Intervention Measures, Essay Example

Introduction

The problems of children pose a threat to the society their parents, and those around them. Detecting and early intervention plays a major role in addressing these problems in order to avoid the occurrence of social, behavioral, or emotional disorders (Shonkoff, 2000). According to Landreth (2010) if the problems remain unaddressed, they tend to escalate with time and result in much more extreme social or personal problems. Early detection and intervention are the most effective tools in eliminating these issues and reduce lifelong problems associated with the disorders. Early intervention programs that are effective are usually hard to employ or are employed with difficulty due to the precision followed in order to achieve desired result and the aspect of complexity of the programs themselves (Wallach, 2008).

Scenario one

Concerns

The parents concerns are that Robert is not social, as he does not play with the other kids. Their main concern regards his inability to speak, and they think it is associated with the unsocial behavior. On the other hand, the real problem with Robert is that he is autistic. This can be the situation due to his social behavior. Autistic children exhibit behavior that includes a delayed development in communication, behavior, and social interaction (Matson, 2009). The children will always develop normally in other areas but lack behind in these areas. The other evident symptoms of autism include repetitive behavior and resistance to changes. The first example with Robert is that he does not like to play with other kids, when left in a playgroup of other kids he shies away, secludes himself, and does not play with others. Robert has delayed communication development, does not speak, and only points at toys, and this is a typical symptom of autism. Children with autism also do not socialize unless it is mandatory to do so; Robert does socialize with his two sisters, and parents because it is necessary for him to be social with them in order to get what he needs. Children with autism do not necessarily develop intelligence problems and display good intelligence levels like the average intelligence level portrayed by the tests taken by Robert. Another factor that determines autism is the lack of eye contact (Matson, 2009). The present scenario is different from the parents’ perspective because the parents only see the lack of proper communication is due to the kids’ social behavior.

Autism is a social behavior that is associated with developmental disorders, which include impairment in language, behavior, or learning skills (Landreth, 2010). The recommendations for further testing to ascertain the problem should incorporate the use of other means of evaluation, which include the use of achievement assessments, criterion referenced assessments, work samples and observation.

Intervention

There are available many ways to assist children with autism overcome the effects these strategies include both educational and behavioral approach to management. These activities include the use of paired support to assist in communication, which involve supporting verbal communication with visual effects like pictures and gestures to enhance communication training. The child should also be encouraged and praised to motivate the child (Wallach 2008).

The best intervention program for autism is the applied behavior analysis, which involves the involvement of a therapist with the child to assist the child to learn different aspects. This program is most effective as it involves one-on-one participation of a professional. The other methods of intervention include speech therapy, which assist in speech development. Relationship development intervention is also available form of intervention to assist the child overcome social disorders. The other intervention mechanism is the discrete trial training, which involves the prompting of the child to do a specified task and then reduction of the level of prompting subsequently (Shonkoff, 2000).

Scenario two

Concerns

The parents are concerned about the rate of learning of the child and state that the lack of recognition of her name and potty training elaborate this. The problem with the child in this case is that she is a slow learner. The symptoms of a slow learner include the reduced ability to grasp ideas and behavior. Slow learners have a considerably low intelligence quotient (I.Q) as compared to individuals of the same age. The low I.Q is what causes the individuals to lack behind in learning what they should learn at their age. In this scenario, Teresa is a slow learner since the things she should have learnt by age she is not able to do like potty use or recognition of her own name. Slow learners do not necessarily exhibit other disorders’ since they may not have realized they are lacking behind, which include shyness or social problems (Wallach, 2008). Teresa is socially responsive, does not shy away she also responds, and does not object or decline communication attempts. The other symptom of slow learners associated with this scenario is the difficulty in responding to questions, slow learner essentially take longer time to process information and hence a longer time to respond. Teresa takes a longer time to respond to communication and only responds after the repetition of the question. The further testing techniques to diagnose the problem should involve the testing of the intelligence quotient (I.Q) in the determination of an individual’s condition. The test, however, should not only be based on the intelligence quotient test but should also include the analysis by a psychologist, a doctor’s examination, and achievement scores.

Intervention

Slow learners have a short span memory and their memory parameters are on the present only. They find difficulty in grasping new ideas and major on already existing ones (Matson, 2009). The methods used in the intervention process should incorporate emphasis on activities that require short-term memories. The use of repetition is also important in the communication process. Slow learners also have a concentration problem and find it difficult to concentrate for longer durations of time and often the use of breaks between activities, which require long durations to complete assisting. The emphasis to the areas of strength among an individual slow learner helps encourage them. The use of alternative methods of instructions to assist slow learners is a good strategy since they may not get oral instructions well. Extra attention to the child’s problem areas is important to assist the child overcome the problems. The activities assigned to the slow learner should be concrete and abstract tasks be avoided. The success of the program employed depends on the precision of the program and its consistency and is dependent on the program’s efficiency (Landreth, 2010).

References

Matson, J. (2009). Social Behavior and Skills in Children. New York: Springer.

Shonkoff, J., & Meisels, S. (2000). Handbook of Early Childhood Intervention. Cambridge University Press.

Wallach, G. (2008). Language Intervention for School-Age Students: Setting Goals for Academic Success. Elsevier Health Sciences.

Landreth, G., Glover, G. & Ray, D. (2010). Play Therapy Interventions with Children’s Problems: Case Studies with Dsm-IV-Tr Diagnoses. Jason Aronson.