Monday, February 23, 2009

Case Study-Adam



Adam
Adam is a 9 year old boy who was diagnosed with Autism in May 2003. Adam has been receiving OT from me since age 2 1/2 with insurance coverage! He received PT for 3 years and behavioral services for 2 years at Indiana State University. Adam is home schooled. He receives Speech from school and PT on a consultative basis, even though he does not attend the school. Adam attempted PE but it was too stressful for him. Adam's parents have tried a variety of dietary interventions which have been helpful for his cognition, speech, and behavioral development per Mom's report.
Adam's strengths are his ability to memorize facts, complete puzzles, and recall all sports facts. Mom reports that he is very affectionate and responds well to affection from his family. He calls himself "joke boy" although his jokes aren't always funny. Eating at kid friendly restaurants such as McDonald's and Chuck E. Cheese are enjoyable. However, he becomes restless if he is expected to sit and wait for food. The family cannot go anywhere without his easy grip Gerby sippy cup. Adam's weaknesses include resistance to change, inability to deal with unpredictable situations, oral defensiveness, gravitational insecurity, fine motor delays, low tone, visual motor delays, and impaired ADL function and social interaction. All domains of his life have been impacted.
Adam's parents have been married for 12 years and describe their marriage as strong, stable, and loving. They are devoted to each other and working toward raising their children. Adam's older brother is 12 years old and has a diagnosis of PDD-NOS, a younger sister 6, and a younger sister 5 who was adopted at age 3. All 4 children are home schooled. Mom stays at home and Dad is an engineer. Adam attends church regularly with his family. He will go to Sunday School independently but stays with his parents instead of attending children's church. He really enjoys his Tae Kwon Do class which is 1 on 1. He has not played with his same age peers due to scheduling, but plays with his brother. They play Star Wars and the Wii. The majority of his time is spent playing the Wii or watching his brother play.