Introduction
This case study provides the primary responsibilities of a special educator who has to comprehend the significant disability categories and how such attributes affect human development. Therefore, teachers must consult other staff members and conduct observations so that they can understand the issues facing students with disabilities. This case study identifies Larissa’s primary weaknesses, which are difficulties in reading, executive function, and written expression. This case demonstrates that Larissa has needs such as executive function, written word, and task. Although Larissa is an exceptional, unique learner who faces educational challenges, she is also a student whose cultural, social, and academic background is diverse.
Discussing the Christian Worldview Perspective
The Christian perspective sees the disabilities or abilities of every human being, such as special children, as part of the creation of God. Therefore, special education teachers or instructors like Mr. Fleming see everyone as equal despite having reading and writing disabilities. The Christian worldview, which also relates to the teachers or instructors, stresses that such professionals have to care for others (Grigorenko et al., 2020). Henceforth, that is what teachers do when they care for the non-academic and academic well-being of the learners. For example, Mr. Fleming showed a lot of compassion and care for Larissa and her mother when he notified the office in case the father came to the school. There is an expectation among Christians that they should treat one another with respect because that is what God wants them to do.
Language, Culture, and Family Background
El Salvadorian culture impacts Larissa’s learning because of how much people live and their lifestyles in comparison to what she is experiencing in the United States. For example, the culture is significantly influenced by the native American norms and practices involving people such as the Maya, the Ibero-America, and the Hispanic/Latino America. The El Salvadorian culture is also significantly impacted by the religious aspect of Catholicism, which defines how much people worship. During the learning process, it is often possible to find close acquaintances hugging or kissing because it is part of the culture (Billingsley & Bettini, 2019). Therefore, as a minority student, Larissa may be at odds with picking the behavior of people who demonstrate such behavior in public.
Learning two languages impacts students with learning disabilities, such as Larissa’s. In this case, being bilingual may help Larissa cope with her reading challenges. In addition, the ability to speak two languages may make the girl even more challenging to gain reading and comprehension skills and competencies (Hallahan et al., 2022). Therefore, learning two languages is a double-edged sword that may either help or slow down Larissa’s comprehension of writing and reading. However, it is relevant to note that being bilingual will not affect Larissa in causing dyslexia and increasing the risk of it. Learning two languages may help Larissa more because it may lead to a better translation of more general skills.
It is definite claim that Larissa’s social and economic status will impact her learning as a person with a specific learning disability of an executive functioning disorder and written expression (Billingsley & Bettini, 2019). In many cases, the learning behaviors of children and their backgrounds and significantly intertwined. Therefore, Larissa, having come from a divorced family and an Elsavadorian background, will do more harm than good in learning comprehension. Many children from such backgrounds need to improve their reading and writing comprehension. In this case, the lower the family’s socioeconomic status, the lower the enthusiasm for Larissa’s learning. Coming from a divorced family will not positively influence her learning behavior.
Notably, students from different cultures have no similar cultural experiences and heritage that may assist the learners in decoding texts. Language is one of the best definitions of culture and affects how people live (Hallahan et al., 2022). Family background also influences Larissa’s learning because of various parameters that may define such a setting. For example, the family’s socioeconomic status makes a student respond positively or negatively. The students are more motivated to learn when their socioeconomic status is higher. In this case, more urban children have a greater likelihood of being more motivated to learn compared to those in rural areas.
Specially Designed Instructional Strategies (Three Strategies)
In practical terms, combining the three instructional strategies is necessary to ensure that Larissa has individualized education goals. In this case, the instructional strategies include setting objectives, ensuring cooperative learning, and reinforcing efforts to ensure the best instructional strategy (Grigorenko et al., 2020). The three strategies provide the best professional development to assist disabled learners with reading and writing comprehension. Therefore, there is a need to integrate the strategies into the various lessons to make them useful. Larissa has a challenge in executive function that would enable her to have self-regulating skills. Such skills would be relevant to help her plan, remember, and focus attention (Hallahan et al., 2022). Therefore, ensuring cooperative learning would help her overcome executive function issues.
Larissa has other challenges in written comprehension and reading, which will be better addressed by reinforcing efforts to provide the best instructional strategy. Solving reading and written comprehension also requires setting objectives to help Larissa overcome her reading and writing disabilities (Billingsley & Bettini, 2019). The specially designed instructional strategies should be tailored to a particular student as the skills and competencies are different. Henceforth, an individualized educational program should suit every learner, and Larissa must have an individual plan done for her because her issues are unique (Grigorenko et al., 2020). There is a need for teachers to adapt and accommodate the needs of disabled children who are in dire need of help. Thus, it is relevant for the unique needs of the children that could be the primary cause of disability to be taken care of (Gilmour et al., 2018). The Individuals with disabilities education (IDEA) Act provides the content, instruction delivery, and methodology to help exceptional learners access curriculum and meet their unique needs, such as reading and writing challenges.
Research studies have demonstrated such instructional strategies to be very effective, particularly when tailored to a specific student such as Larissa. Such special instructions address the individual education program goals. IDEA Act recognizes the SDI as adapting and appropriate to a particular child’s requirements. Although such strategies are complex, and there is no guarantee that they will work in any lesson, there is research evidence to prove that such approaches work in the short and long term (Hallahan et al., 2022). Professional development has been known to work well where there are some suggested reading materials for many of the strategies. In this case, the research has demonstrated the strategy’s effectiveness in making learners more competent.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the case study provides the story of Larissa, a young El Salvadorian girl who is disabled because of learning disabilities such as reading and writing. In this case, Larissa has several challenges, such as having come from a divorced family because of the separation of her father and mother, which will adversely affect her performance in school. In essence, children from divorced families have challenges with comprehension in a school environment. Some of the best research-based strategies to help Larissa include setting objectives, ensuring cooperative learning, and reinforcing effort.
References
Billingsley, B. & Bettini, E. (2019). Special education teacher attrition and retention: A review of the Literature. Review of Education Research, 89 (5). Web.
Gilmour, A. F., Fuchs, D., & Wehby, J. H. (2018). Are students with disabilities accessing the curriculum? A meta-analysis of the reading achievement gap between students with and without disabilities. Exceptional Children, 85(3), 329–346. Web.
Grigorenko, E. L., Compton, D. L., Fuchs, L. S., Wagner, R. K., Willcutt, E. G., & Fletcher, J. M. (2020). Understanding, educating, and supporting children with specific learning disabilities: 50 years of Science and practice. American Psychologist, 75(1), 37–51. Web.
Hallahan, D. P., Kauffman, J. M., & Pullen, P. C. (2022). Exceptional learners: An introduction to special education. Pearson.