Running head: PEPSI SCREENING 1

PEPSI Screening
Katherine Kaiser
EDU 220 – 3001
College of Southern Nevada
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PEPSI Screening
Biography

This case study is about a young girl, NK, age 8. She lives with her two moms and

younger brother age 2. Both her moms work while she goes to school full-time. She is a very

happy, caring child who is often eager to please. She loves to do anything that involves food, is

hands on, and does exceptionally well in sporting activities. Currently, she is enjoying

cheerleading. She likes subjects like math and science, but is struggling in the area of reading.

While she enjoys doing different activities she has a hard time staying on task.

NK was recently adopted after being in foster care for over 2 years. She came from a

household who severely neglected her and her wellbeing. She was described as a feral child, who

was malnourished, extremely underweight and at the age of 5 had to have 10 teeth removed due

to her severely abscessed mouth. Coming into the foster care system she was unaware of colors

or shapes. With much counseling and therapeutic help, moms state NK has blossomed into a

vibrant little girl. While in foster care NK was a little sister to a problematic teen and a big sister

to 2 younger siblings that were not biological and are no longer in the picture. She was bounced

from 2 other homes before coming into her current home. NK is currently seeing a psychiatrist

and an occupational therapist once a week. At 8 years old NK is currently in the second grade.

She was held back in kindergarten due to her inability to grasp material, the previous foster

family had enrolled her in a public school where she automatically fell through the cracks. Once

coming into foster care, NK developed tantrums and fits of “shutting down”. Her moms state she

is a very on-the-surface type of girl when it comes to showing emotion. She has recently been

diagnosed with an attention deficit disorder and has started taking a low dose of medication to
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slow her down. NK’s moms are concerned that NK’s inability to ready stems from her inability

to focus.

Physical Development

NK’s physical abilities are impressive considering she was unable to hold a pencil

without breaking it until a year ago. Her grip has softened this year and writing has improved

tremendously. She has the nicest penmanship in all her class. Though she is able to copy letters

and words she is still unable to read or sound out complete sentences. There is a bit of nervous

biting of the nails and picking at the skin around her fingernails due to her anxiousness. Which

according to (Snowman, McCown, 2015, p.84), she falls in line with physical characteristics of

normal 6 to 8 year olds.

NK is currently enrolled in cheer and has been apart of ballet, tumbling, gymnastics,

swimming and softball. NK has been nicknamed the super girl as she is energetic and loves

doing flips, all things that involve physicality, and anything outdoorsy. These sports have greatly

contributed to building NK’s agility, coordination and balance in a short time span. Though she

is a bit on the clumsy side it’s more due to always being in a rush and not paying attention. NK

has endured some bumps and bruises but no broken bones or deep lacerations needing any

medical care.

NK has reached the majority of the physical developmental milestones for a child her

age. According to livestrong.com, the normal height for a child NK’s age is 45-54 inches and

weigh 40-84 pounds (Bruso, 2016). NK stands a proud 52 inches and comes in at 52 pounds, she

appears to be on the smaller end of the scale, but still very healthy. According to moms, NK was

5 when she first came into their home and was severely underweight at 30 pounds. NK reports
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her food consisted of baby formula and coffee creamer and food from the trash. She has a very

healthy appetite, but now has more internal issues stemming from her past regarding food.

There are no severe physical problems to limit her other than her glasses to help her read.

She is able to perform daily tasks such as brushing her teeth, tying her shoes and brushing her

hair. She now has little to no problem manipulating objects such as zippers and buttons now

thanks to the help of constant occupational therapy her fine motor skills have also improved.

When compared to her typical peers at this time, NK’s physical development is on track and that

of an 8 year old per Ellsworth’s eight year development chart (Ellsworth, 1999).

Emotional Development

NK is generally a happy go lucky child who on the outside does not appear to let

anything bother her. After sitting down with NK you are able to note that she is worried of what

others think of her. This is shown in her ability or lack there of when answering questions with

certain adults. Her anxieties show the most when she thinks she has done something wrong. NK

is able to overcome some of her anxieties given the time to analyze her failures and is able to put

into words how she might handle a certain situation in the future. According to J’Anne Ellsworth

development chart NK falls into her 7th year falling into work paralysis (Ellsworth, 1999).

Her interaction with her peers show that she is constantly trying to fit in, often doing

what the most popular kids are doing just to be with the in-crowd. At home, NK lets her

emotions get the best of her when she doesn’t get her way, often pouting or expressing

aggression towards a younger sibling. NK’s self-esteem is well balanced as she is able to state

with certainty the things she’s good at and the things she has problems with. She has a strong

healthy relationship with moms and other family members, however she does not have any close
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relationships with friends. When looking at livestrong.com it shows that by the 8th year NK’s

home relationships should start helping make positive relationships outside the home (Bruso,

2016). NK doesn’t have a hard time making connections to her peers but very quickly you can

tell she doesn’t have any close friendships due to her controlling ways. Due to her early

childhood years (0-5), her emotional state can be erratic, overwhelmed, and insecure. Though

she is building up she still falls short in emotional stability. Over time a positive family

environment and cohesion have shown great results in helping children grow emotionally

(Fosco, 2012).

Philosophical Development

NK understands the importance of being good or nice and constantly feels the need to

please adults which falls in line with our text and her development (Snowman & McCown, 2015,

p.86). As a result when adults are around NK, she finds the need to show off her “good” side to

attract attention, when that doesn’t work she will show off the “bad” side to attract attention as

well. When adults leave the room NK turns into another type of child. Observing NK from a

distance she turns into a domineering, and manipulative little girl, to obtain what she wants.

Many times NK will find a loop hole or lie to avoid getting in trouble or just completely shut

down. In one instance, NK was caught kicking over cones in an area where she was not supposed

to be; when confronted she denied and finally admitted guilt when exposed. NK does not show

remorse when caught, she simply shuts down. When moms get involved if the lie doesn’t work,

NK will eventually show some remorse in the act of getting caught.

NK came from a past that was full of empty promises and manipulative adults. She had to

care and provide for other younger children that would occasionally come into the household.

Her street-smart skills are incredible because of this, however by doing so she has experienced
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many traumas. According to Gabler’s traumatic experiences within their birth families and

multiple placement histories can lead to increased mental health problems in foster children

(Gabler, 2014).

After observing NK, her kindness and self-sacrifice exceeds that of an 8 year old’s moral

development. You can see that her heart is in the right place when coming in contact with others.

While an admirable trait to have, it is a good time to start moving away from that to develop a

healthy lifestyle as NK progresses into early adulthood (Redl, 2008). NK is currently in a state of

limbo, she tries to put others before her but is struggling with wanting to be number one and the

center of attention. When confronted with moral dilemmas, NK often finds herself between a

rock and hard spot. When compared to her peers she tends to come up short, possibly due to her

initial trauma and previous life situations.

Social Development

When socializing, NK tends to have difficulty interacting with others. She tends to

behave at a level of maturity that is below her age. With certain peers NK will often join in and

interact, often acting like the popular girls. Thus, showing how NK is now more aware of herself

around her peers. According to J’Anne Ellsworth’s 8 year development chart, it shows she is on

track at least for relating to others (Ellsworth, 1999). When interacting with older children, she

will mimic and agree with everything that is told to her. When interacting with those younger

than her, she will often take the reigns to lead and include everyone. NK does not have a best

friend, but rather has a group of friends. Her relationship with her younger brother is starting to

show signs of strain as she is being more possessive over the attention that is given to him.

Though she is able to recognize when she starts becoming envious, it is still an internal struggle.

Carter said it best when stating behavioral expectations focuses on providing feedback to
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children after the expectation has been taught (Carter, 2012). NK’s moms must teach her

behavioral norms and provide the feedback to help establish the sought behavior.

When she first came into her home, NK would constantly strive for male attention from

anyone, especially strangers. She had developed a habit of making eye contact with older men to

get them to talk to her. She was unable to create normal attachments to anyone and was

diagnosed early on with RAD (reactive attachment disorder); a childhood disorder that begins

before the age of 5. It is associated with the severe disregard of a child’s basic emotional needs

and frequent changes to a primary caregiver (Shi, 2014). Though she has since made strides, she

still very much struggles with making the right connections with the right people. Now 8 year

old NK knows what stranger danger is and has been able to form healthy and secure connections

with her family. When placed in social settings with peers her age, NK lacks the maturity to

make connections with such peers. This puts her at a disadvantage and it places her with children

younger than her.

Intellectual

NK prides herself in her ability to do math and science well. She loves to do puzzles and

has an amazing talent of knowing where she is and where she has been. She is able to read maps

well and her sense of direction can get to from one end of Las Vegas to the other end at 8 years

of age. Though she is still not able to tell time or give correct change, she takes things as they

come. Her levels of articulating things are in the above average range when compared to her

peers. In a study conducted by Jacobsen it was found that though foster children did lag a bit

behind their normal peers, most were able to catch up and increase their competence behavior

(Jacobsen, 2013).
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NK’s attention span is what you would expect from an 8 year old, however after boredom

sets in you’ll find NK rolling around, tapping on objects, touching other folks’ possessions, or

other people in general. Her teacher reports NK is a bright young girl but that when she is unable

to be hands on she is constantly in trouble. NK’s receives additional resources at school to help

her with her reading and writing as well as her coping skills. Per her IEP, NK is currently at a

kindergarten reading and writing level, and her math skills are at a first grade second month

level. NK constantly talks out loud when performing tasks; according to Snowman and McCown

this should decrease from ages 6-7 (Snowman & McCown, 2015).

Mothers state they are trying to seek further testing to diagnose any learning disabilities

that are undiagnosed at this time. Environmental factors also impact on both the development of

ADHD and its associated impairments (Flouri, 2017). Environmental factors amongst other

things have played a major part in the blockage of intellectual breakthroughs in young NK’s life.

At this time NK’s mothers are concerned with her ability to succeed in the third grade.

PEPSI

Normal

Physical Emotional Philosophical Social Intellectual

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Recommendations

Overall you can see that NK has had a traumatic history and will face many challenges in

the future. All one can do is to promote growth and opportunity. Though it might take time for

NK to catch up to her typical peer, NK has shown tremendous improvement already. Given the

right support and services I feel NK can catch up to her peers. In regards to NK’s physical

development, I recommend continuing her healthy diet and exercise regimen. Also keeping up

her involvement with athletics. Girls this age start developing self-esteem issues due to their fast

changing bodies and eventually that will need to be addressed. To assist with her social-

emotional development, I suggest that parent and teachers collaborate in ensuring NK’s growth

by providing a positive and healthy environment with words of encouragement. At home I can

suggest that the parents model moral guidance and offer consequences for her negative actions.

In contrast, adding extra praise for her positive actions. As far as intellectual I would recommend

placing further support services to assist with her growth in literacy and any other deficits she

might be experiencing at this time.

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References

Bruso, J. (2016). Normal Height and Weight for a School-Age Child. LIVESTRONG. Retrieved

May 2019, from https://www.livestrong.com/article/276954-normal-height-weight-for-a-

school-age-child/

Carter, D., & Pool, J. (2012). Appropriate Social Behavior: Teaching Expectations to Young

Children. Early Childhood Education Journal, 40(5), 315–321. https://doi-

org.ezproxy.library.csn.edu/10.1007/s10643-012-0516-y

Ellsworth, J (1999) PEPSI, ESE504 Methods and Materials in Special Education, Retrieved May

2019, from http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~jde7/ese504/class/pepsi/

Flouri, E., Midouhas, E., Ruddy, A., & Moulton, V. (2017). The role of socio-economic

disadvantage in the development of comorbid emotional and conduct problems in

children with ADHD. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 26(6), 723–732.

https://doi-org.ezproxy.library.csn.edu/10.1007/s00787-017-0940-z

Fosco, G. M., Caruthers, A. S., & Dishion, T. J. (2012). A six-year predictive test of adolescent

family relationship quality and effortful control pathways to emerging adult social and

emotional health. Journal Of Family Psychology: JFP: Journal Of The Division Of

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565–575. https://doi-org.ezproxy.library.csn.edu/10.1037/a0028873

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(2014). Foster children’s attachment security and behavior problems in the first six

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& Human Development, 16(5), 479–498. https://doi-

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