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Emily d’Emic

For my Adolescent Profile, I decided to focus on one of the most talkative students in my class, Justin. Justin is an 11-year-old Asian-American boy from New York City on the autism spectrum. He is currently a student in a literacy class that I assist. My goal is to motivate him with content that connects to his personal interests and propel him towards new frontiers of knowledge and potentially therapeutic emotional development. Justin has lost a parent unexpectedly within the past year, and although this is not why they were selected for this profile, his processing of the event is integral to my understanding of his behaviors and motivation.

Justin enjoys reading science fiction, graphic novels, and nonfiction, and has a high level of reading comprehension. He also demonstrates a strong understanding of and desire to identify and reference literary elements in class, such as similes, metaphors, personification, hyperboles, and idioms. For example, when asked, “Why do you read?” he responded, “So I can learn new stuff, like phonics.” Technically speaking, Justin has strong decoding skills and is able to read aloud at an appropriate pace with proper fluency and volume. In expressing himself, Justin is able to employ grammatically correct, complex sentences. He is also able to recount complete narratives, placing major story events in sequential order using adverbial phrases (first, then, later, finally).

Justin told me that he reads voluntarily every night for about 45 minutes. He prefers to read at home over in school because he is less distracted by noise and behaviors of other students. When asked whether he primarily learned to read at home or through schooling, he replied that he learned to read at home with “cardboard books with pictures. Now, I can read stuff without pictures.” When discussing or writing about a preferred topic, such as a personal narrative or a favorite film, he has demonstrated a great deal of creativity and seems stimulated by visual supports and graphic organizers. He is particularly enthusiastic about Star Wars and novels and comic books set in that universe. In fact, when asked “What have you learned from reading?,” he responded that he learned about the concept of oases through “the Imperial Oasis on the planet Tatooine from Star Wars.” He readily draws connections between realistic elements in fantasy and his everyday life. Justin’s main struggle is remaining engaged with the material long enough to complete assignments. For non-preferred topics Justin requires stronger support to stay on-task, such as modeling, check-lists that break down the task into simple steps, and graphic organizers. He often will reject an assignment before understanding what the assignment is about if he suspects that the content will be understimulating.

Justin identifies strongly with his Asian-American heritage. He speaks frequently and with enthusiasm of Japanese history, art, and culture, and takes many things affiliated with his Japanese heritage personally. For example, he once asked me in passing if I enjoyed sushi. When I said that I did, he replied “Thank you for honoring my culture.” While this pride can manifest in humorous exchanges, ancestry and connection to his Japanese identity is an issue of deep seriousness to him. Additionally, Justin’s father passed away unexpectedly this year. While he does not bring it up overtly, this major life event has made its impact known through his desire to connect with things larger than himself; i.e., his Japanese ancestry, or his obsession with the Star Wars franchise and his need to see himself as “Justin Skywalker,” a brave jedi who comes from a long lineage of jedi masters. This imaginary play has reached over into his personal life, and when having conversations with Justin he frequently taps into this magical thinking. To belong within a community and support network, and to be seen as a respected leader within that community, is of the utmost importance to Justin. I’ve even caught Justin quietly recommending books to his classmates based on their interests, not his own, and he speaks openly about wanting to become a teacher one day.

Justin already seems to have a strong intrinsic motivation to read stemming from a genuine curiosity to learn about topics of interest to him. Because most metacognitive growth occurs between the ages of 12 and 15, it is important that he reflects on his own learning behaviors in order to become more flexible, particularly when engaging with non-preferred topics (Price-Mitchell, 2015, 1). Justin has expressed a distaste for math, but has responded well to the knowledge that the human brain is similar to a muscle that needs to be flexed, and frequently repeats this aloud in class to encourage his peers. He is motivated by the idea that he can take control and grow his own mind in order to become successful later in life. This metacognitive knowledge is integral to feelings of control and self-empowerment. The concept of practicing in order to build neural pathways provides him concrete reasoning for completing his classwork. Justin is an incredibly thoughtful student who needs more built-in class time for reflexivity. When given the opportunity to reflect, he is able to effectively come to accurate conclusions about himself and his perspective and attitude.

Justin’s working memory and mental flexibility are incredibly strong, and he is able to recall facts from other classes and make connections to literacy frequently and with ease. However, he lacks the self-control to resist impulsive behaviors that may upset his classmates, such as starting conversations in the middle of class or laughing inappropriately and seemingly at random in order to provoke a response (Executive Function & Self Regulation, 1). Natural negative reinforcement from his peers is somewhat effective, however this sometimes instigates further opposition and anger. His desire to connect with peers (either positively or negatively) oftentimes in the moment outweighs his desire to engage with class material, regardless of motivation level. Thankfully, Justin does not have a fixed mindset. Because he aspires to be a leader, he is motivated to grow day-to-day, and observes and mimics teacher behaviors. His interest in metacognition and the development of his own brain point to a growth mindset, which has allowed him to learn from his mistakes over the past month and self-correct with less verbal intervention from teachers. (Dweck, 2019, 3). For example, if Justin turns around in his seat and is beginning to talk with a classmate inappropriately, a teacher can effectively redirect him with a facial expression or gesture. Speaking with him about his specific triggers and his motivations opens up the door to understanding and trust, and Justin is responsive to opportunities to correct his own mistakes and “make up” for past behavior. He desires, above all, to be seen as mature and competent.

Resources:

Dweck, C. (2019, October 29). How growth mindsets can bear fruit in the classroom. Association for Psychological Science. https://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/dweck-growth-mindsets.

Center on the Developing Child, Harvard University. (n.d.). Executive Function & Self-Regulation.

https://developingchild.harvard.edu/science/key-concepts/executive-function/

Price-Mitchelle, M. (2015, April 7). Nurturing self-awareness in the classroom. Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/blog/8-pathways-metacognition-in-classroom-marilyn-price-mi

tchell

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Hi Emily!

This is really impressive! You somehow are able to write with the authority of a trained teacher/clinician, while still embedding your text with a deep humanity and caring for Justin. He is lucky to have people like you help him along, especially as he resurfaces after the passing of his father. I know this type of personal recovery at a tender age a little too well.

Justin seems very high functioning and will be a success story despite his real challenges. I wonder what you think his most profound challenges in the near-, medium-, and long-term will be? And I wonder how he will transition to the secondary level where it is normally a more chaotic and less comforting environment.        

I am not sure of the duration of your time with Justin, but you may want to signal when you are leaving and being extra attentive to him. I worry that in the aftermath of such a profound familial loss that other types of personal  losses may resonate too deeply in the short term.

Thanks again for this lovely, textured, thoughtful, and caring account. Again, Justin is lucky to have people like you to help him come back.

Dino