The Case Study of Autism Paper Example

Aiden Thompson is an eleven-year-old boy born on July, 27nth 2006 in Compton, California. He is a fourth born in a family of seven children and raised by a single mother. All of Aiden's siblings are alive and free from any forms of developmental and behavioural problems. The thirty-three-year-old single mother carried the pregnancy to term and underwent a normal birth bringing a bouncing baby boy to the world who however was underweight and presented symptoms of neonatal anemia.

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The mother is a commercial sex worker and cannot identify either recognise the biological fathers to her children. Therefore, each of the seven children bears different biological fathers. According to narrations from the Aiden's firstborn sister, who brought the troubled boy to the hospital, the mother is rarely present in the lives of her children and has delegated her duties to her eighteen-year-old firstborn daughter.

Aiden was first brought to the hospital by his sister in 2007. He was a healthy one-year-old boy. However, his mother and siblings were worried that he was not doing as many things that his other three older siblings had done at that age, for example, he would not engage with toys and songs. At no point did Aiden try to make eye contact when being involved, neither did he respond to his name. Therefore, his hearing had been checked and found to be normal. He did not babble either interact as expected in social settings. Moreover, the toddler did not make noises or cry for attention from his mother or siblings. To add to that, he did not initiate cuddling to be picked up, and neither did he display facial movements.

At first, Aiden was given antibiotics which after twenty-four months did not improve his condition in any way, in fact, his communication started regressing after his first thirty months of growth, and he could barely say two meaningful words neither did he initiate imitation or repetition of sounds.

Ever since Aiden has grown to appear disinterested in the ongoings of the physical environment, he exhibits repetitive behaviour and insists on having things done as he wants while refuting correction (Matelski et al. 2016). Moreover, the boy has trouble comprehending the feelings and gestures presented by other playmates, and he doesn't look at any point offer to share his achievements neither his toys with other children. Aiden speaks in a very abnormal tonal variation of the voice and uses strange rhythms in constructing sentences. Besides, Aiden Thompson has grown to be unable to interpret simple directions and cannot understand what is being discussed at a deeper level.

Aiden presents unusual reactions to textures, smells, sound and sights. More so, he is very sensitive and hates loud noises. He is unable to realise when people enter and leave the room. He has shown signs of experiencing abnormal posture and at some point unconventional way of movement.

Having been carried to term normally during the mother's pregnancy and being delivered normally, the patient has not displayed any other signs and symptoms since his birth till date. Moreover, Aiden has not been presented with any allergies to medication and food.

Being a product of a single mother whose source of livelihood is commercial sex work, the whereabouts and the medical history of the father is unknown. However, the medical records have shown that the grandmother from the mother's lineage fell into a depression which later led to her committing suicide.

The mother is said to have carried the pregnancy to term at her home area in Compton which in 2014 was named one of the most polluted areas of the South Coast due to chemical pollutant emissions especially pesticides and metals from neighbouring industries. Besides, despite having a normal gestation period and normal child delivery, immediately after birth, Aiden had a low birth weight and experienced neonatal anaemia (Matelski et al. 2016). Both of these conditions coupled with the severe physical environment and abandonment of the mother are believed to have played a very critical role in predisposing Aiden to autism.

The meagre salary earned by the mother and the high number of dependants translates to the inability of the mother in providing all the basic needs especially healthcare to the patient. It is reported that the family survives on barely fifty dollars a day which is not enough to feed, clothe and provide shelter and health care services to all the children. As such, it has been difficult for the family to afford medical help for Aiden. Moreover, given the education level of the mother, she has been unable to provide the highly needed parental support to the patient due to lack of knowledge of the presented problem.

Aiden is a young boy, of black origin, and from a pagan family. The family has a cultural belief that autism is a curse and this has been a contributing factor to the delayed management and prognosis of the developmental disorder. Having been born of a pagan family, the family of the patient holds no beliefs concerning the disorder (Matelski et al. 2016).

Conclusion

In summary, this eleven-year-old boy needs critical help to bridge his social interaction gaps and especially his language and speech difficulties to enable him to make friends and be social with the friends he makes. Moreover, he needs assistance with his inflexibility behaviour so that he can be more understanding and accepting of change.

It is evident that this developmental disorder has been caused by the exposure to chemical pollutants within the region and other factors such as complications that arose straightaway after his birth.

References

Matelski, L., & Van De Water, J. (2016). Risk Factors in Autism: Thinking Outside the Brain. Journal of Autoimmunity, 67, 1-7