Psychology

Literature review Adams Story
The article Parenting and Schooling a Learning-Disabled Son talks about a boy who has learning difficulties and his parents struggles to help him in overcoming the difficulties. The writer focuses on the challenges that face the disabled boy and his parents hence exposing the theme of the article. The theme sheds light on what the story is about, whom the story is featuring, the storys settings and timelines as well as the happenings of the story. The theme has captured these aspects well, hence creating a theme- based story.

The title of the book is relatively short and catchy and at the same time relevant to the story. The title is important since it helps to prepare the readers on what to expect from the writer. The title is appropriate and it fits the story. The ideas expressed in the story give a summary of the ideas that have been expressed in the story. The story focuses on issues that face the disabled boy and his parents. The storyline is well constructed so that all the events covered in the story are related to the title of the story in one way or another. The author has organized all his ideas in a way that ensures that he does not go out of content in the process of delivering them to the reader.
 
The readers imagination is prompted since the writer presents the boys case in a manner that leaves room for creation of mental images. The writer presents the reader with mental pictures of some scenes by giving specific details of the happenings an example of such a case is when Adams mother makes visits to Adams class and in the special education class, the boy had been grouped to the lowest reading group and he happened to be alone in that group. The reader is put in a good position to visualize the situations that are under discussion. This encourages the reader to take part in analyzing the situation that the boy in the story is in. These images are important since they help the reader to acquire the necessary skills of visualization, which results into better understanding of the content.
 
The narrative is presented in a chronological manner since the authors ability to link the events is recommendable the author has for instance demonstrated the boys progress from the time he was admitted in his first school to the time he is transferred to different schools. This order shows the writers ability to combine the events that took place in order of their happening. The happenings that took place from the time the boy was born are well brought out in the story.

The writer does not incorporate any emotions in his work, regardless of the fact that the story is sad the writer does not expose his stand on the issue. The message is delivered the same as any other story could have been delivered. The writer does not take sides on the issue concerning the isolation of the disabled boy in the lowest ability group, the writer chooses to remain neutral rather than present his point of view on this issue. The readers are left to evaluate the issue on their own since the writer does not make point trying to argue in order to convince the reader to see hisher point of view.

The ideas presented in the story are fiction free since they present rational events that are everyday experiences to parents with disabled children just like Adam. These ideas are rational and they are unquestionable especially to a reader who has had close contact with such a child. The boys failure to improve on his reading skills despite the efforts made both by his parents and his teachers can be taken to be a good representation of children in any given society who undergo same challenges. The reader will there need no to be convinced on any issue that is highlighted in the story.

The story has been summarized well to deliver the most important details and those that are relevant, for example, the writer does not dwell much on the brother of the disabled boy except in cases where an issue related to the boys problem emerges between them. The summary is comprehensive and well structured for nay reader. The story gives the reader some clues on how to handle children with reading difficulties. The story also gives the results of putting too much pressure on such children.

Literature review Adams Environmental and intra-psychic factors
The wrier looks at both environmental and intra-psychic factors that Adam had. Apparently, these factors are considered both negative and positive, these factors are said to have had direct impact on the boys performance. This is in an attempt to convince the readers that the two factors mentioned had a role to play either in making the Adams reading easier or creating more barriers for him. The writer is explains vividly on what such factors had on the boy in as far as his reading skills are concerned. The writer presents the reader with a self-explanatory summary of articles that are based on research that relate to Adams case.

The writer denotes that that letter and sound learning of children with dyslexia can be improved on if the right measures are put in place. The writer supports this point by noting that Adams performance improved after he was transferred to another school. The writers point of view is justified since it is evident that the improvement in performance changed for the better after the transfer. The new school provided better teaching services to children with special cases like Adams.

The writer suggests that the learning environment can have a direct effect on the performance of a child. Adam is said to have improved on his reading skills after he was transferred from the first school during his third grade. Emphasis has been laid on the importance of patience when dealing with children who have special needs like Adam. The writer provided recommendations that could be used to improve the reading skills of such children (Squires, 2006). The writer recommends that the teacher should read aloud to allow students like Adam to hear individual sounds in words. These recommendations have been derived from a study that was conducted on students with difficulties in reading.

Adams slow rate of reading came about because of his learning difficulties. The writer suggests that other factors that could have led to the worsening of the situation was the fact that the boy was isolated during class and the fact that he did not have friends in school.

Adams change of attitude towards school has been attributed to the constant labeling he was receiving. The writer argues that this labeling had negative impact in his performance. The teachers regard him as the dumbest child in class hence grouping him into the low ability group the principle also expresses his doubt on weather the boy would make it to college. The reader can agree with the writer that these are setbacks that contributed to boys change of attitude and behavior towards learning. The fact that the teacher already formed lows academic expectations could also be a contributing factor to the negative attitude.

The negative learning environment could have further affected the boys emotions the writer states that Adam developed a lack of self worth. The writer notes that despite the fact that the glasses that Adam was given were helpful he did not feel motivated. The withdrawal of the criticism is said to have brought about positive change in his reading capability. The writer proves that Adams rate of academic interaction increased soon after those who used to criticize him were out of the picture. The parents reported positive results in his progress. Criticism that Adam was exposed to was evidently a contributing factor to his loss of interest in academic work.

Adams visual problem was compromising his performance at school. The teachers complains on his ability learning was undermining his morale. This problem affected him since the teacher was making his already low self-esteem to worsen. The writer states this factor affected the boys motivation and engagement in school, his motivation is alleged to have been manifested by the fact that he was refusing to go to school coupled by his anger after school. The writers point of view is justifiable since the tabled facts are closely related to the problem at hand.

Adams parents provided support for their son through their continued efforts, he was able to enjoy his life at school. The writer attributes this factor as a positive initiative that could have contributed to his improvements though minimal. The writer points out that these parents took him to a nice private school that had a good educational setting. The writer is positive that with the support from the teacher the boys ability improved significantly.

Environmental Factors versus Developmental Trajectory
The writer looks into possible environmental factors that contributed to Adams improvement in learning or his regression in academic matters. External factors had a big role to play in affecting his performance either positively or negatively. The school environment, teachers, fellow students, his parents, and the school administration were the external factors that affected Adams progress. Some of the key players brought about positive change while some brought about negative change in his progress.

The school environment of Adams first school was a hindrance for his progress because it had a poor educational setting. The method in which he was handled was unfriendly and this affected his progress significantly. He did not have friends he could talk to since he was isolated due to his condition. The teaching methods applied were not up to standard hence Adam ended up miserable since he was not understanding what was taught, these methods were mostly for the bright students hence it was hard for him to keep up with their pace (Stipeck, 2002).

The teacher provided an environment that was not conducive for Adam. The teacher isolated him during class hence making him to feel left out. The teacher was also constantly complaining about his poor performance barely two months after he joined school. The teacher had publicly admitted that he had low expectations on the boys performance. This affected the boys hope of ever performing well and he lost his interest in school. The fact that the teacher expresses negative expectation after they interact with the boy is an enough reason to make the boy to lose hope.

The head teacher expressed criticism on the boys performance and this could have been a main contributing factor to the low self-esteem. The headmaster expresses doubt on weather Adam could make it to college he kills the boys hope of joining a higher institution of learning in future. The negative comments produced by the headmaster were uncalled for since he should have encouraged the boy despite the fact that he could not see the boy going far.

The boys parents provided a good environment that led to positive improvement in the boys performance. By taking him to a good school, the parents proved that they still held on to the hope that their son would improve significantly. The parents also encouraged their son to continue practicing. The parents were ready to do what they can for their son, this was an important factor since it made the young boy to feel wanted and appreciated. The parents motivated their son and so he put more effort into the practice.

Recommendations
Joint efforts among teachers, parents, and the psychological professional can bring about positive results into Adams case. The psychologist should advise the parents on how they can handle their son. Parents on the other hand would be expected to help their children with schoolwork at home. The parents will be expected to set some time for the boy, they should have time to listen to their children read, as well provide reading aid to their children (Squires et al, 2006).

After school special clubs and activities would be good for Adam, these clubs permits the students to exercise and develop their talents. This is a good initiative since it will enable Adam to discover other activities that he can do well apart from reading. This will also give the boy a chance to interact with other children with similar talents. The boy will feel appreciated due to this move since it may be a chance to develop on an activity that the boy can be proud of. This idea can also provide a chance for him to meet other students who have the same problem, this will make him feel appreciated and give him a sense of belonging.

Professional counselors should be regarded as an important element in the school. In case it is in the parents power to hire a personal counselor, it would be a good idea since heshe will divert all the attention to Adam. The counselor should help Adam to adapt to his learning environment with a show of high expectations. They will be in charge of organizing the students schedule in the school since they can understand the psychology of the students better.

Adam should be given a chance to have a sense of relatedness, this sense will be vital to his academic motivation. This will bring about positive changes in classroom engagement. The relatedness should be to parents, teachers, and peers each of these individuals brings about differing levels of emotional engagement to the student. The teacher should relate well with the student since teachers are seen to be more outstanding predictor to boys engagement. The boys motivation and performance will largely rely on the effort that the key players will put in order to help him (Wentzel, 1998).

It is important for Adam to learn to develop a sense of self worth. The teacher can make this happen if heshe stops comparing him with other students the issue of grouping the students should be abolished since this has a negative social impact on social comparisons on the developing self-perception. The elimination of the act will make Adam to develop a feeling of self worth and this will enhance his interaction with other students. The best way to enhance positive development in this case is to enroll the boy in a school that trains children with similar disabilities as his, this will give him a feeling of belonging and he will definitely maintain high perceptions on his academic performance after comparing his performance with that of the other children.

The teacher to handle Adam should come up with better methods of teaching. The methods should be directed towards making an improvement to. The teacher should be specially trained so that he can handle the boy and other who have the same problem professionally. The teacher should be patient with the students by giving them time to grasp and at the same time teach at a slower pace.

Conclusion
Adams story shows the difficulties that dyslexic children undergo in school. These children are in most cases discriminated against due to their poor performance in school. Emphasis has been put on how the key players can help such children improve on their performances. Adam has special needs hence he should be handled in a delicate way because he can easily undergo emotional turmoil if not handled well