Autism Case Study: Seth's Development

Background: Seth is a 4 year old boy who was diagnosed with Autism. He is an only child and concerns about his development rose when he didn't engage in peek-a-boo or mimicking facial expressions/gestures. His parents, at a young age, would try to engage him or attain his attention with toys, songs, or games but Seth had no interest. Seth early made eye contact, didn't babble, or respond when his name was called. His motor skills developed at the appropriate age but at the age 2 Seth still had no words. His parents had his hearing checked, and the results came back that he was healthy, but he was diagnosed with autism and started to receive services through his public school at 3 years old.

Refer to Figure 1-1. Describe Seth’s abilities in three different elements of social competence presented in the figure.

These can be at school, in the neighborhood, etc. There is a significant amount of learning that occurs in these interactions, such as reciprocity and fairness. Since Seth is an only child, these peer interactions are even more important because this is the only time he gets to interact with others his age. Another example is the speech and language intervention at the university based clinic that Seth goes too. This affects Seth’s development because going to this intervention increases his language and communication skills that are underdeveloped for his age. Field trips such as going to the zoo, are another social context that influence Seth’s development. Here Seth learns how to adjust to be more flexible, adjust his behavior to fit varying social settings, and explore an environment outside his normal schedule. Another social context would be during playtime, or recess at school. Here Seth’s social and communication development will be most impacted because he will be presented with many opportunities to play with his other peers, and choose to interact with other kids his