Running head: INDIVIUAL DIFFERENCES PROFILE ESSAY 1

Individual Differences Profile Essay

Elisha Villanueva
College of Southern Idaho

Author Note:

This paper is prepared for ENGL 102 taught by Marci Boyle

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General Information

James is a 53-year-old, Jewish, male that was born May 18, 1963 who is disabled. He is

disabled because he is limited to doing everyday activates but not totally. He became a ward of

the state when he was 3 years old. He has been living with his current care provider for 14 years.

He lives with two adults and 2 college students. When James first moved into his care providers

home, he lived with 4 kids a 6, 9, 12, and 14-year-old, plus the two parents. James is Multi-

Disciplinary team would be his family (the people he lived with). James needs help with

everyday situations and the family would guide him through them. Slowly the kids grew up and

moved out. Currently, he is living with the 2 parents, Angel and Junior, but in the summer the

two youngest kids comes home from college. James goes to school every day. He wakes up at 8

in morning, takes a shower, gets dressed, makes his bed, eats breakfast, and then stands next to

the front window for 5-10 minutes until he sees his transportation van. The van picks him up and

takes him to developmental therapy for the day. When he gets to school he does various activates

like coloring, crafts, behavioral therapy, community safety, daily living skills like clean up after

himself, learning daily hygiene, and fun activities likes bowling & the movies. After his day is

over he goes home about 3:30.

Once he is home he will wash his lunch pail, put it in the dryer rack, and then sit down

and watch TV till dinner. After dinner, he will wash his plate again, and draw or color in his

notebook, and get ready for bed around 9. James has a regular schedule and he does this schedule

every week from Monday- Friday. On weekends, he gets to sleep in, and he goes with the family

if they go out. Usually it is a relaxing day, but most Saturdays they will go to the movies or have

a family picnic or barbeque. On Sundays, they go to church at 11:00, and they go out to eat

afterwards.
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Physical Development

James is 54 has brown hair, blue eyes, white and is going bald. James is cognitively

impaired and has it severally. He has trouble remembering, concentrating and learning new

things. He is not as mature as others his age. When he was younger he was consider

developmentally delayed because he wasnt at the level of his peers. He has a mindset of a 2 or

3-year-old. He has very distinct characteristic that stick out. His jaw is misaligned and his teeth

are crooked, and he has chosen to wear a beard. He does not like shaving so do to his behaviors it

is just easier for him to keep his beard. James also is considered to have Cerebral Palsy because

impaired muscle coordination and other disabilities. He cannot cup his hands and fingers

together. He walks on his tip toes and leans forward when he walks. He always looks like he is

going to fall over. He cant see that well, and he acts like he is hard of hearing because he doesnt

respond to questions well, but this is part of the daily behaviors that he has.

He generally eats healthy. He seems to be in good fitness for a 54-year-old. He doesnt go

to the gym and do a hard-core workout, but he does not walk to do anything, he runs to do

everything he does. He must be continually reminded to slow down. He has fallen several times

& had to have stitches when he was at the development center school, because of him getting

away from them. He does not have good large muscle coordination. His development is like a 1

or 2-year-old, but he has an adult body, so he has been known to knock someone down or fall,

himself from running. For his and others safety, he needs to be reminded to slow down. He is

right handed, but he can barely wright his name. He can write a few letters of his name, but he

loves drawing circles like he is writing in cursive. He does not know his alphabet or how to write

a sentence, but he loves using a pencil. James doesnt understand danger, so he could cut himself

with scissors or if he uses a knife.

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Cognitive Development

James currently goes to a special education school through the week from 8-3. They

work on everyday situations like communication, writing, etc. If James went to high school

today he would probably be on an IEP but john doesnt go to a public school because he is way

to old. He has a very short attentions span. James normalcy is different than his peers. Things

that he does wouldnt be normal for others his age. If he needs to learn something, it cant be like

a whole hour lecture it must be broken down into 5-10 minute increments, or he doesnt

remember. He will look and act like he is paying attention but he wont retain the information.

James can count to 10 if you work with him by holding up your fingers for him to count.

According to Piaget stages James is either Sensori-motor or preoperational stage (pg. 19).

James knows how to talk but he cant learn to have a bigger vocabulary He recognizes danger

but not all the time. For example if an oven was hot he would touch it. He understands and uses

his words but he does not think logically.

Socio-emotional Development

James is unique when it comes to starting to conversations. He loves talking to people.

He will run up to people and try to hug them and ask what time is it. He will interrupt a

conversation to just ask what time is it, but he doesnt comprehend the time even though he is

asking the question. It is hard for anyone to have a conversation with him, because his mental

function is about a 1 or 2-year-old level. James likes to have a conversation with others, but he

has echolalia. He will repeat what you say, and mainly says the last thing you say. He seems to

respond to yes and no questions better, then a descriptive question. If you let James do all the

talking he will ask the same 3 questions repeatedly. When are we going home, and what time is
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it, and where are we going? When he talks to his peers he needs to be reminded to wait his turn

to talk. He gets sensory overload a lot. If he get surround by a lot of crazy lights and sounds he

panic and he doesnt know what to do. James gets upset really fast according to Piagets work he

is at the stage of Operation (pg. 19) James is at his period in life where he has to try things out

or he wont understand.

Summary, Conclusions, and Implications

James currently goes to school through the week from 8-3. They work on everyday

situations like communication, writing, etc. He has a very short attentions span. If he needs to

learn something, it cant be like a whole hour lecture it must be broken down into 5-10 minute

increments, or he doesnt remember. He will look and act like he is paying attention but he wont

retain the information. James can count to 10 if you work with him by holding up your fingers

for him to count. According to Piaget stages James is preoperational. He understands and uses

his words but he does not think logically.

James is unique when it comes to starting to conversations. He loves talking to people.

He will run up to people and try to hug them and ask what time is it. He will interrupt a

conversation to just ask what time is it, but he doesnt comprehend the time even though he is

asking the question. It is hard for anyone to have a conversation with him, because his mental

function is about a 1 or 2-year-old level. James likes to have a conversation with others, but he

will repeat what you say, and mainly says the last thing you say. He seems to respond to yes and

no questions better, then a descriptive question. If you let James do all the talking he will ask the

same 3 questions repeatedly. When are we going home, and what time is it, and where are we

going? When he talks to his peers he needs to be reminded to wait his turn to talk.
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Reference

Berk, L. E., & Meyers, A. B. (2016). Infants, children, and adolescents (8th ed.). Boston:

Pearson.