Psychology Essay (Autism)

This is an assignment I wrote for a Psychology course I took part in 2021.

It was a QQI Level 5 Psychology that I passed.

The objective was to assess a passage of writing that described a situation of a and write a certain amount of words on questions provided.

For example: Name a need not being made in Sophie's life and describe how this would effect a child.

Sophie was described as a three year old child that was showing early signs of autism in a housing situation where her mother had grown distant from the family. Her father was the person who had brought her to be checked.

The situation was fictional and created for educational purposes to get a better idea on my understanding of psychological assessment and what I could identify in the child's behaviour or surroundings that may have been causing the odd behaviour their parent had noticed.

Assignment 1: Sophie (Needs Assessment Report)

1.

One need being met in Sophie’s life is emotional support. She has a caring family unit which seems to be intact. Although her mother has been distant and not as involved as her father in the development of their relationships I would gather she still loves and cares for her, as the bond between mother and child is very strong from birth even with less than average interaction from the parent. Her mother who has experienced a difficult time coping with post natal depression has not been as involved as her father though. I am sure they are both very concerned about what could be wrong with their daughter.

They have shown their emotional support through the concern they have and by taking the initiative to take their daughter to be assessed for what could possibly be autism and getting her the necessary support and health care.

It is important for this need to be met because it gives the child clarity in knowing she is in a loving family which is what seems to be accurate to the situation. Her mother is clearly not well to an extent which she has claimed herself; this could be having an effect on the way she is interacting with her daughter.

The level of emotional support provided by parents in the early years of childhood can have a big effect on a child’s confidence and how they behave. Her father seems to take more responsibility in the role of a parent which you can tell by his initiative to be involved in the process of figuring out why his child has been acting oddly.

The idea of their daughter having some form of mental illness would be difficult for them to accept, this is possibly reason behind why Sophie’s mother was not in attendance. Although ill herself, they would both be still coming to terms with their daughter’s situation which can be hard for a parent to accept.

2.

A need not being met in Sophie’s life at the moment is consistency in her parental relationships although her mother and father are supportive parents there is a lack of consistency on the side of her mother.

Referring to the write up it gives me the image that her mother is not as supportive and interacting as her father. Consistency in a child’s life is important as they are reassured the relationships being built are valid and important which gives them security and confidence knowing they have people to turn to during their early stages of growth in life. The child could feel confusion with her mother’s lack of interaction, and very possibly does.

Although her mother is suffering from some sort of illness which was listed as post natal depression when the child was first born, Sophie is now three and a half. It would be wrong to just assume it is something she is still suffering from after such an amount of time has passed which could mean it is something different affecting the way she interacts with her child.

Sophie’s father seems to maintain a good relationship and holds more consistency to maintaining a good relationship with his daughter. I think it should be taken into account the mother and father’s relationship, there could be other factors at play causing the mothers lack of involvement and approach towards her family’s situation, either that or she could just be a quiet and reserved woman which is a possibility.

With her father’s approach to parenting, Sophie would have to notice the difference between him and her mother. Although she is a child, she will understand what a positive interaction is and what is not, so would notice the difference in how she is treated by her mother and father.

3.

One problem at play in the case study is that Sophie is possibly showing early signs of Autism. The lack of eye contact and social interaction she shows is two early signs of the condition. If it is something she is living with it would explain a lot with regards to her behaviour with parental relationships aside.

Her behaviour in a way is mirroring her mother to an extent; subconsciously children would mimic the behaviour of their parents growing up. Parents to a child are their first influences in life and without knowing they will pick up behaviours and habits copying what they do and how they act.

This is what could be happening with Sophie as there are similarities listed, like her being emotionless from time to time and not interacting with her child. Sophie then repeats this while playing with her friends.

Reference for possible causes: https://www.center4research.org/causes-autism-kids-diagnosed/

Children can show symptoms of autism from as early as twelve months, Sophie is now three and a half, if they weren’t picked up on in the past there is a possibility with further observation and monitoring of her behaviour if the symptoms continue and others begin to show that she may have some form of autism or aspergers.

Genetics is one possible contribution towards the development of this illness. 7-8 percent of cases confirmed are derived back to the individual’s genetics, but it can develop from many different circumstances. There is an increase in cases of autism in children with older parents. Prenatal circumstances and environments can also have an effect on the development f the illness. Premature birth can also increase chances of developing autism. There is still no route back to a definite cause, nor to a definite cure but different factors, such as the one’s I’ve written above seem to appear more in confirmed diagnoses situation’s.

Factor’s like these would all be taken in to consideration while actively working towards finding a cure but currently there is not one available. Support networks and organizations have grown and become widely available to families in need of direction and support while working with and helping individuals who live with the illness.

4.

I think just assuming from the initial symptoms shown above and the time spent with Sophie, a bit more monitoring would have to be done before confirming what the explanation of her behaviour is. Jumping to conclusions without the correct research wouldn’t be the best decision. But if over time autism was confirmed as what has been causing her to act in the way she has.

Behavioural management therapy is a process of monitoring an individual or groups behaviour to figure out why it is happening which could possibly be some sort of misbehaviour also then using it to see what can be done in the long term to correct it. Positive behavioural support is an approach to finding out why a particular behaviour is carried out. Different approaches can be made such as a change in environment, being taught different skills or changes made to their routine or day to day activities that will encourage a more positive and proper behaviour.

If Sophie is given the opportunity to understand and learn the abnormalities in her behaviour she may grow to understand how to behave in a more understandable manner.

There are other forms of behavioural management training which could give more insight in to what could be the problem. This would help her parent’s as it can give them some clarity over time to what is the matter with their daughter, once an explanation to her behaviour has been found then the correct steps can be taken towards getting the correct support and therapy needed.

5.

https://www2.hse.ie/wellbeing/mental-health/supports-for-young-people.html

If after further monitoring of Sophie’s health proves a condition of autism, an organization that practices speech therapy would be a good start towards working with her in encouraging her to be more social with friends and family.

Organizations such as:

Cluas: https://cluas.ie/children/

Work with children in developing their speech and personalities’ through different types of therapy, including music and working with their natural interest’s with the encouragement to progress in their area of underdeveloped social skills.

Music is a very good outlet when used correctly for therapy and can be used to enhance moods and encourage a positive atmosphere promoting social interaction and socialization. If this kind of therapy would be successful with a child, keeping them involved with music in some way throughout their childhood is a great past time to have.

Playing instruments, dancing and singing are all activities that take away from the concentration of the conversation and speech/socialization skills trying to be developed allowing natural conversation to develop, such as conversation about the music genre’s, instrument types, sounds and noises.

This type of therapy is also positive with regards to being able to introduce a child to a class setting if they keep an interest in music and it is successful in encouraging their social engagement.

Painting and art is another good option if the child is not responding progressively to music.

While encouraging creativity the child will have a way to express itself if not comfortable speaking or socializing. Depending on the severity of the situation it is a way communicate and is a good skill to develop encouraging creativity and exercising the brain.

Sophie’s parents could also take part in Community support groups that consist of parents and children in the same situations. This would be of good help to their family as they can share experiences with other people going through the same thing and learn different coping methods, way’s to encourage positive behaviour etc. that they may not have known about to help with their child’s progress in living with autism or overcoming the social difficulties’ she is facing.

It is also a good way for her parents to speak about how they are feeling with other people in a support group and give their own relationship a break from spill of emotion and thoughts that arise from the situation.

Mental illness in children is not an uncommon thing and knowing they are not alone when it comes to going through diagnosis and treatment is beneficial to the families affected.

23/06/2021

Robert Hammond