Justin was in a
car accident and has suffered a lot of brain damage. Some
of the cognitive changes he has experienced are short-term memory loss, difficulty
learning new information, impaired executive functioning (the ability to
organize, plan, initiate, and terminate activities), occasional word-finding
problems, and decreased attention abilities. Emotional changes include
lack of insight, inappropriate laughter, emotional ability, lack of emotional
control, and difficulty tolerating chaotic situations. Academically in the lesson he would
need extra support with the post assessment written reflection. I might have
Justine dictate to me his response so I could write it down for him, so he
wouldn’t forget what he wanted to say.
Then after I have his thoughts written down he would be able to draw a
picture to add to the assessment. Socially, I would have him sit in the front
row during the read-aloud so he would be focused on the lesson, and I would
have him sit next to me during the discussion. This way he could be close to me and I could give him a pat
on the back if he were to have an emotional outburst to show that it’s okay and
he can calm down again. Linguistically, during the assessment, I
would try to have him share his thoughts during the discussion first so that he
wouldn’t have to worry about forgetting what he had to say or what the initial
question is.
Christy, those are some great ideas! I really like the idea of writing down his response so he can refer to it if he forgets what he had to say. Another idea that would be really helpful for Justin is to give him a daily schedule (either with pictures or words) that he can keep on his desk so he always knows what to expect and how to prepare for it.
ReplyDeleteAll of this sounds like a really good way to help Justin grow into a well rounded student. Something else that may help him socially would be to give him a fidget during read aloud time or while working on activities in class. Even something as simple as a stress ball I think would help to give his hands something to do so that, hopefully, his brain could focus on what it going on in class right in front of him.
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