it.

3) What strategies would you recommend to help Nathan work with his learning disability? Why?

I would help Nathan set up a planner to help him remember what all of his assignments are for all of his classes and encourage him to show it to his parents daily so they know what homework he needs to do. I would have him check off each assignment when he was finished with it and then again when he turned it in so that he could remember that he turned it in. For tests and quizzes I might try having him do some of the questions orally so that he could show he knows the answers but not have so much time to get distracted. For questions that needed to be answered on paper I would make sure he had a quiet place, perhaps away from the other students, to take the test and allow him extra time to complete the questions.

4. How many students like Nathan will you likely have in your classes? Justify your response by summarizing the information from a link or reference (include the link/reference).

http://www.athealth.com/Consumer/disorders/nichcy_adhd.html
This article says that as many as 5 out of every 100 children has ADHD. That is about 1 out of every 20 students, so I will likely have 1 to 2 students with ADHD in my class every year. It's important to know how to accommodate students with ADHD and what options are available to these students since it is such a common disability. Sometimes parents don't know what their options are for their child and as a teacher I can provide them with some basic background knowledge where they can start to find options that work best for their child.