Autism Spectrum Disorder: The Case of Adam W.

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Adam, a 6-year-old boy in the first grade, is experiencing “a range of serious disturbances in the ways that individuals interact with and communicate with others, as well as in the behaviors that can include a person’s interest and activity patterns” (Whitbourne & Halgin, 2013). His teacher is worried that he is facing the inability to interact with other children in the classroom, make eye contact respond to children and adults when he is being spoken too, and play accordingly for his age bracket. Based on the characteristics given, Adam is troubling with an autistic spectrum disorder. His failure to make eye contact with others is one major key factor involved with autism. Also, his intense tantrums and avoidance to play with other children show extreme signs that his is hassling with the everyday struggles of being autistic and potentially a personality disorder as well.
In 2012, Goldstein, Naglieri, Rzepa and Williams all stated that an “autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is best conceptualized as a biologically determined set of behaviors that occurs with varying presentation and severity, which is likely the result of varying causes and behaviors“ (p. 1001). The biological perspective in relation to an autism spectrum disorder shows evidence that this disorder displays potential patterns of familial inheritance (Whitbourne & Halgin, 2013). On the other hand, the behavioral perspective shows convincing evidence supporting neurobiological abnormalities in the individual experiencing autistic characteristics (Whitbourne & Halgin, 2013). Treatment for this particular type of disorder that Adam is struggling with, takes extreme commitment, conditioning and they must be carried out for an extremely long period of time.
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