April 20, 2012
Identifying Information
Akeelah is an eleven year old African American girl who lives in South Los Angeles being raised by her mother, Tanya, who father was killed when she was six years old. She is attending Crenshaw Middle School. She has three siblings and a niece and her mother works long hours to have extra money to support her family. Akeelah is a very smart an intelligent girl who loves to study and learn words.
Presenting Problem
Akeelah is grieving the death of her father even though he died when she was six years old. It appears her mother is not emotionally supportive to Akeelah through this grieving process because her mother works long hours as a nurse. Akeelah is not only having to cope with her father’s death but her mother who is still mourning her husband death and worried about her son, Terrance, who is hanging out with gang members. Akeelah is faced with bullying at school as well as being bored because she already knows the material being taught.
Current Situation
Akeelah appears to be trying to cope with the death of her father who died when she was six years old. She misses her father by withdrawing and isolating herself at home by studying words. Because her father loved to play scrabble, learning words is a reconnection with her him. When Akeelah joined the spelling bee contest, there is evidence of separation and tension between her and her mother. Her mother appears to be in the dark about how knowledgeable Akeelah is with words, so she tries to hold her back.
Akeelah is dealing with issues at Crenshaw Middle School where she is shy and embarrassed for being smarted than the other children in her class. Akeelah down plays her smartness because she does not want her peers to think of her as the smart child in the class. Akeelah is already being bullied by other classmate, and they are trying to coerce her in to doing their homework for them. Akeelah seems to be having trouble because of the
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