Chapter 3 Scenario: Jacy’s Developmental Screening

Objective and Scenario

To develop and evaluate an intervention plan that addresses Jacy’s language development.

Four-year-old Jacy Begay lives in a small northern Arizona town with his grandparents and two younger siblings. Jacy’s grandparents, who speak only Navajo, live on a fixed income and have health problems that limit their mobility. Jacy’s grandmother enrolled him in the Head Start program where you teach. You have observed that Jacy doesn’t always respond when spoken to, seldom answers your questions, and is often inattentive in group settings. You have developed a step-by-step plan to begin addressing Jacy’s language delays and also arranged to have his hearing tested. He passed his hearing test and his language skills are improving some, but you know that he still has significant delays.   
      Several months later, Jacy participated in a kindergarten roundup at the elementary school that he will be transitioning to in the fall. The developmental team weighed and measured him, and noted that he was small for his age. They screened his speech, vision, and hearing and administered a developmental assessment test. The team members reviewed the screening results and expressed their concerns about Jacy’s inattention, mispronunciations, limited vocabulary, and poor social skills. They also noted that he was quite shy, preferred to play alone, and initiated little contact with other persons in the room. The team then met with Jacy’s grandmother and, with the help of an interpreter, explained that he had passed his initial hearing and vision tests, but that his language and social development were delayed.

Focus Assignment

1. Prepare a written, step-by-step plan to address Jacy’s developmental delays. Create a two-column plan, listing the behaviors that concern you in one column and the environmental factors that may be influencing Jacy’s language and social development in the other. Describe at least three steps that you can implement to address Jacy’s developmental delays.
2. Be sure to read the REFLECTION section below to guide your thinking. Write your reflection response after you have completed your intervention plan.

Self-Evaluation

1. For each item in your intervention plan:
    a. Explain how this item addresses the issues in the scenario.
    b. Provide evidence from the chapter supporting this item (with citations).
2. Describe and justify how your intervention plan would improve teaching and learning in the scenario