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Julia The Classroom

Decent Essays

Julia is a 12-year-old girl who attends a third-grade self-contained class at a public school in New Jersey. She was diagnosed with autism at the age of three years. Although Julia is independent with basic daily living skills, she has difficulty meeting demands of her occupational roles of a student, peer, and a family member. In addition, she exhibits a narrow range of occupational responses in the areas of learning, play, leisure, and social participation. Julia also exhibits difficulty organizing her behavior.
Physical Context.
Immediate level. Julia’s classroom consists of two large U- shaped tables, where she sits along with four other children, her teacher, and a classroom aide. The teacher or the classroom aide sits next to her to ensure that Julia attends and completes her school activities. This arrangement also helps the teacher to protect other children and calm Julia when …show more content…

In the classroom, the teacher is the authority. She directs the routine and flow of activities. All students, including Julia, are expected to follow a daily routine and complete their academic work. The classroom culture relies on several positive reinforcement strategies to facilitate student discipline and appropriate behavior. Similarly, the classroom activities are mostly academically oriented and include a significant amount of writing and reading. Even though Spanish is spoken at home, Julia uses the English language for communication. The teacher provides instructions in English.
Proximal level. The school has a strong focus on students’ academic achievements. As a result, the grade level curriculums for children with disabilities are also academically oriented. The school’s mission statement states that each child will be educated regardless of his/her disability and ethnic background. Even though the inclusion model is promoted, the special education population is relatively invisible in the school policies and

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