Assignment 2: LASA 1: Assessment of Child’s Behavior

A thorough assessment of a child’s behavior is a very important and involved task. Too many times individuals look at the child’s behavior and label the child as angry, aggressive, troublesome, etc. In this assignment, you will begin to apply many of the different dynamics that could be in play in a child’s life. You will analyze a case study (the one that you identified in Module 2: Working Ahead) to create an assessment of a child’s behavior by identifying the child’s role in the family, school, and peer groups.

In this evaluation, you will ascertain the possible determinates of his or her behavior given what you have learned about the influences on a child such as family, peers, school, and community. You will review what type of role he or she may be playing in the family as well as in the school based on these dynamics. Keep in mind that this is an assessment of an individual in a community and not an introspective psychological type of assessment. Support your answers with information cited from at least two peer-reviewed academic sources and your textbook.

• Choose a case study from the list provided, if you have not done that already.
• Present the case by explaining the child’s behavior in light of your understanding of the ecology of the child. Give special attention to the following:
  • Family and social environment
  • Economic circumstances
  • Health care access
  • Physical environment and safety
  • Behavior
  • Education
  • Health
  • Apply your knowledge of these indicators to explain possible determinates of various aspects of the stated behaviors in the case study.
• Given your understanding of the ecology of the child, of the family, and of socialization, identify the top three areas that seem to be the most influential in this child’s behavior. Support your answer with professional information from the text and two peer-reviewed research articles.
• Review the role this child plays in his or her family and how that correlates with the expressed behavior.
• Analyze the different theories of macrosystem and microsystem influences including parenting orientation and parenting style and how that impacts children. Then apply the theory that might best fit your selected case study.
• Review the role this child plays in his or her school and peer group and how that correlates with the expressed behavior. Analyze the impact of the school and the peer group as a socializing agent, and identify the key areas of impact of both in this case study.

Write a 6–8-page paper (in addition to the title page and references page) in Word format. Apply APA standards to citation of sources, including use of in-text citations and full references. Academic sources could include your textbook, required readings for this module, or academic journal articles found in the Argosy University online library. Make sure you write in a clear, concise, and organized manner; demonstrate ethical scholarship in accurate representation and attribution of sources; and display accurate spelling, grammar, and punctuation.

Use the following file naming convention: LastnameFirstInitial_M3_A2.doc. For example, if your name is John Smith, your document will be named SmithJ_M3_A2.doc.

By the due date assigned, deliver your assignment to the Submissions Area.

Grading CriteriaMaximum PointsPresented the case by explaining the child’s behavior in light of students’ understanding of the ecology of the child giving special attention to: family and social environment, economic circumstances, health care, physical environment and safety, behavior, education, and health. Applied knowledge of these indicators to explain possible determinates of various aspects of the stated behaviors in the case study.24Given their understanding of the ecology of the child, the ecology of the family, and the ecology of socialization, chose the top three areas that seem to be the most influential in this child’s behavior and supported their answer with professional information from the text and the two peer-reviewed research articles.28Reviewed the role this child plays in his or her family and how that correlates with the expressed behavior.24Analyzed the different theories of macrosystem and microsystem influences including parenting orientation and parenting style and how that affects children; then applied the theory that might best fit this particular case study.28Reviewed the role this child plays in his or her school and peer group and how that correlates with the expressed behavior.24Analyzed the impact of the school as a socializing agent and identify the key areas of impact in this case study. Analyzed the impact of the peer group as a socialization agent and identify the key areas of impact in this case study.28Writing StandardsOrganization (12)
Usage and Mechanics (12)
APA Elements (16)
Style (4)44Total:200

Self-care is an important component of social work practice. It helps social workers to avoid burnout and buffer the effects of secondary trauma. The School of Social Work at the University of Buffalo created a toolkit for students to assess their level of stress and burnout and to build a personalized plan for self-care.

You will go through the Introduction to Self-Care and Developing a Plan for Self-Care sections of the UBuffalo toolkit. You should complete the assessments and self-plan worksheets; however, you do not have to turn these in.

For this discussion forum, your post should answer the following:

– Identify one self-care goal for the next 4 weeks of this course (based on your self-care needs and preferences identified in assessments you completed on the tool kit).

Here are some ideas to get you started: Go to a yoga class once a week. Have an hour each day to work on a creative project. Take a walk on most days of the week. No working after 5 PM. Spend 30 minutes outside meditating each day.

– Reflect on barriers that might get in your way of meeting your goal. For example:  limited time available, thought processes like “Self-care can wait until after graduation.” or “Finishing this assignment is more important than self care,” weather, illness, etc.

– Identify at least 2 strategies for addressing these barriers, to help you overcome them to meet your goals.

Remember, the purpose of self-care activities is to RECOVER from the stresses involved with social work and graduate school. Pick something that will improve your quality of life and put you at ease. This should be small and “winnable.” Don’t set yourself up for failure by being overly ambitious. Be gentle with yourself.