IEP Interpretation

Johnathan has a disability known as Autism, which hinders his everyday learning. Autism is identified as a complex developmental disability. Professionals believe that Autism presents itself during the first three years of a person's life. This condition is the consequence of a neurological disorder that has an effect on a brain’s normal function, affecting the development of the person's communication and social interaction skills. Autism places a daily struggle on Johnathan’s education and his strengths and weaknesses are very apparent. A major weakness for Johnathan is his disinterest in social interaction. When placed in a group setting, he will not interact with his peers. For instance, during Physical Education class; he will stand along the side and will only join the group when his PCA encourages him to do so. His communication skills fail him in other key areas as well. Due to his Autism, Johnathan needs extensive time to process theories and to express his thoughts and responses. At times, it will take him up to a minute to process the information and form an appropriate response. A person with autism may often miss a cue that their teacher presents, which would cause a battle within the classroom setting. A student with Autism like Johnathan might not know that somebody is trying to talk to them. They may also be very interested in talking to a particular person or group of people, but do not have the same skills as others to become fully involved and this will cause frustration. Johnathan simply lacks the necessary playing and talking skills. This causes a major issue within the classroom, because he is consistently playing catch up. Another weakness that Johnathan displays is his need to do things in multiples of 3. Luckily, his classmates have adapted to this requirement and they accommodate him when needed. This weakness will only hamper him as he grows older, because the world will not adjust to his necessary modifications. This would also cause a