Interview with a Parent of an Autistic Child - Assignment Example

September 11, Interview with a Parent of an Autistic Child One was fortunate to have been given the opportunity to interview a parent of a child, diagnosed for autism. A 35-year old mother, a next-door neighbor, was interviewed. For purposes of presentation in the current discourse, she would be referred as Mrs. A. She has a ten year old son with autism, Josh. She also has another child, a twelve year old daughter, Samantha. The following questions were hereby presented with the appropriate responses: 1. Describe childs disability. According to Mrs. A, she and her spouse first noticed that there was something different from Josh by the time he was to celebrate his first birthday. Based on their experience on raising Samantha, the child was already speak some words when she turned one year old. With Josh, he was unable to speak and he seemed isolated and unresponsive to normal gestures, like waving or clapping. In addition, Mrs. A remembered Josh to be interested in some others things and does not seem to be looking into their eyes. Otherwise, he was a normal child in physical features (in weight and height, and use of functioning abilities). Likewise, when he started manifesting some speaking skills, it was evident that it was already in a delayed stage: at around three years old. Josh started mimicking what Mrs. A was saying. His first words were ‘hello Josh’ and ‘mommy’s here’. In addition, Josh seemed to exhibit uncanny interests and skills in parts of his toy, particularly those that entail building and putting parts of figure robots together. Eventually, when he regained more communication skills, Mrs. A relayed that he seemed to be pre-occupied with talking about the video game that he played in his personal computer. 2. When and how was disability diagnosed? Mrs. A disclosed that aside from his regular check-up to his pediatrician, who already suspected that there were symptoms of autism at the age of two, Josh was confirmed to be autistic by three years of age. It was narrated that Mrs. A was referred to a developmental pediatrician who run tests on Josh to confirm the disability. 3. How does the disability impact childs functioning? As noted by Mrs. A, the disability actually did not hamper the child’s normal functioning. There were instances that Josh exhibited anxieties and preponderances to tantrums due to loud noises or when some circumstances prevented him to conduct his behavior according to routine. As disclosed, Josh developed the habit of eating, doing personal hygiene, playing, watching television, and napping at exact periods of time. As such, according to Mrs. A, when the family has to leave the house to engage in outdoor activities or encourage Josh to accompany them to shop, they observed that Josh seemed irritated and uncomfortable that his routine tasks would not be undertaken, as expected. 4. What has been most challenging in raising the child? Mrs. A responded that the most challenging aspect in raising the child was trying to discern how to appropriately react and respond to Josh’s unusual behavior during tantrums or when he feels agitated. Since Josh was not proficient in relaying his feelings and emotions, as well as in expressing what he wants or why he reacted the way he did, Mrs. A had to try different ways to appease his distraught behavior. As emphasized, the learning process was much like a trial-and-error process where she had to experiment on techniques and strategies which would fit Josh’s needs. 5. What have you found to be the biggest pleasure in having a child with exceptional needs? As noted, Mrs. A indicated that the biggest pleasure in having a child with exceptional needs is the fact that she feels how Josh appreciates the love and support being showered by the family members on him. Accordingly, he has a special way of manifesting gratitude by suddenly saying ‘I love you’ in the most unexpected situation. Likewise, as she emphasized, just seeing and observing Josh going through the stages of development, as a health child, despite the autism, was enough reason for joy. 6. What have been your experiences regarding the schooling for the child? At first, Mrs. A narrated that they sought the advice of the developmental pediatrician to consult a special education teacher regarding schooling of Josh. There is a nearby school, run by Dominican Sisters, who accommodate special children into their curriculum. The special education teacher evaluated Josh and determined his level of preparedness to be incorporated in a normal traditional classroom setting with other children without disabilities. As such, Josh tried both classroom settings (with other special children and with normal children). Since his autism manifestations and symptoms were not, in any way, expressing violent tendencies, Josh was noted to have been successful in immersions to normal traditional classroom settings. However, his special needs were allegedly addressed and augmented with special instructional approach for autistic children, as deemed needed. 7. Have these experiences changed over time? The schooling experiences changed over time; since, according to Mrs. A, the school recommended a program where the focus of instruction would be to develop skills that were weak and to focus on further strengthening abilities where Josh excelled. At ten years of age, Mrs. A disclosed that the school focuses on developing skills in social interaction and to improve more on his communication skills. 8. How could these experiences with childs school be improved? Mrs. A signified satisfaction with the current developments and thrusts that Josh’s school has provided. Since the school employs competent and qualified educators in the developmental and special education needs framework, the previous experiences encountered by Josh was used to define future strategies which would address his further growth and development. Likewise, Mrs. A even mentioned that the school recommended a program which would assist Josh in developing skills for becoming an independent individual through harnessing abilities that could be used as a productive endeavor. 9. What other agencies or individuals have you worked with towards meeting childs needs? Mrs. A said she worked with agencies that provide authoritative information about autism, with the developmental pediatrician, and the special education teachers at Josh’s school. 10. Is there anything you would like a professional entering this field to know? A professional who would like to focus and specialize in addressing the needs of autistic children should be able to accurately assess the distinct and unique needs of an autistic child and be able to design an instructional approach that would make the child grow into a productive and happy citizen. Personal Reflection After thanking Mrs. A on the responses to the indicated questions, one realized that there are opportunities for learning from the experiences of a parent in raising a child diagnosed for autism. One acknowledged that this is a challenging experience; but from the responses of Mrs. A, there were vast privileges for appreciating raising an autistic child. For whatever difficulties, a parent of a disabled child would remain persistent and committed in doing what is deemed best to serve the best interest of the person they love, despite the disability. Work Cited Mrs. A, Parent of an Autistic Child . 30 May 2014. Interview. Read More