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Final Paper: Proposed Treatment/Intervention Plan

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Final Paper: Proposed Treatment/Intervention Plan

Part One: Diagnosis and Explanation

DSM-5 Diagnosis

Client X presents with symptoms and behaviors that are consistent with a DSM-5 diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (299.00), with Language Impairment.

Presenting Challenges/Problems

Insomnia

Anxiety problems

Language difficulties (Silberman, 2015)

Description of the Challenges

Client X, 15, wakes up excessively numerous times during the night especially when he goes to bed when he takes coffee in the evening. His parents report that he appears anxious frequently, especially on days when any of his classmates refers to his autistic condition in ways that he deems demeaning to him. His language flexibility in varied contexts remains limited. His parents indicate that he may have developed the language difficulty since he was born prematurely.

Client’s Initiatives

Client X’s parents dissuade him from taking coffee in the evenings whenever they are around. The client has been keen on reducing his coffee intake over time to alleviate the insomnia. The client has been engaging in various hobby activities, including reading, when stressed to alleviate the stress. In addition, the client engages in imaginative plays to help him in practicing acquired language competencies and bolster his language flexibility in varied contexts (Amaral, Dawson & Geschwind, 2011).

Part II: Intervention/Treatment Plan

When working with the client, I will focus on three areas. First, I will focus on regularizing his sleep patterns. Second, I will focus on reducing his stress levels. Lastly, I will focus on enabling him practice his acquired language competencies and bolster his language flexibility in varied contexts. I will be keen on stimulating his general language development in ways and contexts that are integrated.

Goals and Expected Outcomes

Regarding the insomnia, the intervention’s goal will be to regularize the client’s sleep pattern (Durà-Vilà & Leṿi, 2014). By the end of the intervention, it is expected that the client will express a regular sleep pattern. Regarding the stress levels, the goal will be to enable the client to identify situations that can cause him stress and steer clear of them. The corresponding expected outcome will be having the client being capable of identifying the situations and staying away from them. Regarding the language difficulties, the intervention will be aimed at stimulating his general language development in ways and contexts that are integrated. It is expected that by the end of the intervention, he will be capable of using language flexibly in varied contexts.

Treatment Modality

The intervention, or treatment, will have a cognitive element and a behavioral element. The cognitive treatment relating to the insomnia will entail taking the client through stimulus control sessions in which he will be guided to only head to bed when he is tired and limit his activities at night to sleep. The behavioral treatment relating to the insomnia will entail encouraging him to only head to bed when he is tired and limit his activities at night to sleep by rewarding him any time he does not wake up at night. The cognitive treatment relating to the anxiety will entail teaching him breathing, as well as relaxation, techniques to regulate anxiety. The behavioral treatment relating to the anxiety will entail rewarding him any time when he remains relaxed throughout the day. The cognitive treatment relating to the language difficulties will entail taking the client through language, as well as speech, competence building sessions where direct simulation training will be done. The behavioral treatment relating to the language difficult will entail encouraging the client to play with peers with good language flexibility in varied contexts to learn from their role modeling.

Case Management Activities

Case Management Activity

Completed by client

Completed by social worker

Stimulus control regarding sleep

X

Encouraging the client to only head to bed when he is tired and limit his activities at night to sleep

X

Teaching the client breathing, as well as relaxation, techniques to regulate anxiety.

X

Language, as well as speech, competence building sessions

X

Play with peers

X

Referral to speech therapists

X

References

Amaral, D., Dawson, G. & Geschwind, D. H. (2011). Autism spectrum disorders. New York:

Oxford University Press.

Durà-Vilà, G. & Leṿi, T. (2014). My autism book: A child’s guide to their autism spectrum

diagnosis. London: Jessica Kingsley drafters

Silberman, S. (2015). Neurotribes: The legacy of autism and how to think smarter about

people who think differently. Crows Nest, NSW: Allen & Unwin.