adjustment_case_study_13

Adjustment Case Study

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Adjustment Issues

According to Benton and Lynch (2006) Adjustment related issues are those that can be short term and caused by stress but they are in essence nonpsychotic. However, they can be a great source of stress and pain to a family and must be dealt with. Adjustment has a lot to do with how one deals with stressors and other factors that can cause stress and even depression. Weiten et al,.(2011) states that coping or adjustment is a way or strategy of reducing the harmful impact of effects of this issues that create stress.

Sophie is a filmmaker who has known for a while that autism is something that runs in her family because they have had such cases in the past. Her grandmother Mimi had devoted her entire life to taking care of her daughter, Dona (Sophie’s aunt0 who have an undeveloped intellectual ability though she was never diagnosed with autistic spectrum disorder(ASD) all the signs were there to suggest that she had it(Dealing an autistic child,2015)

Sophie always thought that her grandmother was a very unselfish and inspirational person to have given her entire life to take care of her autistic daughter but she never thought she was capable of giving such love that is so unconditional and sacrificial. But early on in the life of her son, Ben she thought that he might grow just as her aunt Dona and true to her fears that is exactly what happened to him and she has learnt to cope with the challenges that are posed by ASD (Dealing an autistic child, 2015)

An LGBTQ family recounts the story of their dad who had been secretly living as a gay man in a straight marriage for 27 years. When he was diagnosed with AIDS in the early 1980s the daughters (Claudia and Anton) thought he might have got a wrong blood transfusion or that he was involved with prostitutes (Reflection on losing parents to AIDS, 2015)

The girls didn’t consider sharing the story with anyone because that would have meant ostracisation and stigma from the community and they were not ready for that: to lose the cherished moments of having dinner parties at their house with friends. Shortly after diagnosis their father died and their shortly afterwards. Though they didn’t have the privilege of having parents as they grew up their only regret is that their parents didn’t have a chance to truly find love (Reflection on loosing parent to AIDS, 2015).

In the first article of Sophie Sartain dealing with an autistic child she had to learn to adjust to the inevitable. She never thought that it could happen to her or come that close to her. Sophie thought that it was a special gift that her grandmother had as she showed in her she took care of her aunt Dona but when her son, Ben was diagnosed she had to learn how to do that.

Sophie has three other children but with the challenges brought about by autism, it means she has to learn to treat her children differently and have different expectations of them. That is not a very easy thing for any parent to do. Another adjustment was to let Ben know and accept that he is unique from other kids and at the same time having his sibling understand.

Claudia and Anton had the difficulties of growing as orphans of AIDS with the stigma that is attached to the scourge especially in its early years must have been a great and arduous thing. They also had to endure the separation of their parents when their father was diagnosed with AIDS and he consequently infected their mother that led to separation.

Claudia and Anton had to watch as their father die alone because they had parted ways with his wife and she refused to forgive him for what he had done to her. The realization that her father had lived a lie for 27 years is a great issue that one needs lots of understating to get used to and bear with

Behavioral teaching strategy is one of many that has been used by Sophie to teach her son Ben how to cope with ASD .From an early Ben has been taught to know that he is differebf from other young people and he has learnt to accept who he is. He has learnt how to behave and interact with us. The behavioral teaching strategy is mainly concerned with how one behaves around people and in any other social and physical environments. Another key strategy is computer aided instruction that has worked effectively with Ben.

He is so given to computer games and even thinks of having a career in that filed when he grows up. Computer instructions work well with children with autism because they can give a variety of instructions and due to obsessive nature of autistic people they can learn much in a short span of time. Social skills training has been used to help Ben know how to blend and live with his sisters. Autistic people are by nature very poor when it comes to relating with others and hence the strategy is key for him to become a better member of the family and society. Applied behavioral analsysis (ABA) is the best strategy to be used and from the look of things Sophie has applied it from an early age and this has made Ben to adjust and learn to live with the condition.

Information sharing is one of the two that the two orphaned girls are using to deal with stigma that is attached to HIV and it is also their way of coping with the stress that is brought about by it .According to Brown et al.,(2003).This raises the level of knowledge and helps to relax attitudes. In my view this is still the best strategy that I would have advised them to use to adjust to the situation, Information sharing can involve talking to people such as friends and counsellors who might help and besides, it also therapeutic

References

A Mother Asks If She’s Selfless Enough To Care For A Son With Autism (November,2015) Retrieved from: http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2015/11/30/457878817/a-mother-asks-if-shes-selfless-enough-to-care-for-a-son-with-autism

Benton, T. D., & Lynch, J. (2006). Emedicine: adjustment disorders. WebMD. Available from: http://www.emedicine.com/med/topic3348.htm Accessed 25.9.07

Daughters Reflect On Losing Both Parents To AIDS(November,2015) Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/2015/11/29/457756739/daughters-reflect-on-losing-both-parents-to-aids

Brown, S. L. & Ireland, C. A. (2006) ‘Coping Style and Distress in Newly Incarcerated Male Adolescents’. Journal of Adolescent Health 38, 656-661

Weiten, W.; Dunn, D. S & Hammer, E. Y. (2011) Psychology Applied to Modern Life: Adjustment in the 21st Century. Belmont: Wadsworth