EPSY 5150: Resilience and Self

Concept Development
Application Project - Individual
Child Resiliency Plan
Francesca DiMaggio
Summer 2014

I. Case History
1. Background Information
Name: Dwayne
Age: 14 (DOB 7/29/1999)
Gender: Male
Dwayne is fourteen years eleven month old African American male attending a
charter school in Saint Louis City. Dwayne will be entering high school in the fall.
Prior to attending this school, Dwayne attended Saint Louis Public Schools for
elementary school. Dwayne currently resides more than part time with his fraternal
grandmother and on occasion spends time at his father and step mothers home.
He has lived with his grandmother for the past seven or so years after his father
was incarcerated. While he father was incarcerated, he originally was living with his
mother and his siblings but was sent to his grandmothers when his mother did not
feel safe around him and could no longer care for him. Dwayne has not returned to
his mothers since, but his siblings still reside there. Dwayne has 14 siblings; he
remains close with his younger brother and baby sister and sees his two older
sisters on occasion. He attended school with his younger brother for the past two
years.
Academically and behaviorally, Dwayne has struggled since his early elementary
years. Dwayne has a diagnosis of ADHD and had initially been diagnosed in third
grade. This diagnosis has caused Dwayne to become significantly behind
academically because of the extent to which his behaviors interfere with his
academics. Dwayne shows a strong desire to learn and cares about his academics
and also does well in class when he is engaged in activities. He is currently reading
on a third grade reading level and is below level in math, but math is more of an
area of strength. His behaviors at school have caused him to receive numerous long
term suspensions, causing him to miss 30 or more school days per year.
Outside of school, Dwayne enjoys playing sports. He has a group of peers from the
neighborhood he hangs out with. He also has a puppy he received in the fall and
has been raising. He does several jobs around the neighborhood as a means of
making money. He will mow neighbors lawns, take out trash and do little handy
man jobs around to assist his older neighbors. He wanted to get a work permit to
get a job for the summer, but was unable to do so because of the amount of school
days he missed.
Life difficulties: Dwaynes biggest life difficulty is being separated from his
siblings. He has his grandmother that is always there to support him, but at times
whats best for him is not thought about. He is the only sibling that has been
displaced by his mother. He expresses a lot of anger towards his mother and is very
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hurt by the fact that he was displaced. Aside from his difficulties at home, he
struggles at school especially with his behaviors and the amount of suspensions he
receives each year. There are no strong interventions in place in the school building
to move him towards being successful and decreasing the amount of suspensions
he receives.
Coping Skills:
Dwayne immediately reacts to his frustrations aggressively whether its physically
or verbally. He is very impulsive and immediately reacts to everything rather than
thinking things through. He seeks attention from others and often gets it when he is
frustrated whether it is from peers or teachers. He typically doesnt cause physical
harm to others but will get tense and visibly angry when hes frustrated and things
dont go his way. His more positive way of coping is to joke around. He does well
having conversations with adults and is often open and seeks out adults to speak
with, but doesnt always value advice he is given.

2. Description of the Presenting Problem

The problem or symptoms that the child presents:
Dwayne exhibits the following problem behaviors at school: easily distracted, highly
impulsive, hyper, engages in horseplay, disruptive in class instruction, and engages
in student issues that do not involve him, combative and argumentative with
teachers /peers
The behavior addressed in this plan will be his reactions to being frustrated which
relate to him being combative and argumentative with teachers and peers and
being impulsive. His reactions to frustrations are often aggressive both verbally and
physically.
Physical symptoms seen in Dwayne:
When upset, Dwayne will throw physical tantrums. He will ball his fists, slam doors,
throw things, stomp away from situations, and walk out of class
Emotional symptoms (as well as thoughts and feelings) seen in Dwayne:
Emotionally Dwayne often will exaggerate small situations into being a bigger deal
than they are. He will focus on the one thing he hears that he doesnt like and will
remain fixated on that. That one thing will remain in his mind until something else
will distract him from it. When he is easily angered, he is quick to say whatever he
feels, often it has aggressive content.

2. Analysis
The following are risks that will affect Dwaynes ability to be resilient as well as
increase the probability that he will suffer from harm or challenges as he develops.
Domain

Risk Factors

Individual

Being male
Aggression
Difficulty concentrating
ADHD
Physical violence
Weak social skills

Family

Living in poverty
Poor parent/child
relationship
Separation of parents
Parent incarcerated
Living in grandparents
home
Low parental involvement
Poor monitoring

School

Numerous suspensions
Academic struggles
Weak social ties

Community

Neighborhood crime
Gangs / violence
Poverty

Reference: EPSY 5150 Module Week 5 & 6 - Youth Violence: A Report from the Surgeon General. (n.d.). Chapter 4:
Risk Factors for Youth Violence. Retrieved from:
http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/youthviolence/chapter4/sec1.html

The following are protective factors that can enhance his resiliency:
Protective Factors
Good cognitive abilities
Characteristics valued by society (talents like
athleticism, sense of humor, charismatic, hardworking)
Close relationship to grandparent
Grandparent involved to some extent in education
Faith/religious affiliations in the family
Connections to teachers and staff at school
Protective policies (child health care)
Reference: Goldstein, Sam, & Brooks, Robert B. (2006). Handbook of resilience in children. New York, NY: Springer
Science+Business Media, Inc.

Eriksons stages of development that can be applied to Dwayne:

Transitioning from stage 4 to stage 5
Industry vs. Inferiority Stage 4 - School and social interaction play an important.
Through social interactions, children begin to develop a sense of pride in their
accomplishments and abilities. Children become capable of performing increasingly
complex tasks and strive to master new skills. Children who are encouraged develop
a feeling of competence and belief in their skills. Those who receive little or no
encouragement will doubt their ability to be successful.
This stage is vital in the development of self-confidence. Success leads to a sense
of competence, while failure results in feelings of inferiority.
Identity vs confusion Stage 5 The adolescent learns how to answer the
question of "Who am I?" But even the best - adjusted of adolescents experiences
some role identity diffusion: most boys and probably most girls experiment with
minor delinquency; rebellion flourishes; self - doubts flood the youngster, and so on.
Erikson believes that during successful early adolescence, mature time perspective
is developed; the young person acquires self-certainty as opposed to selfconsciousness and self-doubt. He comes to experiment with different - usually
constructive - roles rather than adopting a "negative identity" (such as
delinquency). He actually anticipates achievement, and achieves, rather than being
"paralyzed" by feelings of inferiority or by an inadequate time perspective. In later
adolescence, clear sexual identity - manhood or womanhood - is established. The
adolescent seeks leadership (someone to inspire him), and gradually develops a set
of ideals (socially congruent and desirable, in the case of the successful
adolescent). Erikson believes that, in our culture, adolescence affords a
"psychosocial moratorium," particularly for middle - and upper-class American
children. They do not yet have to "play for keeps," but can experiment, trying
various roles, and thus hopefully find the one most suitable for them.
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References:
-

Cherry, K. (n.d.). What Happens During Stage 4 of Psychosocial Development?. <i>About.com

Psychology</i>. Retrieved July 15, 2014, from
http://psychology.about.com/od/psychosocialtheories/a/industry-versus-inferiority.htm
Child Development Institute. Retrieved from:
http://www.childdevelopmentinfo.com/development/erickson.shtml

Dwaynes progression within these stages:

Dwayne has the basic idea of self-confidence down from stage 4; he has basic skills
in his academic areas and cares about his educational performance. He takes pride
in his accomplishments at school and also his ability to do things outside of the
classroom, sports and tasks around the house, caring for his dog, etc. Dwayne has
confidence in his ability to perform tasks independently and will not ask for help
until he tries something first. Moving into stage five, he needs to acquire other
independent skills that relate to self- discipline so he can gain more control on
regulating his behaviors and seeking out help appropriately when he needs it.

Students strengths:
The following are strengths exhibited by Dwayne that will help lead him to positive
developmental outcomes. Strengths listed in green are those that are extremely
strong, those in yellow are present and those in red need to be developed more.
Social
Competence
Responsiveness

Planning

Positive Identity

Communication

Flexibility

Internal Locus of
Control
Initiative

Empathy / Caring

Resourcefulness

Compassion
Altruism
Forgiveness

Problem Solving

Critical Thinking
Insight

Autonomy

Self-Efficacy
Mastery

Sense of Purpose
Goal Direction
Achievement
Motivation
Educational
Aspiration

Special interest
Creativity
Imagination

Adaptive
Distancing
Resistance

Optimism
Hope

Self -Awareness
Mindfulness

Faith
Spirituality
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Sense of Meaning
Humor

II. Intervention
Goal of the intervention:
This resiliency plan will focus on the goal of developing Dwaynes self-discipline
abilities, to decrease problematic behaviors in academic and social settings.
Objectives:
1.
When Dwayne becomes frustrated in class, he will use self-regulation
strategies to avoid engaging in problematic behaviors. (This could deal with
academic or emotional frustrations)
2.
3.

Dwayne will determine whether or not situations are big problems vs. little
problems so he can determine the appropriate responses.
Dwayne will decrease his amount of referrals and out of school suspensions.

Strategies to address objectives:

1. When Dwayne becomes frustrated in class, he will use selfregulation strategies to avoid engaging in problematic behaviors.
(this could deal with academic or emotional frustrations)
(Timeline one semester / two academic quarters - means of observation
needs to be simple for the one implementing the plan; it could simple be a
table requiring a check mark daily)
Date

Did Dwayne exhibit

frustrations in class?

Yes

No

Did he use strategies to

address the frustrations? If
yes please list.

Yes

NO

Strategies to address objective 1:

- Academically take proper notes, use flash cards to study from, keep an
assignment notebook to record due dates (have special ed/gen ed teacher
go over notebook to make sure dates are correct), organize folders and

binders by subject area, CICO- Check in Check Out with an adult in the
building.
Emotionally when frustrated in class, Dwayne can choose from several
strategies including deep breathing, asking for permission to leave class
with a pass to take a break, see the special ed teacher, move around the
room for a movement break, CICO- Check in Check Out with a
specified adult in the building.

2. Dwayne will determine whether or not situations are big problems

vs. little problems so he can determine the appropriate responses.
(Timeline a semester / two academic quarters a way to track this could be
reflections Dwayne completes after an incident)
Strategies to address objective 2:
- Role play / discuss scenarios. Provide Dwayne with several scenarios
and have him determine than discuss whether these are big or little
problems and why. Then discuss the reactions he would have to those
problems and whether they were or were not appropriate. This could
be done by showing video clips, having students role play, have a premade stack of cards with printed situations on them. To remind him of
whats big vs little, Dwayne could keep situation cards or create a chart
highlighting the big differences between the two.
- Reflection after Dwayne reacts to a situation, he can speak with an
adult and reflect on his reaction to the situation. Was the event a big or
little situation? Did he react appropriately towards the situation?
Dwaynes reflection sheets can be kept to monitor his progress towards
distinguishing what sorts of reactions are appropriate to specific
situations.
3.
Dwayne will decrease his amount of referrals and out of school
suspensions.
(this objective will be
tracked monthly through use of the school behavioral/discipline tracking
system)
Strategies to address objective 3:
-

Since Dwayne has received numerous suspensions in the past, create a

behavioral contract with him. Have him sign and track his behaviors
weekly. If he had no office referrals for a week, give him a check
mark/smiley face/etc. Offer an incentive if Dwayne goes for an entire
month with no referrals. If that is too hard to accomplish, start small
and go with a week but build him up to a quarter. Examples of
incentives can include: off campus lunch, computer time, pizza on
Friday, dress down day, office worker day, can listen to head phones
when doing independent work for a week.
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Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Week 5

Restitution allow Dwayne to repair whatever damage he had done.

Whether it has to do with a person or property. When it comes to
apologizing to someone, he needs to take into account what he had
done wrong, why it was wrong and why that person deserves an
apology so its meaningful.
Provide him with counselor or behavior classes targeted towards those
problematic behaviors that he often acts out and in return result in
suspension. This could be done as a group focus with other students
who also display those behaviors. Some groups could be social skills,
anger management, grief
After- school detention/ Saturday school rather than placing Dwayne
on out of school suspension, have alternatives to suspension like
detentions or Saturday school. This will help students and also help the
school building by improving attendance.

Challenges expected during this intervention:

-

These objectives need to be supported by teachers and administration, if

they are not, the goals will not be successful.
Dwayne could abuse some of the strategies he is given so they need to be
monitored appropriately.
Dwayne may not be willing to participate.
More serious behaviors may be observed over the ones that are addressed in
this plan so a new plan may need to be developed.

Dwaynes strengths and needs can also be addressed using the resiliency wheel and
its six elements to improve and foster resiliency:

A plan can be made for Dwayne that will address each area on the wheel. Some
areas, he may need more help in than others that are where his strengths become
more involved.
1. Increase bonding with staff, with family and with peers. Make sure Dwayne
has at least one meaningful relationship with a teacher or staff member in
the building, give him learning activities he enjoys so he wont be resistant to
participating, get him working with other students and taking leadership
roles in the classroom. Also, see if he wants to get involved in sports or clubs
in high school.
2. Set clear, consistent boundaries- have policies and rules in place at school
and make sure Dwayne understands why these rules are in place and hes on
board with them, have Dwayne sign a behavior contract taking ownership
that he will follow the rules
3. Teach Life Skills this area is important for Dwayne to be successful; he
needs to learn skills such as getting along with others, working in a group and
even skills such as being polite and displaying good manners.
4. Provide Caring and Support make sure to interact with Dwayne daily,
greeting him by name, checking on him, recognizing his accomplishments,

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praising him. Also involve him in programs such as CICO and therapy groups
like anger management, grief and social skills groups.
5. Set high expectations Help build on to Dwaynes strengths so he can gain
more confidence in areas he may not have it. Make sure he sees his
education has a purpose and its the schools goal to make sure he is learning
and they will find a way to make sure that happens. Dwayne also needs to
gain responsibility for his own learning, making sure he uses regulation
strategies to stay on top of his academics.
6. Opportunities for meaningful participation Express to Dwayne that his
opinion matters. What are things he sees that need improvement so students
are in a better environment? How can he help the school? Hes a handy-man
and likes fixing things, have him shadow the janitor and be his special helper
or get to be the handy-man around the building.

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References:

Bernard, Bonnie. (2004). Resiliency: what we have learned. San Francisco,

CA: WestEd.

Cherry, K. (n.d.). What Happens During Stage 4 of Psychosocial Development

(About.com Psychology). Retrieved July 15, 2014, from
http://psychology.about.com/od/psychosocialtheories/a/industry-versusinferiority.htm

Child Development Institute. Retrieved from:

http://www.childdevelopmentinfo.com/development/erikson.shtml

EPSY 5150 Module Week 5 & 6 - Youth Violence: A Report from the Surgeon
General. (n.d.). Chapter 4: Risk Factors for Youth Violence. Retrieved from:
http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/youthviolence/chapter4/sec1.html

Goldstein, Sam, & Brooks, Robert B. (2006). Handbook of resilience in

children. New York, NY: Springer Science+Business Media, Inc.

Henderson, N., & Milstein, M. M. (2003). Chapter 2: How Schools Foster

Resiliency in Students. Resiliency in schools: making it happen for students
and educators (Updated Edition ed., ). Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Corwin Press

Lindenberger, D. (2013, October 11). Alternative Consequences and

Strategies to Reduce School Exclusion. Retrieved July 15, 2014, from
http://www.michigan.gov/documents/mde/3_Alternatives_to_OSS__Climate_2013_438911_7.pdf

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Self-Regulation Phases of Self-Regulation. (n.d.). <i>Self-Regulation Phases

of Self-Regulation. Retrieved July 15, 2014, from
http://www.gifted.uconn.edu/siegle/selfregulation/section6.html

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