PSY 636 SNHU Intervention Techniques Case Discussion and Response
Compare and contrast the case study of Artie (appendix B in the text - ATTACHED PDF) to a case study previously covered in class (CHAPTER 4 OF TEXT IS ATTACHED. WE STUDIED ALL CASE STUDIES IN CHAPTER 4 SO YOU CAN USE ANY OF THESE). Discuss intervention techniques you would use when dealing with the child’s or adolescent’s disorder. Support your thinking with module material.
AFTER COMPLETING THE INITIAL POST, PLEASE ALSO RESPOND TO THE FOLLOWING TWO STUDENTS REGARDING THE SAME TOPIC!
STUDENT ONE:
A preschool named Artie, who I believe is displaying some characteristics of being ADHD and on the autism spectrum. Both disorders have similarities in symptoms which could be either or both. He is showing signs of decreased response rate when his name is called, decrease response to verbal directions, inability to stay on tasks, easily distracted, difficulty redirecting, etc. He doesn’t have the ability to imitate or mimic actions by the teacher such as standing behind the box. The teacher takes it as he’s just not paying attention; however, Artie is clearly showing signs of learning disorder. Artie is currently in a learning environment that consists of observational and auditory learning which is proven to be difficult for him to learn; because of his inability to stay on task or concentrate. It would be beneficial to do an educational screening to determine his learning disabilities but to develop an educational plan to help him succeed.
From a previous discussion module, Billy is a high school student that frequently engages in inappropriate behaviors vocally towards his teachers. The entire class laughs, boys nod their heads, and girls smile. It seems that Billy is seeking negative attention and gaining popularity status as his peers want to hang-out with him during breaks, lunch, or recess. However, behaviors increase when Billy must go see the principal (Cipani, 2017). I believe that Billy may have oppositional defiant disorder along with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Both cases have differences and similarities, however, the biggest difference is Billy is in high school and has behavioral issues. Artie is in preschool with no behavioral issues, but having trouble learning. Artie would benefit from one on one time as a group setting is proven to be overwhelming for him. An effective treatment plan for ADHD would be medication, positive parenting, one on one learning setting, positive reinforcements.
Cipani, E. (2018). Functional Behavioral Assessment, Diagnosis, and Treatment: A Complete System for Education and Mental Health Settings. New York: Springer Publishing.
STUDENT TWO:
Compare and contrast the case study of Artie (appendix B in the text) to a case study previously covered in class.
Artie, a preschool student has difficulties with classroom instruction. It has been identified that Artie has challenges with verbal presentation as well as difficulties with attending. Much of Artie’s classroom behaviors indicate that there are also some clear learning deficits. Artie has demonstrated an inability to attend as well as use critical thinking/verbal cues to perform desired tasks in the classroom. Artie’s challenges are very common in children who are on the Autism spectrum or have Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have overlapping characteristics (Visser et. al, 2016). It is typical for Artie be distracted in group settings. Artie often engaged distracting activity, such as hand weaving, turning around, tantrum behavior, or getting out of his seat (Cipani, 2018).
When treating problem behaviors, one must decrease the target unacceptable behaviors while selecting an alternate desirable behavior, termed a replacement behavior, for specific reinforcement. (Cipani, 2018). This is important for both Artie and Oskar, a seven year old with oppositional defiant disorder. Like Artie, Oskar does not follow instruction well. He often defies requests intentionally. This may be a profound difference of the two since it could be argued that Artie does not have control over his spontaneous behaviors that are not desired. Oskar on the other hand has been defiant simply because he does not want to do what is requested of him.
Discuss intervention techniques you would use when dealing with the child’s or adolescent’s disorder. Support your thinking with module material.
As Cipani (2018) mentions, for children like Artie, the efficacy of group daily practice is not the answer for Artie. Additionally, traditional forms of teaching/instruction would not be the most effective for the learning needs of autistic children. The types of techniques that a student like Artie would benefit most from would be applied behavior analysis. This type of teaching/ learning is solely focused on positive reinforcement. It clearly identifies desired behaviors to the student as they are encouraged to imitate the behavior. It also allows for 1:1 instruction and based on the behavioral plan, students like Artie could learn to attend!
References
Visser, J. C., Rommelse, N. N. J., Greven, C. U., & Buitelaar, J. K. (2016). Autism spectrum disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in early childhood: A review of unique and shared characteristics and developmental antecedents. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 65, 229–263. https://doi-org.ezproxy.snhu.edu/10.1016/j.neubior...
Cipani, E. (2018). Functional behavioral assessment, diagnosis, and treatment: a complete system for education and mental health settings. New York, NY: Springer Publishing Company, LLC.