Psych

Name: Nyree Date of Birth: 6/1/2010 Interviewer: Leonie McLaughlin Date of Interview: 2 March 2019 Background and Family Nyree is an eight-year-old girl residing in New Rochelle with her mother and younger brother. Her parents are not married and recently worked out an agreement which allows Nyree and her younger brother to spend Fridays with their father. Nyree has four other siblings on her father side and one older brother on her mother’s, and she is not close to any of them except her younger brother that resides with her. Nyree is Spanish and African American. Nyree’s mother is a Front Desk Manager at a Dental Office in Harrison. She has been working in the Dental field for almost 20 years. She attended Monroe College and received her Associate's degree in Criminal Justice. Her father did not attend college and is currently unemployed. Nyree spends the majority of her time at home with her mother and youngest brother. Nyree’s has frequent visits from her uncle and frequent video calls from her grandfather on her mother’s side. Nyree rarely gets to spend time with her father’s side of the family due to past circumstances. The communication between Nyree’s mother and father is very aggressive and often leads to arguments and insults. They only communicate through text messages and occasional phone calls, and any face to face communication is done during drop-offs and pick-ups. Nyree enjoys going to the park, reading, drawing, and playing educational games on her tablet. Nyree’s mother describes her personality as sweet and loving. Nyree is very friendly but does not have friends at school. Nyree’s only friend is her mother’s best friend's daughter who also has autism. Nyree’s mother believes her strengths are her gross motor skills. Nyree has weakness in fine motor skills, speaking, and understanding. Nyree becomes frustrated in attempts to make her feelings, thoughts, and needs known and tend to act out her frustrations through vocal outbursts or other inappropriate behaviors such as hitting and biting. Diagnostic, IEP Process and School Setting Nyree had her first evaluation when she was two years old. Nyree’s mother noticed that she appeared to be in “her own world” not making eye contact or engaging in social games with other children. She played only in a highly receptive fashion. Nyree’s mother disregards what she noticed and sought advice from friends who advised her to have Nyree evaluated. It’s was not until Nyree’s mother found her staring at a light for long periods that she decided to speak to the pediatrician about what she had observed. Nyree was diagnosed as having Autism at two years old and was placed in an early intervention service. Research indicated that the earlier instruction and intervention begin, the stronger the academic and behavioral gains are for the student as they get older (Smith & Tyler, 2014). She received her first Individualized Education Plan, also known as an IEP, in Pre-k. The IEP recommended that Nyree needed ABA therapy and be placed in an 8:1:2 Intensive Management Program, which is designed for developing a student’s emotional control and appropriate behavior in social and individual situations. Nyree’s mother was overwhelmed with her new diagnosis. With this new diagnosis, Nyree needed additional and more specialized services to support areas of communication, social, play, learning, and self-help skills. She was placed in a Special Education classroom right after Early Intervention. Nyree’s mother was skeptical during the IEP process, it was very nerve-wracking and discouraging in the beginning, however, in the end, she found herself agreeing with procedures that were set in place. Without having an individualized family service plan (IFSP), which helps families keep track of the services their child should receive (Smith & Tyler, 2014). Nyree’s mother believes the transition from the early intervention to preschool would have been a lot more challenging. Remediation Nyree’s mother has been receiving endless support from her friends, brother, and father. Her brother was living with them for a few months to help out with childcare because past babysitters were not comfortable with watching Nyree. She does not receive any help from the father’s side of the family and they are very ignorant when it comes to Nyree’s disorder. It has been a few years and they are still having a hard time trying to figure out how to cope with it. She receives a lot of support from Nyree’s teachers. They offer great advice and always gives suggestions on how Nyree can be better at school and at home. Nyree teachers have not made any special accommodations for her but they do send ample activities to work on at home. Nyree’s mother has taught her younger brother how to interact with her, so he’s able to understand her better. She stated Nyree has made many communication gains. She is able to express when she is feeling frustrated, sad, frustrate and sick. Nyree continues to expand her language skills and began to generalize her sentences to include names of family and peers. Nyree’s mother treats her the same as any other child, she does not see her as different. She enjoys her quirks, celebrates her successes and does not compare her to others. Reflection Nyree’s mother knew that she had a problem, so she never questioned her diagnosis. She was always willing to do anything to see Nyree progress. She used to feel that the services that were put in place would help Nyree overcome her diagnosis. Since time has passed, she has now realized that Nyree will forever have the disorder. This falls under the medical model, which assumes that the deficit exists within the individual (Baglieri, S., Valle, J. W., Connor, D. J., & Gallagher, D. J. (2011), and the goal is finding a way to cure or prevent the disability. This model is based on maintaining or returning to normalcy; normalcy is constructed to create the “problem” of the disabled person (Davis, L.J. (2013). Parenting is hard work. But when you’re raising a child with special needs, the level of care and stress is not just higher—it shifts the foundations of families and adds unimaginable complexities for everyone involved. Parents of autistic children deserve all the support and help they can get. By hearing Nyree’s story I have learned more about autism and the range of emotions that are felt by parents than any textbook could have taught. Nyree’s mother felt that she had to start a new life due to having an autistic child and all the hardships she is currently going through in trying to do what’s best for her. I have learned that no-one can prepare you for the emotions that come with parenting special needs children, especially as a single parent. It is full of questions, self-doubt, and eventual acceptance of your situation. Each new challenge for Nyree can trigger old emotions sending her mother back into the cycle of grief.  Therefore, parents need more moral social support from both formal and informal support systems in order to promote effective methods of coping. References: Baglieri, S., Valle, J. W., Connor, D. J., & Gallagher, D. J. (2011). Disability Studies in Education: The Need for a Plurality of Perspectives on Disability. Remedial and Special Education, 32(4), 267–278. https://doi.org/10.1177/0741932510362200 Davis, L.J. (2013). Introduction: Normality, power and culture. In L.J. Davis (Ed.), Disability studies reader (4th ed., pp. -14). New York: Routledge. Smith, D. D. & Tyler, N. C. (2014). Introduction to contemporary special: New Horizons (1st ed). Upper Saddle River, NJ: .