Trey's Story




Trey is a seven year old second grader.  He enjoys his pets and is very good at solving math problems in his head.  He is earning money by walking a neighbor's dog in order to buy a lizard.

He has always had a lot of energy, but this became a problem when he began attending school.  In first grade, he qualified for Emotional Disturbance Behavioral Disorder according to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (2004).  He receives support in the classroom from a resource teacher.  He has also participated in a therapy and medication program, but that has been discontinued.  His parents are working through a medical referral process for a formal diagnosis of AD/HD.  He has responded well to a Functional Assessment-based Intervention.  


Trey's Strengths

  • math
  • able to solve 5th grade division & multiplication problems in his head
  • responsible in caring for his pets
    • 1 dog
    • 2 cats
    • 1 guinea pig
  • earning money for a lizard by walking a neighbor's dog



Trey's Challenges

  • attending to class instruction
  • behaving appropriately
  • following directions
  • controlling verbal and physical outbursts
  • difficulty reading and writing

Characteristics of emotional/behavioral disorder that Trey demonstrates:

  • aggressive
  • impulsive/hyperactive
  • tantrums
  • disrupts classroom activities
  • inattentive, distractible
  • poor concentration
  • often speaks out with irrelevant information or without regard to turn-taking rules
  • demonstrates aggressive behavior
  • intimidates and bullies other students
  • difficulty working in groups
  • anxiety



What seems to be working?

Improving the Environment:

  • Seating Trey next to a peer with his desk facing the board
  • Giving him a visual hierarchy, self-monitoring form, and picture schedule
  • Checking-in with him to make sure he understands the assignment
  • Providing behavior-specific praise when Trey is on-task or using his stoplight
  • Using his self-monitoring form to tell him things he did well
  • Providing only one verbal or gestural redirect per minute therefore withholding praise for off task behavior
  • Providing minimal instruction when his stoplight is on red
  • Providing praise to other students who are on task when Trey is off task

 Trey's comment, "School's fun now."

Teacher comment, "Trey responded so well to this intervention, he really blossomed from my attention."


All images came from https://pixabay.com