Child Case Study
Child Case Study Physical Presence and Gesture: Brady is a boy who is 7 yrs. 3 months in age. For his age Brady appears to be large in size. He stands 4 ft. 6 inches tall and weighs 95 pounds. Next to his peers Brady stands out as he is in the 99th percentile for both height and weight. Brady is the oldest child of 4. Brady has short brown hair, big brown eyes, and a big smile. When Brady is smiling the gap in his front teeth is very noticeable as well as his dimples. When Brady is feeling mischievous he gets slightly cross-eyes but only for a brief moment.
Brady has big ears and his right ear is missing cartilage causing it to fold over slightly. Brady has several freckles and a couple of tiny moles on his cheeks. Brady has a creamy white complexion but when frustrated becomes very red in the cheeks as well as on the tops of his ears. Brady’s head is very circular and seems a bit large for his body. Brady has what some might consider a flat face. He has a button nose, big cheeks, and very long, thick eyelashes. Brady is quite stalky with a little bit of chubbiness about him. Brady likes to fidget and is constantly moving.
He likes to sway his arms, kick his feet, fidget with his fingers; he is constantly moving some body part. Disposition & Temperament Brady is diagnosed as having an anger disorder and ODD. Brady likes to talk a lot and is very inquisitive. Brady is also gifted/talented causing him to become bored easily if he is not challenged. Brady is easily angered and is often triggered to an anger outburst by simple rejections. Brady at times can be very loving and cuddly. Brady fears being alone and is scared to be in a room when nobody is present. Brady appears to have two sides to him.
When Brady is not triggered by anger outbursts he is very friendly, kind, has a heart of gold, is helpful to others, likes to play with his friends & siblings, doesn’t seem so fearful of small everyday events and situations, and yet when he is experiencing anger outbursts his anxiety level is extreme, he is harmful to himself/others, makes threats to kill people (has begun to tell them how he would kill them), states that he sees monsters/alligators, becomes extremely hot, and then when the outbursts are depleting he begins to feel sick to his stomach, coughs, and cries. Sometimes Brady feels remorse for his actions, but most likely not.
Brady has been physical with his siblings/friends & mother. Brady has hit things (causing himself to break his pinky), smashed things, and threatened to run away. Brady takes medication for his outbursts but they don’t seem to be working. There are sometimes where these angry bouts disappear for a couple of weeks and then there are times where they happen several times throughout one day. Connections with other people Brady values his friendships that he does have and his relationships with teachers/authority. It takes a very long time for Brady to open up to others and trust is not something that Brady easily comes by.
Brady likes to learn a lot about a person before he decides if they will be of value to him. Once Brady has developed close relationships he tends to try to purposely destroy these relationships by being hurtful to others. He says hurtful thing’s, he becomes cold and distant, and then becomes sad when the other person gets angry or upset with him. He doesn’t seem to want these relationships to end when all is considered. Brady is very funny. Brady likes to talk in different voices and enjoys making people laugh. Brady looks for reassurance when he says something funny.
Brady loves to give hugs and kisses and loves to cuddle. Brady seems to become more engaged with peers much older than him. Brady began the current school year in first grade and was skipped to second. Brady did not build any friendships in his first grade class and only has a couple in his second grade class. Brady tends to attach to the older children in school between the fifth and sixth grade. Brady spends a great portion of his day out of the classroom and in the guidance office, this is where Brady has developed these friendships. Brady has two close friends who are both seven years of age.
Brady spends time at their homes but not often as he prefers to have his friends over to his house. Brady likes to play video games with his friends, tag, and they enjoy making their own activities up. Brady has two younger brothers who are 4 & 5 and Brady doesn’t always choose to play with them. Brady is often annoyed and irritated by the noise that he brothers make and he does not enjoy playing using the imagination. Brady has a great relationship with his one year old sister and is a wonderful big brother. Only when Brady is in an anger outburst does he make mean comments about the baby.
At times he calls her stupid baby, shut up baby, etc. He has not harmed his sister as he has his brothers. Brady is very attached to his mother and suffers a great deal of separation anxiety. Four days a month Brady goes to his father’s house with his five year old brother, step mother, and step brother (15). Brady does not have a close relationship with his real father as he is angry about the divorce and his father’s lack of presence in his life. Brady does not enjoy his step brother because he states that his step brother does not play with him or engage with him and his sibling.
Brady is very close with his stepfather. Brady values his relationship with his stepfather and always seeks to spend time with him. Brady enjoys his stepfather’s sense of humor and they have a very close bond and mutual respect for each other. Brady enjoys helping his stepfather lift weights, work on vehicles, tinker with tools, and play video games or trucks together. Strong Interests & Preferences Brady’s main preference is to play with electronics. Brady enjoys playing his XBOX 360. There is much controversy between him and his mother about what games should be age appropriate.
As he is 7 but is much more mature for his age, his mother allows him to play games that may not seem appropriate. Brady likes to play war games, shooting games, and some strategy games. He also enjoys playing with the laptop and talking with friends through instant message and texting. The activities that Brady prefers are for the teenage years and he gets upset when he is told this. There are some times where he will become engaged in a game with his brother around the house of hide & seek, tag, board games, etc. but that is generally when he is told that he can’t have electronics.
He enjoys playing board games such as Monopoly, Chess, Yahtzee, and Memory. He is very inquisitive when it comes to learning new games and likes to play until he has mastered the game. Brady participates in Border Hoop. He enjoys playing basketball and when weather permits spends most of his time practicing at home. He likes to play basketball with his stepfather and learn new techniques. He asks a lot of questions, pays very close attention to body movement, and continuously practices new techniques until he has them down. This year will be Brady’s first attempt at soccer.
Modes of Thinking & Learning Brady is a very hand’s on learner. He enjoys learning new math problems, new spelling words, and new ways to solve problems. When Brady becomes intrigues by a new subject he likes to fully research that subject until he knows the ins and outs. He is very thorough in his learning technique and quickly finds shortcuts to solving problems. He enjoys learning big numbers using the calculator and asks people to give him hard problems. Brady learns a lot by asking a lot of questions. Generally one answer to a question leads to long conversations.
He loves to hear of others experiences and later will recap the story to someone else pretending that it was him who experienced it. He fully applies himself to written work and is far ahead of his age group. Brady’s school was very impressed by his IQ score and other academic scores. Brady spends about an hour each week with his schools gifted/talented teacher. Brady’s mom does not think that this is enough time and thinks that it should be more time. With Brady lacking in the social area, too much time out of the regular classroom would not be beneficial for his education.
Brady has been told many times by his teachers and administrators that he is very smart and so he is afraid to fail. He approaches challenges by avoiding them. When he begins to struggle with something academically he will not seek help as he feels as though he has not met the expectations of those who think he is extremely smart. He is beginning to learn that the point of education is to struggle so that he can learn. He has had to be explained to him that if he wasn’t struggling in any area then he would know everything and wouldn’t need to be educated. That would be no fun, and that challenges are always a great thing.
