MONICA Case Study- HS student with OI & ID-Mild
PLAAFP:
Monica is an 11th grades student with cerebral palsy and mild intellectual disability. She participates
in the Occupational Course of Study at Midtown High School and has an off-campus job at PetSmart
where she assists with rodent feeding and creates pricing labels/sales signage for the store. She works
Monday-Wednesday-Friday from 1pm-3pm, but often is too tired to finish her shift.
She can ambulate independently on flat, uncluttered surfaces using Lofstrand crutches and requires a
seated 60-90 second rest after 100 feet. Without her crutches, she is able to walk about 5 feet. She
has difficulty avoiding obstacles (including other people). Monica fell four times at her work site in
the last 9-week grading period, despite walking very slowly secondary to low endurance and fear of
falling. She has not complied with procedures for reporting her falls at the work site, and
demonstrates difficulty asking for help, making requests, and advocating for her needs while at work.
Her PetSmart supervisors report Monica is late an average of 2 of 3 assigned work days, even though
the bus generally arrives in plenty of time for her to start duty on time. The seated computer work
station at the back of the store is 250 feet from where Monica gets off the bus and includes 1 curb step.
Given significant right-side spasticity, Monica requires a modified desk chair with lateral supports
and a one-handed keyboard. She is also learning to use voice-recognition software, but often lacks
breath support to speak loudly enough for the software to be effective.
She enjoys her assignment at PetSmart, but her supervisors report she works very slowly, is often offtask or sleeping, and she frequently leaves work areas in disarray. Specially designed instruction
related to her participation at work has included: gait and safety training; explicit instruction in
ergonomics, energy conservation, self-determination, and time management skills; and training in the
use of assistive technology. In order to make progress toward her goal of going to a community college
to train as a veterinary technician, Monica needs to identify and advocate for her needs in community
settings. She needs to follow safety/reporting protocols, acquire time management skills, and improve
both functional endurance and energy conservation skills to sustain participation at work for up to 3
hours at a time.
Goals:
Given supervisory checks every 30 minutes, Monica will be on time and complete a minimum of 3
consecutive work hours safely (no falls), efficiently (finishing assigned tasks) and in cooperation with
all worksite procedures (fall reporting, cleaning up, etc.), 5 out of 6 shifts.
In 18 weeks, Monica will explain her disability, including strengths and needs, to all supervisors and
co-workers, request accommodations to her work schedule/environment, and participate in problemsolving and decision-making when her work does not meet expectations.