Reason For Referral Case Study Example

ELs is in the second grade, and is female. She attends an elementary school in Trenton, New jersey. She has below average writing, vocabulary, and comprehension skills. Her reading skills are slightly above average, as she enjoys reading. However, this does not help her, as she still has some comprehension difficulties. Thus, her classroom teacher referred her for assessment and tutoring.

Background information

ELs speaks both Arabic and English. Both her parents speak Arabic, but do not have a good command of English. ELs was born in the USA and therefore speaks English very well, but her home language is Arabic. She therefore, reads well, but find comprehension difficult. The result is that it also influences her writing skills, as she does not have a good grasp of what the words mean. She is in the second grade, but would need backup from grade one spelling and phonics to bring her on par with the second grade syllabus. Since she started the program, however, she has had some improvement in her comprehension skill, especially in terms of aural questions and answers.

Beginning and Ending Dates of Sessions: September 10, 2014 – November 19, 2014

Anecdotal Records
The anecdotal records are for making random observations with regard any unusual behavioral patterns or activities that might have been responsible for her difficulties. This would be besides the real difficulty of the language problem. These secondary difficulties are important to observe and record in case ELs needs help with it as well. No secondary difficulties were observed, as she is well disciplined and kept working on her tasks diligently.
This second anecdotal record was to continue to observe any other difficulties ELs might have faced. This was necessary to put the necessary strategies in place to deal with any other observed problems. There were no other problems observed and the sessions could continue as per normal. ELs is a normal, healthy girl with a lot of energy. She does have the discipline to sit still for a while when it is required of her.

Summary of other Informal Assessments:

Reading: ELs reads well, and pronounces her words clearly. She has good word recognition, and knows her phonics verbally. She sometimes mispronounces words, but it depends on when she came to the tutoring class. If she comes directly from class, she is fine, but if she comes from home, and has just spoken Arabic, it creates the slight glitches.
Writing: The second graders do not do a lot of writing, but in the tutoring classes, the writing skills are given priority as well. This is to reinforce the other aspects of learning. ELs enjoys writing and have done quite well in writing down her phonics, and saying them as she completes them.

Vocabulary: She has done well in learning new words especially from her reading lessons.

Comprehension Skills: ELs’s comprehension skills have improved greatly. She has been able to answer questions from her reading lessons with much better comprehension. She could also retell one or two stories that the teacher has read to her. This meant that she was able to have a greater understanding of the words that she has been reading and listening to.

Observations of Strengths and Needs:

Strengths: ELs has been able to read aloud in class as well as quietly to herself. The amazing thing is that, when she reads silently, she does not move her lips. That is already an indication of an improved comprehension. While in the sessions, she has read quite a number of books of various difficulties for second graders.
Needs: One of the basic needs is for ELs’s parents to participate in learning English if they would like to have her be more successful in learning. ELs is definitely a reader, and she needs more books to read and should therefore be encouraged to visit the library.

Overall Reflections:

ELs is a very intelligent little girl, and would reach great heights if given the right tools. It is wonderful that these sessions could help her class teacher to take her a little further down the road. Some of the educational tools that are often used are words and objects that are put together like a puzzle. This is what was used in the tutoring sessions, and it works well for vocabulary as well as pronunciation. One of the things I have discovered is that ELs was bright enough to also find her own innovative ways of learning, What she did, for example, was to look through the window during short breaks, point at objects and name them. This is very encouraging.

Recommendations:

ELs is a bright little girl and enjoys puzzles very much. I would therefore recommend that she use a lot of word puzzles to help her in her quest to gain the skills as mentioned above. She enjoys reading and a little library of her own at home would help her a lot. It is especially important that her parents are involved with her learning as well, as they too learn to improve their language skills.

Final Comments:

It is often discouraging when one cannot help children with their learning disabilities. When you find children like ELs, though, it is very encouraging to be in a position to see them flourish. They often teach us as much as we teach them. When they are like ELs, it encourages one to help those who are struggling even more. ELs’s parents should, however, be included in furthering her development, and contribute in the ways suggested before.