Behavior and Needs of Children with Autism Syndrome Deficiency - Case Study Example

Community Child Care THE CASE A four and a half year old boy was accompanied by his parents. He looked overactive and wandered around the room. On direct questioning and asking his speech was incomprehensible and it was very difficult to understand specific words. His mother said he speaks in English; people with this disorder use various communication modes which include speech, conventional gestures, picture symbols, facial expressions, vocalizations, unconventional signals and assistive technology (Benaron 2009). The communication modes were applied on the boy and he showed some positive change. Eye contact was limited, which is a social skill he struggled with, something that most children are not afraid of (Hanbury 2007). On looking at him straight to the eye, the boy could not respond by looking back directly. From the observation, this case fits in the Autism Spectrum Disorders category. During birth the boy had no complications; he was robust and developed normally, until he showed the first signs of delayed milestones. A healthcare provider was contacted and the boy was screened for the delayed milestones and help was given. At three months of age, he started using vocalizations (Cooper 2004). He developed delayed communication, although he developed a good rapport with his mother. He was unable to identify body parts and a learning programme was suggested, he seemed to catch up. His social skills became abnormal. He seemed not to hear at times, had poor eyesight, poor response to his name, does not respond to touch and other feelings, he plays on his own and does not ask for assistance when he needs some (Benaron 2009). The boy takes a Risperdal name of treatment which was prescribed by a psychiatrist. Ethics involved acting in an appropriate manner, with due diligence and care in the execution of duties (Szatmari 2004). Various communication approaches were used and clinical decisions were made on alternative communication techniques on the boy. The relevance and reliability of the available evidence, expertise of the clinical staff and the client’s perspective on the consent of using a family member were put into consideration (Cooper 2004). Exploration of many alternative communication skills were considered as symptoms vary in Autism syndrome deficiency (Hanbury 2007). Consent was acquired on the basis of the boy’s needs, which included the strengths and weaknesses of learning, the degree of social communication skills and motor abilities. The policies that were put in place helped in the navigation of this case study and assisted in decision making about assessments and strategies used (Kira 2012). LITERATURE REVIEW The aim of this literature review is to determine the validity of the above disorder. Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD), involves several possible diagnostic degrees that put children in a classification of the characteristics of a (PDD)-Pervasive Developmental Disorder (Furneaux 1977). ASD refers to all forms of PDD and include several terms including, autism, autistic tendencies and Asperger syndrome (Furneaux 1977). This topic has received little systematic study; the important issue is whether the available evidence is enough to consider such disorders as valid. The children with the disorder are characterized with awkward social behavior, and demonstrate poor communication patterns of speech. Autism involves deficits in behavior in early childhood (Benaron 2009). Recent evidence shows an increase in autism prevalence with six in every one thousand getting the disorder. This increase has caused questioning as to whether some environmental factor is responsible for it. Autism becomes noticeable by fifteen to eighteen months of age (Landau 2001). About sixty nine percent of children with the disorder feel lonely, sixty six percent need stress management support and forty nine percent of parents need their children to get additional mental health support (Wong 2011). There are immense needs which are unmet that are being experienced by children with autism. Due limited professional services, the findings focused on the barriers of accessing appropriate services. The media and medical practitioners have raised awareness that is aimed at showing the importance of early signs recognition of the disorder (Kira 2012). Presentation of symptoms can differ greatly from one child to the other and in different times of their ages. Determination of future research will be of interest whether tests of speech perception and imitation which is structured, predict accurately which group of children with autism go forth to develop good language (Landau 2001). It is worth noting that at a year of age, this child performed better in a great way in situations which are highly structured in limited number of stimuli and routinely presented predictable manner (Hanbury 2007). His ability to imitate others was improved in situations which are highly structured. Those with interest in early identification of signs of autism should consider assessment of motor functioning at an early stage (Kira 2012). For this child, symptoms consisted of self-regulation difficulties and problems in motor functioning. Major symptoms of autism were not noticeable until after a year of his life. It is possible that impairments in motor functioning and self-regulation at an early age interfered with normal development of the boy (Szatmari 2004). An evaluation of the research was done. A major limitation in the research was the lack of an effective measurement of various treatments (Furneaux 1977). Much of the research was produced in an inconclusive manner, this is because there were no useful scales which were designed for the measurement of the effectiveness of treatment. Diagnostic instruments were used for the measurement of changes in treatment response. This method was not successful as it was insensitive to the child’s changes (Landau 2007). DISCUSSION OF NEEDS AND SERVICES The boy uses home occupational therapy services, which provide experienced therapists who assess their home and his rehabilitation needs (Hanbury 2007). The boy also uses home support services which help him to remain independent and safe in their home. Special exercises are performed on the boy and he is assisted with the administration of medication. He was put under an inspire programme, which is responsible for the generation and nurturing of his talents at an early age (Szatmari 2004). The boy also uses the services of a psychologist, he helps him to learn and effectively cope with the issues of life and his mental health problems. The boy also uses the services of a speech therapist, who trains and treats his speech disorders. The speech therapist has set up a programme to exercise his speech for the disability reduction (Kira 2012). The autism need and service should provide the child’s needs and aspirations into focus. Detailed support plans and strategies for the achievement of social interaction (Cooper 2004). Appropriate levels of staff should be put in place to enable the implementation of strategies in all areas (Szatmari 2004). The provision of perpetual external motivation of the child and significant intervention of staff should be put in place. Development of alternative communication systems that enable the child to communicate effectively should be implemented. There should be staff training by providing an internship programme to new staff and a programme that update existing staff skills (Furneaux 2007). The staff training programmes aim to enable the ability of staff to understand and be able to effectively relate to verbal and non-verbal forms of communication of children with autism. They should be given skills which enable them to translate situations and circumstances that cannot be grasped by the child with autism (Benaron 2009). They should be able to sense and recognize the anxiety levels of the children. They should learn the ability to make use of structure, in order to mitigate the effects of lack of motivation and to understand the effect of the child’s sensory environment (Wong 2011). The child psychological needs should be met. He should be provide with a reasonable daily diary which prepares him for routine changes (Hanbury 2007). The child should be talked to on what to expect prior to any major changes in the routine. He should be given an instructions list on his everyday activities, most preferably pictures on a wall chart with every step illustrations. Instructions should be provided using a simple language to make the child understand the information and respond appropriately (Kira 2012). Social rules should be taught and practiced, this includes, the way to greet people and provision of opportunities for interaction. The child’s spiritual needs should be put into consideration. A good spiritual background should be ensured, as the child gets a sense of belonging in spiritual gatherings (Wong 2011). Some of the needs have been met, some have not. People do not listen when the child tries to communicate, or they do not know how to deal with the needs (Cooper 2004). The child’s unmet needs should be identified and the child should be taught on how to meet the needs. The child should be assisted to handle the situation and if a punishment strategy is to be used, the level to which it helps the child should be determined (Landau 2001). The development of social needs should start early without too much instructions. The child uses trial and error to solve problems around him. He imitates what other children do and tries to learn from them. His skills started to develop and he began absorbing social trends. His development of social skills is not as fast as that of other children (Furneaux 1977). Social situations for the child need to be digested and an explanation on the situation should be given. When the child is under high stress, they are not in a stable condition to absorb information, he should not be taught new things during this period (Wong 2011). CONCLUSION Autism is a disorder that the way someone interacts and communicates with others. The exact causes of autism are not known and individuals show various symptoms and behaviors. The child with autism has various problems with his social life and communication (Kira 2012). They also have minimal interests and engage in a few activities. Many children with autism have some degree of mental retardation. Autism is a product of interactions of biology, environment and changes that occur in the process of behavioral and biological development. Our understanding of autism and the discovery of its treatment require significant research (Hanbury 2007). There are several factors which prevent the access to appropriate support services they include; high cost of services, long waiting queues, poor services in the local area, and luck of sufficient public awareness about available services, poor service coordination and shortage of staff who offer practical support (Hanbury 2007). The case study was conducted to investigate the behavior and needs of children with Autism Syndrome deficiency. The study results highlighted the various met and unmet needs of children with ASD. It focused attention on the challenges the children with ASD and their parents face and the way to mitigate the effects that come with the disorder through early detection of symptoms. The parents face problems in accessing professional support due to inefficient and appropriate services (Cooper 2004). Many children reported social and communication problems. Most of the staff providing the care support services lack appropriate skills and often unable to perform let alone secure meaningful jobs. The child with autism had a problem sharing his experiences with others. As the child matures he becomes more engaged with others and showed disturbances in behavior at reduced levels. He is slow in gaining knowledge and new skills and showed low levels of intelligence. RECOMMENDATIONS Babies usually develop at their own pace and many do not follow parenting books timeline. Children with autism show signs of delayed development with a year after their birth (Landau 2001). Development tests should be undertaken if the child; poorly responds with a smile by six months, does not mimic sounds by nine months, does not babble by twelve months, does not gesture by twelve months, does not utter any words by sixteen months or loses social skills or acquired language at any age (Cooper 2004). The use of highly sensitive screeners is recommended, it specifically identifies behavioral, communication and cognitive impairments at an early stage. Conduction of evidence-based research is recommended, that comes up with effective treatments and emphasis on sub-groups in the ASD population. Effective intervention programmes should be created that include strong family components in order to achieve good results. Conduction of effective behavioral research of communication treatment is also recommended (Wong 2011). Reference Benaron, L. D. (2009). Autism. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press. Cooper, A. (2004). Health care and the autism spectrum a guide for health professionals, parents and carers. London: Jessica Kingsley. Furneaux, B., Roberts, B., & Elgar, S. (1977). Autistic children: teaching, community, and research approaches. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. Hanbury, M. (2007). Positive behaviour strategies to support children and young people with autism. London: Paul Chapman Pub.. Kira, C., & Kira, J. (2012). A full life with autism: from learning to forming relationships to achieving independence. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan. Landau, E. (2001). Autism. New York: Franklin Watts. Szatmari, P. (2004). A mind apart: understanding children with autism and Asperger syndrome. New York: Guilford Press. Wong, D. L., Hockenberry, M. J., & Wilson, D. (2011). Wong's nursing care of infants and children (9th ed.). St. Louis, Mo.: Mosby/Elsevier. Read More