Running head: JAKE CASE STUDY

Jake Smith Case Study Report Fall 2013

Christine Connolly
San Diego State University

JAKE CASE STUDY

Abstract
At Palmquist Elementary, there are children that come from different backgrounds,
cultures, and families, have diverse peers, and have various strengths and weaknesses.
One 2nd grade boy, Jake Smith, is someone I have been able to get know well over the
past couple of months. Throughout this paper, you will see that I had initially thought that
Jake was similar to many of his classmates. However, after reviewing his records, I
hypothesized that even though Jake has a strong family support system, he also had some
behavioral issues in the classroom that were affecting his as a whole. I performed various
observations in the classroom and on the playground. In addition, I spoke with his teacher
and was able to gain important information about Jakes family. After a Student Support
Team was put into action, Jake was placed on medication to help with his diagnosis of
Attention-deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD). This intervention, in combination with a
few others, has been able to help Jake control his behavior and focus. Jake has improved
the academic, personal, and social aspects of his life. This growth is improving him
holistically, including his culture, family, and other contextual factors.
Keywords: Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, time sampling, Palmquist
Elementary School, holistic

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Jake Smith Case Study Report Fall 2013

Jake Smith is an 8-year-old 2nd grade male student at Palmquist Elementary
School, and he has been such a joy to get to know over the past few months. He lives
with both of his parents and one older sister in their home in Oceanside. Mrs. Smith is a
stay at home mom, while dad works full time. At Palmquist, we find families of all
different socio-economic status. Jakes family is on the higher end of this spectrum in
comparison to most families at the school. Although mom is of Puerto Rican decent,
English is the primary language spoken at home, and Jake is not an ELL student. Jake is
slightly overweight for a child his age, as well as taller than the majority of his
classmates.
Analysis of Demographics
From just looking at this information, many people may think that Jake has it
pretty easy. He has a strong, intact family who are able to provide not only a home and
food, but support in his schoolwork as well. Having help at home definitely can impact a
students success in the classroom, in addition to his friendships. Being able to have a
strong role model in an older sibling, which he has in his sister, and witnessing a loving
family can have positive results when forming relationships with other people.
Additionally, having a sibling at home allows children to interact with other people
outside of school. Because of Jakes older sister, he has been able to grow his social skills
at such a young age. Although I do not know Mr. Smiths specific occupation, I do know
that when kids are able to see what a job and career look like, they are able to form
dreams for themselves. Jake is able to gain all of the skills to improve academically,

JAKE CASE STUDY

personally, socially, and thinking about his career thanks to his basic demographics at
home.
Initial Hypothesis
From initially looking at Jakes basic demographics, I was curious why he was
assigned to me for my Case Study Report. I originally thought that I was going to be
seeing a typical student at Palmquist Elementary School. I hypothesized that since his
records indicated he had a strong family foundation, his academic, personal and social
skills would grow exponentially. However, I realized that since I did not know much
about his culture, his classroom setting, and other contextual factors, there was more for
me to learn.
Overall Hypothesis
Before I spoke with anyone, the school counselor showed me his cumulative file,
which led me to an abundance of information about his behavior since Kindergarten.
Then, after having conversations with his teachers, and spending just a few class periods
with Jake, I found that he has some severe behavior problems. Once these were made
prevalent to me, my initial hypothesis changed over timeaway from a typical student,
to a student who needs interventions.
Record Review
Jake did not have a very thick cumulative file since this was only his third year
being at Palmquist. However, in going through his progress reports, I began to see several
comments about his behavior. In the beginning of first grade, it was only mentioned as a
moderate problem. However, at the end of the year it was evident that Jake had an
inability to fully pay attention in class, he had trouble focusing on his work, and he was

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talking to his neighbors frequently. There was a Student Support Team meeting held at
the end of 1st grade to provide interventions for Jakes behavior. At school, the teachers
and school counselor were going to work collaboratively to provide Jake with an
effective learning environment. The parents were supportive of the modification ideas of
the team at school, and they were also going to get him tested by the pediatrician. In
looking at these records, the part of my hypothesis that he had a strong and supportive
family was correct. I was starting to see, however, that even if a child looks like he has
everything going for him on paper, there could still be difficulties that we do not become
aware of until he is in the classroom.
Interviews
Mrs. Baggett
One of the most beneficial interviews I was able to have was with Jakes current
teacher, Mrs. Baggett. She was very interested in the report I was doing on Jake and
wanted to give me detailed information. She told me that at the beginning of the year, his
behavior quickly became very difficult to control. She found herself constantly saying his
name during lessons, and she had to move his seat several different times. On the other
hand, she noted that Jake is a very intelligent student; he loves to read, write, and tell
stories. She knew that something needed to be done to assess his behavior because it was
becoming a problem for not only Jakes schoolwork, but his peers as well.

Mrs. Smith
One additional interesting note that she made aware to me was about his
parentsin particular his mother. She told me that Jake seems to get his way pretty easily

JAKE CASE STUDY

when he is with mom. Mrs. Baggett actually had to say something to Jake during pick-up
when he was yelling at his mom, when Mrs. Smith was not doing anything about it. Mrs.
Baggett said, Jake, we do not talk to our mom like that. Mrs. Smith thanked her and
apologized that she does not know how to handle Jakes behavior sometimes. I found this
important because it may have meant he was not getting the modifications at home that
he needed in order to be successful at school. (T. Baggett, personal communication,
September 27, 2013). I was not able to set up an interview with Jakes parents, but I felt
that I had received useful information from Mrs. Baggett in order to assess his behavior
in relation to factors outside of school.
Observations
Initial In-Class Observations
I spent a significant amount of time in my master classroom each week, and I am
sure to dedicate at least thirty minutes of that to specifically observe Jake. I began this
after speaking with Mrs. Baggett. I was noticing that Jake was having a really difficult
time concentrating on his work without becoming distracted. Mrs. Baggett often had to
redirect him back to his work, he could not sit down while working on a paper for a long
period of time, and others around him were constantly complaining that Jake was
bothering them. I saw that this was becoming pattern. His behavior was definitely
affecting his schoolwork, and it was also making it difficult for him to get along with his
peers. After remembering what Mrs. Baggett had said about his behavior with his mom, I
began to think that this could be how he acts at home with his family, or even within his
larger culture. I did not want to jump to conclusions about his behavior being a negative
trait because it was quite possible this was considered normal in his culture.

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Outside of Behavior
After coming to this realization, I began observations on Jake that were not
relevant to his behavior, For example, I made note whenever he finished an assignment
on time, was able to make it through the day without having to change his card from
Green to Yellow, or was not part of an argument with his classmates. Whitcomb and
Merrell (2013) discuss the importance of performing full observations. If I were to go
into the classroom to observe Jake searching for behavior problems, then that would
produce biased results. In finding these positives about Jake, I began to see him
holistically, outside just his behavior issues. My observations became less biased, and
Jake was able to show a different side to himself. However, even after these observations
were done, the Student Support Team felt that Jake needed to have interventions put in
place.
Interventions
In October, Mrs. Baggett informed that Jake had been prescribed Ritalin by his
pediatrician because he had been diagnosed with Attention-deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
(ADHD) the week prior. When she initially told me, I was not very surprised since we
had seen such a strong pattern of behavior problems since Kindergarten. I was curious
how this was perceived at home within his family and culture. Mrs. Baggett informed that
me that mom and dad were hesitant to put him on medication at such a young age, but
that the doctor urged them that this would help Jake significantly in all areas of his life.
Additionally, Jake was put on a Goal Card, which meant that at the end of everyday,
Jake would have Mrs. Baggett fill out a card, which rated his behavior, classwork, and

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attitude for the day. Jake would have to give a copy of the card to the school counselor
and his parents, so everyone is aware of the progress he is, or is not, making.
Observations After Medication
After about one week of Jake being on a small dose of Ritalin daily, I began a
new set of observations. I decided that using Time Sampling would be beneficial because
his behavior problems were not always at a steady rate, but rather would escalate and
deescalate during the day (Whitcomb & Merrell, 2013) After performing this observation
for thirty minutes, I found that Jake was On Task more than half of the time (See
Appendix A for time sampling observation). This was an exciting improvement because
the Ritalin was proving to help in controlling Jakes behavior and regaining his focus.
Mrs. Baggetts Observations
About one month after Jake had been on Ritalin, I sat down with Mrs. Baggett to
talk about his behavior. She had seen a huge improvement all around in Jake. He was
finishing is work on time, paying attention, staying in his seat, keeping his hands to
himself, and was keep the conversations with his classmates to a minimum. She also
noted that he was making more friends on the playground and was participating in the
games, which was hard for him when his behavior had been a problem. Lastly, Jake was
taken off the Goal Card chart because he had been getting 4s (which is the highest
score) in all areas for a few weeks now. She is excited to see him rise to the challenge of
this new freedom, while continuing to improve in all areas of his life.
Conclusion
I am happy to see that Jake has been able to make the most of the interventions set
in place for him, and improve many factors of his life. His teachers and peers seem to be

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very receptive of his positive changes, and I hope that his parents and culture feel the
same way. Jake is affected by all contextual factors differently, and as he gets older these
will continue to change (see Appendix B for ecological model).

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10

References
S.A., Whitcomb, & K.W., Merrell (2013). Behavioral, social, and emotional assessment
of children and adolescents. New York, NY: Routledge.

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Appendix A
Time Sampling

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Appendix B
Ecological Model
English
Speaking

Family
Jake
Smith

Strong
Student

2nd Grade
Student

Problem
Negative
relationships
with peers

Mother has
lack of control
Behavior-
ADHD

Lack of focus
in class

Not finishing
schoolwork

Interventions

Stronger
friendships

Finishing
work in class

Incentive
to
perform well
Medication-
Ritalin &
Goal Cards
Stays on task