Child Case Study: Autistic Child

Child case study: Autistic Child
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Child case study: Autistic Child
Introduction
Mental health is a public health challenge affecting between 10 and 20 percent of children and adolescents globally. Timely diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders are recommended to prevent severe impacts on children’s development, academic performance, and their potential to live productive and fulfilling lives (Lyons-Ruth, et al., 2017). In the 21st century, there have been developments in infant mental health, and multidisciplinary, broad-based, and international efforts have been escalated to enhance emotional and social well-being among young children (C. Zeanah & P. Zeanah, 2019). Notable collaborations from researchers, clinicians, and policymakers have resulted in a better understanding of infant mental disorders and how they can e prevented, managed, and treated. Infancy is a unique and important developmental stage because it is a period of rapid cognitive and behavioral development that constitutes a sensitive moment when a child is particularly open to and impacted by their prevailing conditions (Lyons-Ruth, et al., 2017). Owing to this recognition, infant mental health has received increasing attention in publications, popular media, television shows, and films depicting various forms of mental disorders. This child case study presents the case of Raun Kaufman in “Son-Rise: A Miracle of Love”, the 1979 film directed by Glenn Jordan that recounts efforts of Bears and Suzi Kaufman to love and support their autistic son. The paper describes autism, one of the infant mental disorders that the child in the film is living with. A summary of Barry’s family history and child assessments are described alongside the validity and reliability of autism assessments. This case study concludes with a review of appropriate interventions available to support autistic children to live better lives.
Description of the concern
Like other normal children, Raun (Casey Adams) was born to Bears (James Farentino) and Suzi Kaufman (Kathryn Harrold) without signs of autism until his parents realize the strange behaviors of their son (Vencer Autismo, 2012). After noticing that their son had begun developing problems with vision and hearing, the couple takes Raun for a medical checkup. Following the diagnosis, doctors reveal to the couple that their son is autistic and disabled developmentally. With pessimism, the doctors also declare that the condition Raun is suffering from is untreatable. However, the couple denies the doctors’ findings of the permanent disabling condition of Raun (Vencer Autismo, 2012). Determined in their efforts, Raun’s parents struggle to support him develop cognitive abilities at home through their therapeutic approaches. Raun s finally a normal child by the end of the film after the love and support he receives from his parents. Today, there is a program known as “Son-Rise” by the Options Institute at the Autism Treatment Center that is dedicated to autistic treatment and care. Raun’s condition is well documented in several academic and professional literature as an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The condition is described as a neurodevelopmental disease that is generally characterized by deficiencies in reciprocal social interaction and social communication. persons with autism also tend to present with repetitive behaviors and restricted interests (Barton & Chen, 2019). Besides, this psychopathology is associated with difficulties with sensory sensitivity, motor skills, and emotional regulation, which impact responses to interventions. Advances in psychopathology have resulted in improved approaches to ASD diagnosis and management and parents with autistic children can find support from experts and programs dedicated to supporting individuals with ASD.
In the United States, 1 out of 68 children is diagnosed with ASD before their eighth birthday. However, the average age at diagnosis in the U.S is often shortly after 4 years or later among children from low-income or minority backgrounds. Like Raun’s parents, most parents report concerns about their children’s development before they reach 2 years. Raun is first diagnosed with ASD when he is 18 months old (Barton & Chen, 2019). Parents start to notice delays in communication skills. Impairment in communication skills among children diagnosed with ASD includes deficits in social reciprocity, deficits in developing, maintaining, and comprehending relations, and non-verbal communication impairments. However, early diagnosis and interventions have shown to offer significant benefits in language functioning and a marked decline in social symptoms. There is generally increased chances that autistic children will have social communication and interaction challenges slightly later in development. For instance, at 12 months, infants with a high risk of ASD will portray signs of reduced attentiveness to their mothers and reduced dyadic mutuality (Barton & Chen, 2019). These children often use less diverse or fewer gestures to show objects. Apart from delays in gestural and nonverbal communication, high-risk infants that end up developing ASD may demonstrate expressive or receptive language when they are 12 months old. Different diagnostic systems have been developed with the United States adopting the DSM-5 that was last revised in 2013 in the diagnosis of ASD. Elsewhere in the world, the International and Statistical Association of Disease and Related Health Problems (ICD-10) from the World Health Organization (WHO) is the commonly used diagnostic system (Barton & Chen, 2019). In terms of interventions, most infants benefit from early diagnosis and intervention approaches and this has prompted efforts to establish models that are suitable for younger children.
Summary of the family’s history
The complete recovery of Raun from severe classical autism in the film is in ...