Parent Perspective
Brandy’s parents are concerned that Brandy has trouble making and sustaining relationships. Brandy tends to think that everyone wants to be her friend, and she overshares personal details about her life with anyone who will listen to her. Her parents are worried because they have noticed Brandy is generally alone during school social events. Brandy’s parents believe Brandy’s overzealous social tendencies make others avoid her. They think that Brandy has limited self-control and this contributes to her difficulty forming friendships. Brandy tends to blurt out whatever is on her mind and sometimes inadvertently makes rude comments. She consistently tells the truth, but does not understand that she needs to filter her comments to protect others’ feelings. For example, Brandy told the cashier at the gas station that his breath smelled bad.
Mr. Zamarrón’s Perspective
Brandy’s teacher, Mr. Zamarrón, is also concerned about Brandy’s social skills and wants Brandy to learn appropriate ways to interact with her peers. However, Mr. Zamarrón is more concerned with Brandy’s rigidity and difficulty with change. Brandy does not like to end activities when she thinks they are incomplete, and she struggles when the classroom schedule deviates from her expectations. For example, Brandy’s math teacher announced that they would not be taking a scheduled quiz and would instead review material. Brandy had studied hard for the quiz and was upset about the change in plans. She kept asking her teacher why she changed the schedule and repeatedly asked if she could take the quiz instead. Mr. Zamarrón knows that flexibility is an important skill for school and employment.
Hear Mr. Zamarrón share more about Brandy:
Supporting Skills
Accepting corrective feedback
Brandy is a perfectionist and strives to do well on assignments. She thrives on positive feedback from teachers and works hard to receive good grades. However, Brandy takes all corrective feedback as a personal offense. Often, Brandy cries when teachers correct her assignments, even if she receives a good grade overall. For example, Brandy’s English teacher corrected her punctuation and wrote Brandy a note about comma splices. Brandy cried and told Mr. Zamarrón that her English teacher “thought she was bad at writing.”
Identifying and obtaining needed supports
Mr. Zamarrón has developed a number of supports to help Brandy academically. For example, Mr. Zamarrón gave Brandy a calculator to use during math class and a pocket dictionary to use when she reads. Although Brandy will use these supports when prompted, she does not select them independently. Mr. Zamarrón believes these supports will not only assist Brandy academically, but also reduce Brandy’s dependence on adults for support.
Brandy participated in a virtual reality social skills program to learn self-regulation skills. Instruction addressed a variety of skills, but Mr. Zamarrón prioritized six skills for instruction. His goal was to help Brandy generalize the skills she learned in real-life settings. Click the links below for detailed lessons and instructional planning for each skill.
Brandy’s Lesson Plans
Can Identify Needed Supports and Knows Strategies for Obtaining These Supports
During VOISS lessons, Brandy learned to ask for a calculator in math class. However, she was not asking for other necessary academic supports. Mr. Zamarrón created a lesson to help Brandy practice the skills of identifying needed supports (Self-Regulation Skill...
Maintains Relationships
During VOISS lessons, Brandy learned to categorize friends and acquaintances. She learned it’s okay to talk to friends about small details and events in your life, and it’s okay to ask friends about their lives, too. She also learned that acquaintances are people with...
Accepts Corrective Feedback
During VOISS lessons, Brandy learned that corrective feedback is helpful because it teaches her ways to be a better student. Specifically, she learned to make a list of corrective feedback she received and incorporate this feedback into future assignments. Mr....
Deals With Change Initiated by Others
During VOISS lessons, Brandy learned that changes in routine / expectations are okay. She also learned to follow adult directions without protesting. Mr. Zamarrón created a lesson to help Brandy practice the skill of dealing with change initiated by others...
Uses Self-Control
During VOISS lessons, Brandy learned to pause before making a comment. She learned to ask herself how she would feel if someone made that comment to her. If the comment would make her feel bad, Brandy would not make it. Instead, she would ask the person how their day...