Multiple disabilities - my case by nianci liu

Student Case

nianciliu — 2024-05-30 16:52:59 UTC

David (pseudonym) is a Swiss native English speaker, Thai is his second language and Chinese is his third language.

He has Dyslexia and Autism.

Step 1: Observation and Recording Behavior

nianciliu — 2024-05-30 17:04:58 UTC

Reading Difficulties:

nianciliu — 2024-05-30 17:10:08 UTC

David is unable to read English and is unable to read English vocabulary (for the Basic Chinese class, we use English as the classroom language for teaching Chinese). He can only read simple monogrammed Chinese characters and cannot read Chinese phrases despite countless hours of practice.

Writing Difficulties

nianciliu — 2024-05-30 17:11:09 UTC

David was unable to write English correctly, distinguish the letters bd, or spell English words correctly. When writing Chinese characters, David often writes in the wrong stroke order and has significant difficulty in memorizing the correct way to write Chinese characters.

Comprehension Difficulties

nianciliu — 2024-05-30 17:12:27 UTC

David is unable to understand the instructions of the questions in doing the exercises are. Also when he reads and comprehends articles, whether in English or Chinese, he is unable to grasp the main idea and key details of the article, resulting in overall comprehension difficulties.

Social Interaction Difficulties

nianciliu — 2024-05-30 17:13:17 UTC

David does not actively participate in discussions in class, shows significant difficulties in communicating with his classmates, often fails to understand or respond to verbal and non-verbal communication from his classmates, and sometimes talks to himself.

Step 2: Differentiate between a language need and a learning disability

nianciliu — 2024-05-30 17:16:20 UTC

Methods

nianciliu — 2024-05-30 17:34:45 UTC

Continuously observe and record student performance in the classroom;
Communicating with homeroom teachers and other subject teachers;
Reporting to school/communicating with parents;
Taking standardized tests (YCT-1) and other tests;
Changing teaching strategies;
Encouraging students to participate in one-on-one after-school support sessions.

Analyze

nianciliu — 2024-05-30 17:42:01 UTC

Language situation:

He uses English at home and learns Thai and Chinese at school. He can understand English, but from a young age he has been unable to read and literate (from parents).
He has an inability to read and comprehend in all subjects. (from the teachers).
After the teachers changed teaching strategies and one-on-one remediation, he continued to be unable to recognize text or had significant difficulties in reading and comprehension.

Behavioral situations:

He has not been able to interact with others since he was a child (from parents).
In the classroom, he was unable to complete group work, could not work well with others, often talked to himself or could not stop talking, and at times would suddenly break down and cry and pound the table due to stress (from teachers).

Step 3: Conclusion

nianciliu — 2024-05-30 17:45:40 UTC

He's got a learning disability.

He may have dyslexia and autism.

(We later got the diagnosis from the parents)

Step 4: teaching strategy in Chinese class

nianciliu — 2024-05-30 17:50:07 UTC

Instructional Strategies for Language Learning:

nianciliu — 2024-05-30 18:01:29 UTC

Multi-sensory teaching method: Using a combination of visual, auditory, and tactile senses, Chinese characters are transformed from pictures, assisting him in Chinese character learning through pictures and animation, not learning pinyin, starting with simple monograms, and dictation combined with writing practice.
Graded reading materials: Provide appropriate reading materials and observe if David's reading comprehension improves. If necessary, tutor David with listening and animation materials.
Individualized tutoring: Provide David with one-on-one tutoring, paying special attention to his Chinese character recognition and writing skills.

Individualized Education Plan (IEP)

nianciliu — 2024-05-30 18:02:27 UTC

Parents contacted a psychiatric clinic to develop an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) based on the diagnosis, and an assessment form shared with all teachers.

Behavior Support Strategies

nianciliu — 2024-05-30 18:03:30 UTC

Allow space and time for independent learning: David is not forced to participate in group activities and cooperation, and is allowed to learn in a way that is comfortable for him.

Playing soothing music during students' independent work;

Giving him stress-relieving hand-held toys or allowing the carrying of stress-relieving dolls;

Allowing him to take deep breaths and calm down outside the classroom when he feels stressed, while ensuring safety, but requiring constant attention.

NOW！

nianciliu — 2024-05-30 18:05:02 UTC

Although there is no significant progress in the spelling of English letters, he can recognize some simple Chinese characters, can answer questions using simple Chinese, and can do group activities with his classmates!

I feel proud for him!