Reference no: EM133486828

Case Study: Antonio sat at his desk muttering to himself, "I just can't do this." Antonio's paper was full of holes indicating how he had tried to answer and change answers numerous times. When Mr. Larkson looked up from his desk to see what he was doing, Antonio let out a loud yell and banged his head on the desk. Antonio was supposed to be completing a worksheet of 10 multiplication problems, but instead was carrying on at his desk. Mr. Larkson went to his desk and tried to redirect him back to his worksheet. "Now, come on Antonio. You can answer these problems," he said as he handed him a clean worksheet. Again, Antonio let out a yell and shouted "I just can't do this crap." With that, the other students let out simultaneous "ooohhhs" and "ahhhs." Mr. Larkson, who was now becoming angry, gave Antonio one final command: "Get back to work or take a trip to the hall." Antonio did nothing but sat in his seat motionless, overcome with stubbornness. As Antonio sat contemplating his demise, Mr. Larkson snapped at the other students, "Get back to work." Again, he looked at Antonio and growled at him, "Get to work." Within seconds of Antonio's refusal, Mr. Larkson let out, "That's it! You go to the hall, and you can finish this paper for recess!" Again, Antonio sat still refusing to move. Mr. Larkson then went to the board and in large letters wrote "ANTONIO-NO RECESS." With chalk cracking as he wrote it, the other students again chimed in with "ooohhhs" and "ahhhs." Antonio, unfazed by his teacher's action, defiantly held up the clean worksheet and ripped it in half. During the entire incident, Ms. Ziglar watches as she tries to redirect the attention of the other students in her inclusion math class. Ms. Ziglar knows to stay out of Mr. Larkson's way when he disciplines students. Although she occasionally has to deal with them, for the most part she takes a hands-off approach to behavior problems of the special education students. Ms. Ziglar had approached Mr. Larkson in the past about the way he handles behavioral problems, but he does not want to be told how to deal with behavior problems. Antonio is a 13-year-old with Cognitive Impairments (CI) who currently attends Toolesville Elementary School in downtown Northumberland, Pennsylvania. Antonio has been in Mr. Larkson's class for 2 years and has caused problems for Mr. Larkson on a number of other occasions. Antonio is considered borderline CI because of his earned IQ score of 69 on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, but was placed in two inclusion classes this year because he had shown improvements in behavior and academic skills over the past year. In addition to his lower-than-average IQ, he also has academic deficits in all of the basic skill areas: reading, math, and written language. To complicate matters, Antonio has also been identified as having attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and currently takes Ritalin to help control his attention and hyperactivity. Antonio lives at home with his mother, Silvia, in a nearby townhouse. Silvia is always concerned with Antonio's progress in school. Mr. Larkson has often told her that he wishes his other students' parents were as involved in their child's education as she. Silvia is familiar with Antonio's stubbornness. At home, Antonio frequently refuses to complete work for her and is defiant of her requests. Silvia has related to Mr. Larkson that morning is the worst time of day for her. During the morning hours, Silvia spends long periods of time getting Antonio ready for school. Even though he goes to bed early enough, he does not like to go to school; instead he would rather sleep all day. She knows her son well, so it came as no surprise when she received a note that night from Mr. Larkson describing the incident during math. When she spoke to Antonio about the incident, he refused to discuss it. That same evening, Mr. Larkson also pondered Antonio's unusual behavior. He asked himself a series of questions: "Did I handle it properly?" "Could I have not gotten so angry?" "Should I have immediately put him in the hall?" Because this was his second year of teaching, Mr. Larkson still isn't quite certain how to handle some of his students' problems. He remembers back to his class in behavior management, but draws a blank as to what he could have done differently. A "control freak" at heart, Mr. Larkson likes a quiet, business-like classroom. In the past, he has been able to manage many of the inappropriate behaviors that his students have exhibited, but Antonio's behavior is often worse the closer it gets to the weekend. Being the only special education teacher in the school, Mr. Larkson is well aware that he has to walk on eggshells around the other teachers and principal. Two years ago, he pleaded with the principal, Mrs. Gunnison, to allow him to co-teach in math and English, and after much negotiating he was permitted to do so. Mrs. Gunnison herself has a no-nonsense type of management style. "Gunnie," as she is known to other teachers, is the type of administrator who would suspend a student rather than discuss their inappropriate behavior. Mr. Larkson was chosen as the first special education teacher at Tannerville because of his diplomatic style while conferring with other teachers. He was told by his supervisor, Ginny Frew, that he needs to establish a good working relationship with the other faculty so that next year they can try to place other special education classes in the school and so that the county's special education program can expand its inclusion movement into city schools. The next day, Mr. Larkson decides to discuss Antonio's behavior with his aide, Trudy Stellar. "It just doesn't add up," said Mr. Larkson as he began to explain the incident in math class. As the two discussed the incident, Trudy told him that Antonio got into a heated discussion with another student on the playground prior to coming to math class. As she described the incident, Trudy said that it was a student from another class-Nerby-who sparked the quarrel. Trudy added that Antonio was playing nicely at recess when Nerby walked by and hit him. "Antonio seemed to calm down when I asked him to line up to come inside," Trudy remarked, "but once inside, as we were walking down the hall, I could tell that he was upset about something." At that point, Mr. Larkson began to wonder if this incident had anything to do with Antonio's behavior during math. From the case study,

Question: what behaviors should be target for remediation Antonio? or what behaviors should be target for further assessment or observation for Antonio?