I. GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT LAB SUBJECT
A.A. Demographic information: L is a fourteen year old female that lives at Springbrook NY, a private school with residential housing for students with mental retardation and developmental disabilities. L is Hispanic, and comes from a large family household with seven brothers and sisters, a mom, an aunt, a grandmother, and two grandfathers. L’s IQ qualifies her for the developmental disability known as mental retardation, which is any score below 70. L is also diagnosed with GERD, which stands for gastroesophageal reflux disease, which limits what she is able to eat in order to avoid heartburn or indigestion.
B.B. Physical description: L is five feet five inches tall. She is of average body built for a girl her age. She has dark skin and dark brown eyes. L has black hair, which has patches in some parts. This is due to the fact that L is seventy percent covered in scars from third degree burns from an accident from when she was younger. This is what I was told from her staff. L does not seen any physical therapists for the scarring, but yearly goes to a burn specialist in Boston, MA to check on the skins growth.
C.C. Cognitive & Language description: According to my observations, L is at a low learning level. She has barely grasped spelling and mathematic concepts. L can read at about an average reading level but tends having difficulty reading out loud. L is mentally retarded due to her low IQ score. I was not informed of what her score is, only that to live at Springbrook the resident had to fall under the 70 score.
D.D. Social/Emotional description: L is not labeled with any disorders. Before living at Springbrook she lived at home with her seven brothers and sisters, her mom, aunt, grandma, and two grandfathers. L’s attachment to her family is very avoidant. She is antsy and behavioral when they are gone, but seems to be nonchalant or dismissive when they arrive to take her home. L calls her mom, her aunt L, and her grandma all by “Momma”. L constantly talks about her siblings, and what’s going on in their lives or at least what she hears. The only sibling that seems close to her is her younger sister, M. M is about 8 years old. L does not tend to interact with the other residents in her Springbrook House. Her only interactions seem to be when she is antagonizing the other residents when she is upset.
E.E. Selection of subject. I have worked for Springbrook NY for the past three years and have come across a wide range of residents with developmental disabilities. I find this field completely fascinating and can see a lot of growth in the residents I’ve served. I also have seen a difference in development among these residents than what I have been taught in school. L was a perfect resident to learn about due to her disability, her disorders, and her past. F. Lab setting. Parker House at Springbrook NY is a one-story ranch style house. There are five rooms, a kitchen, two bathrooms, a med room, and an open common area/dining area. There is also a basement where the staff office and laundry room are placed. The house is very open, and tends to go between either very warm or very cold. Many of the cabinets in the kitchen and common area are locked due to safety issues, along with the med room that includes the meds for all the residents in that house. L’s room is fairy large. It includes L’s bed and dresser along with her roommate’s bed and dresser. L’s room also has a closet that she shares with her roommate. L has a television that sits on her dresser.
II. MOTOR DEVELOPMENT
A.A. Gross (large) motor skills. L engaged in normal gross motor skills that included walking, running, petting the goats, punching, picking up large objects, opening doors and cabinets, using a mop or broom, plus many others. These are typical gross motor skills for a child her age, but due to her developmental disability, a lot of these skills have been