Early Interventions

Write a summary of the main concerns that the parents have and that you have. Provide examples from the scenarios to support your concerns. Include reasons why your concerns might be different from those of the parents. Add your suggestions for the types of surveys that you might have the parents complete before coming to your office.
What are your recommendations for further testing (if necessary) and for effective strategies that can be used to help the child in each scenario.

Scenario One

You meet with a 4-year-old male (Robert) and his parents during a screening session in your office. You asked his parents to complete some surveys and permission forms prior to the meeting. From previous conversations with the mother, you know that their major concern is that Robert does not like to play with other children and, according to them, that is the reason that he has not began to speak yet.

When you meet Robert, you discover that he is a playful little boy who is well attached to his parents but who does not make eye contact when you meet him. During your play session, he does not speak at all, but instead points to the toys that he wants. He plays but when you attempt to play with him, he leaves the play area and points to another toy, leaving the toy that he was playing with for you. You ask the parents later and discover that he has two older sisters who speak for him and who communicate with him when he points. Further, you notice that he does not make eye contact with you when you call to him. To see how he acts with other children, you have him join a playgroup of varied age children. During this time, you watch him as he shies away from the group, he does not even point to toys, instead he goes to an unoccupied corner and sits down without playing with any children.

After playing with him, you administer other tests to find that his intelligence appears to be average for a 4-year-old and so, there no concerns about his cognitive skills. Still unsure about his delayed speech development and lack of appropriate social skills, you make some recommendations to the parents.

: Scenario Two

You meet with a two-year-old female, Teresa whose parents brought her to your office due to their concerns that she has been diagnosed as HIV positive and might have other problems as well. Teresa is being treated aggressively for HIV and shows no signs of health related problems yet; however, she does not seem to learning as quickly as her parents think she should. You ask the parents to better define Ã?¢â?¬Ã?"learningÃ?¢â?¬Ã?? because that could refer to many factors.

Her parents tell you that she is not yet potty trained and cannot recognize her written name. You note that she walks fine and seems to be well attached to her parents (does not cry when you come near and does not run behind her parents to hide). She smiles and waves to you when you talk to her though she seems to be slow to respond unless you repeat your words louder. Therefore, you decide to give her some tests to screen for potential problems. You note that she seems to have no difficulty playing with you, new toys, or with other children her age and a little older allowing you to dismiss suspicions of problems with socialization. Your results indicate that she needs additional specialized testsÃ?¢â?¬"you recommend those and suggest some strategies for helping her learning.
The actual deadline for this is not until December10 Thank you