The Marshall Family Paper

The Marshall Family

Engagement

Jessica M, an old high school friend walks into my office at Southside Baptist Church. I greet her, and ask her to have a seat. She begins explaining to me that her 5 year old son Justin, will be attending kindergarten this semester and she has some serious concerns.

Jessica is a single mother, and a college student, who spends most of her time studying, working and taking care of Justin. The reason for her visit as she stated, "Justin can never sit still more than 5 minutes," and I've exhausted my resources as trying to entertain him and study. Jessica also stated, "I have not taken Justin to seek any medical attention prior to meeting with you. (I made a mental note to myself, upon reflecting back to my son's behavior and him being diagnosed with ADD) I then agreed with Jessica I would go to the school and talk with his teacher before school starts, and explain the situation before hand. I set an appointment with Jessica to meet in 1-week to explain my observations.

Assessment

I arrived at Justin's kindergarten class at approximately 7:55 am. I positioned myself in the rear of the classroom to begin my observation of Justin with in the class. Justin's teacher, Mrs. P greeted me, and thanked me for being so prompt on assessing what may be Justin's issue, while giving me a quick outline of the day's activities.

Justin came in, a very active happy 5-year old. At first he was very stand offish with the other children, and then I noticed he proceeded to walking around the room touching everything insight. At play time Justin went from sitting, to kneeling, to walking, then to running around the room. When asked to "please" come back and sit down Justin did not immediately respond, upon Mrs. P's repeated request Justin sat down next to her, but was fidgety and preoccupied elsewhere. Throughout the day, Mrs. P continuously had to chase Justin around the class or give him extra activities to keep his attention focused.

It is now noon, this means nap time. I took this opportunity to visit the school nurse, as I explained who I was, what I felt the issues were (being I had seen the same symptoms in my own child) I then asked if she would sit in on the remainder of the class.

At the conclusion of the class the nurse informed me she has seen this behavior on several occasions, young children with short attention spans and hyper tension, she confirmed my thoughts by calling it ADD. The nurse then gave me some pamphlets on ADD along with the names of several physicians.

Define the Problem(s)

(1)Justin needs to be evaluated by several Doctors and Therapists, so a clear diagnosis can be determined. (2.) Seek