Assignment #2

My client is a rambunctious 2 year old boy named AJ. AJ’s initial evaluation from the Early Intervention program at 18 ½ months showed that he had poor social skills. He did not follow commands; he was all over the place and not focused. He was very self-directed; would play with toys or go to things that he was interested in and ignore everything around him. He would throw tantrums for 30-40 min. His social skills were inappropriate; he would bite, scratch, and hit other children. In addition he did not speak much. He whined, babbled or made other noises to communicate. He was unable to express himself. At the time AJ’s parents attributed AJ’s behavior to a lack of verbal communication and the need for stimulation.  

AJ has improved tremendously since the onset of this program. He is able to communicate verbally. He is also able to focus and follow instructions as well as sit and play with toys. His social skills have improved and he now plays with other kids, but occasionally he pushes, grabs, hits and scratches other kids.

          AJ’s parents are still very concerned with their son’s behavior. AJ’s mother recently had a baby. Due to AJ’s behavior his parents are very concerned to leave the baby in a swing or on a mat with AJ around. There have been several instances where AJ scratched or tried to scratch the baby. Recently an incident occurred were their son scratched his cousin’s face causing him to need stitches. This made AJ’s parents realize that they need more help with his behavior at home. They feel as if they have no control over his behavior.

At home AJ’s mother felt that by constantly putting AJ in "time out" for his behavior, she was being to harsh. Therefore she was very inconsistent with "time out" and has been trying to keep the two children as far apart as possible. If her son did attempt to scratch his sister, she would tell him "no scratching" and  move him away from the situation. However this is not stopping her son from trying to scratch and hit his sister. In addition, since his mother can not leave the baby in a swing or on a mat, she is constantly holding the baby which is making AJ jealous.

 Also, their son’s behavior is making it very stressful at home. Sometimes his parents argue about the right way to deal with AJ’s behavior. His mother gets upset when her husband puts their son in  "time out" all the time, and her husband gets upset when his wife just takes AJ away from the situation. AJ’s behavior is becoming too difficult for his parents to manage alone. They want help to figure out the proper way to modify their son’s inappropriate behavior.

I am now assigned to help AJ’s parents design a behavior modification program that is tailored for their son. AJ’s parents and I decided to focus on specific aggressive behaviors which include; hitting, grabbing, pushing and scratching. To evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention; I told AJ’s parents to count the number of times AJ acts out one of these aggressive behaviors between 3:00 PM and 5:00 PM for three days. I also asked them to write this information down in a journal as well as what went on during this time period. In addition I asked them to assess his mood during that time by using an anchoring scale from 1-10. One meaning he was in a very cranky mood and 10 meaning he was in a very pleasant mood. The next time I meet with AJ’s parents we will come up with an appropriate intervention plan.