Demographic Data:    Back to Top
 

Reason for Referral:

John Doe was referred for a comprehensive psychoeducational evaluation by his parents as part of his triennial evaluation.  Information regarding his present level of intellectual, academic, and social-emotional functioning was requested.  The information will aid in determining the appropriate level of services necessary to help John Doe succeed within the general education classroom.   Therefore, an evaluation was conducted to determine the level of his ability.

Background Information:

      Back to Top

John Doe is a 13-year, x-month old Caucasian male who resides in *****.  He is currently enrolled in 8th grade at *****.  He resides at home with his parents and two sisters, ages 15 and 11.  John Doe has attended ***** since Kindergarten.  He was first referred for a psychoeducational evaluation at the end of second grade.  At that time, John Doe was demonstrating extreme behaviors that were interfering with his academic progress and disrupting the classroom.  Counseling and behavior modifications programs did not appear to be successful.  The initial evaluation indicated some difficulties that needed further medical evaluation.  He was subsequently evaluated by Dr. ***** at the ***** Child Psychiatry Clinic and given the diagnosis of ADHD with characteristics associated with anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder.  After a Case Conference was held, it was determined that John Doe qualified for special education services as a student with a health impairment.  He was later reevaluated and the diagnosis was changed to one of Autism Spectrum Disorder.  He was subsequently qualified for special education services as a student with Autism Spectrum Disorder.  Support services have included after-school tutoring, small group social skills training, and individual behavior monitoring by the team including John Doe, his parents, the general education teacher, and the special education teacher.  Although he was making steady academic progress, he continued to have difficulty with organization and appropriate social behavior.  John Doe currently meets with the counselor for 30 minutes a week and the speech pathologist for 30 minutes a week.  He also goes to the resource room for 25 minutes a day to work on organizational skills and is accompanied by an adult during lunch to supervise his behavior.
 

Teacher Interviews:

      Back to Top

Several of John Doe's teachers were interviewed: Mr. T**** (Enrichment), Mrs. W**** (Science), and Mrs. Y**** (Language Arts).  In these classes, he was earning A's.  All of these teachers described John Doe as trying hard, interested in, and performing well in class.  It was reported that John Doe liked to share his thoughts in class, but that he did not appear to like letting other students share their opinions.  He also frequently did not raise his hand or wait until his turn to begin speaking.  Several teachers expressed concern over John Doe's interactions with peers.  It was stated that he repeatedly brought up the topic of sex during class and that he often reacted to peers without thinking about the effects on the class.  Mr. T**** reported that John Doe frequently did not bring his materials to class.

Behavioral Observations:

      Back to Top

Classroom Observations:

John Doe was observed over a 30-minute period in his Enrichment class.  He sat in a row near the front of the room; the other two desks in his row were empty.  The class was watching a documentary about what teenagers think of their parents.  John Doe rarely looked at the television.  Instead, he played with the candy that he was eating, watched the other students in the classroom, and put his head on the desk.  He sat relatively still, occasionally rocking his feet or chair.  When the students laughed at something in the video, John Doe made several comments while still looking at his desk.  Upon conclusion of the video, the substitute teacher asked the class to take out their journal.  John Doe, who did not bring his, sat watching the other students.  When told to borrow paper and a pencil from someone, John Doe did so quickly.  He then began working on the assignment quietly.  He frequently paused to look around the room.  A few minutes after John Doe started the assignment, he returned the borrowed pencil and sat watching the other students work.

Test Observations:

John Doe was observed within a one-to-one testing situation.  The sessions took place in a quiet, well-lit room.  When the evaluation began, John Doe was friendly and ready to begin.  He spoke at a casual pace and was easily understood.  He sustained appropriate conversation with the examiner.  He frequently repeated questions, thought aloud, and checked his work.  While completing math problems, he frequently utilized scratch paper to work out the problems step-by-step.  He also commented on how easy they were for him.  John Doe was persistent in solving difficult problems.  Several times he continued to think about his previous answer while looking at the next question.  He used his right hand when required to write or point.

  Back to Top

Instruments Administered and Methods Used:

• Classroom Observation
• Teacher Interviews
• Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children - Third Edition
• Wechsler Individual Achievement Test
• Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory

Present Testing Results:      Back to Top

Cognitive Ability Measure:

Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children - Third Edition (WISC-III)
(Mean = 100, Standard Deviation = 15)

Achievement Measure:    Back to Top

Weschler Individual Achievement Test (WIAT)
(Mean = 100, Standard Deviation = 15)

Personality/Socio-emotional Measures:     Back to Top

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory - Two (MMPI-2)
(Mean = 50, Standard Deviation = 10, Norming Group = Male)

Clinical Impressions:      Back to Top

Cognitive Measure:

Cognitive functioning, as measured by the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children - Third Edition (WISC-III)), was found to be in the high average range.  Specifically, John Doe obtained a Full Scale IQ of 118 which was comprised of a Verbal IQ of 122 and a Performance IQ of 111.  The chances that the range of scores from 112-123 include his true IQ are 95 out of 100.  John Doe demonstrated a significant strength on tasks that required attention to detail and perceptual organization.

Achievement:

John Doe's skills in reading, math, and written language varied.  His skills in solving applied math were within the very superior range, while his calculation skills were average.  A discrepancy such as this is characteristic of a Burris student where math application is emphasized over rote memorization of math facts.  He was able to solve multi-step problems, find area and perimeter, and compare rational numbers.  He demonstrated difficulty working with fractions and negative numbers.
When compared to peers his age, John Doe’s reading skills were above average.  He recognized many words and was able to successfully sound out some of words that he did not.  On a task that required John Doe to read a paragraph and then answer a question about what he read, he demonstrated some difficulty recognizing stated details.

John Doe's comprehension of written language was in the high average range, while his skills in expressing himself in written form were in the superior range.  When writing, his ideas were minimally developed, but very organized.  He incorporated a variety of descriptive words and made very few grammar mistakes.  When spelling words, John Doe occasionally wrote an incorrect word despite it being used in a sentence (e.g., "addition" for edition, "site" for cite).
 Oral expression was found to be high average when compared to John Doe’s same-aged peers.  He was also able to answer questions about stories presented orally as expected for students his age.

Personality/Socioemotional:

 Several conclusions were made about John Doe’s overall behavior, emotional adjustment, and personality dynamics.  He reported not having sufficient personal resources for dealing with his problems.  Adolescents who obtained similar scores as John Doe on the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory - Adolescent tended to feel interpersonally isolated and alienated.  They feel angry, resentful, and hostile because of perceived mistreatment by others.  As a defense mechanism, they often project these feelings onto others.  John Doe also endorsed symptoms related to psychotic thought processes (e.g., hallucinations and delusions).

Summary:

John Doe is a 13-year, x-month old Caucasian male.  Overall, indications from current testing suggest that John Doe’s general cognitive ability was commensurate with his achievement ability.  His general cognitive ability was found to be within the high average range.  On tests of achievement, John Doe scored in the high average range overall, with math reasoning in the very superior range.  Personality assessment results indicate that John Doe felt mistreated and alienated from his peers.  This lack of positive peer interaction may exhibit itself through anger and hostility toward others.  John Doe also endorsed symptoms related to psychotic thought processes.
 

Recommendations:              Back to Top

Considering background information, behavioral observations and present testing, the following recommendations are made:

1. Due to the social difficulties that many adolescents with Aspergers experience, John Doe may benefit from social skill training that will generalize to his day-to-day interactions in and out of the school setting:

A. This could include what behavior is appropriate in various situations, verbally decoding the nonverbal behavior of others, and social awareness.
B. It could also include training to recognize situations as troublesome and how to select the most appropriate learned strategy to deal with that situation.
C.  Direct modeling and role-play of concrete examples would be most appropriate to help John Doe learn to monitor his own behavior.
D. Working in small group settings while being supervised may help to facilitate real-life practice of these strategies.

2. It is recommended that formal rules of behavior be established.  Limits should be set with specific guidelines as to what is appropriate.  Such behavior management plans and expectations should be discussed so that John Doe understands what is expected of him.  Specific guidelines should be established as to how to deal with inappropriate behaviors when they arise.  It may also be beneficial, when they do arise, to discuss with John Doe alternative ways of dealing with such a situation.

3. Adolescents with Aspergers are often at-risk for experiencing symptoms related to depression and anxiety.  Due to this, John Doe may benefit from continuing supportive counseling.  This will provide him the opportunity to discuss any social, school, and outside concerns that he may have.

4. John Doe is performing well academically.  He should continue to be encouraged in this capacity.  It is also recommended that he continue to be supported in his leadership endeavors.

5. John Doe may benefit from posting a list of the required materials for each class in his locker.  This will enable him to refer to the list without having to remember everything throughout the day.
 
 

_______________________________________________       ________________________
Sherri A. Sharp, M.S.                                                                   Date
School Psychology Intern