Main issues in the family of Kylie
The family described in this case seems to be having a cycle of problems that keep on mutating from generation to generation. First of all the description indicates that the family has a problem of alcohol.. Margaret who was the mother to Kylie was addicted to alcohol. This problem prevented her from taking good care of her children. This made the children lack maternal care and exposed them to various dangers including sexual abuse from the foster parents. The problem of alcohol seems to have been transmitted from mother to daughter. The persistent drinking by Kylie is a matter of great concern to the family.
Steven who was the brother to Kylie has been described to have perished in an alcohol related accident. This is a clear indicator that alcohol intake by the family is costing the members and it is an issue that needs to be looked into. The fact that Kylie and her sister Sienna were sexually abused by George a person who was supposed to take good care of the girls is also an issue. As it has already been established, sexual abuse can lead to a lasting trauma that can affect women for a very long time. It is of concern to understand if Kylie and her sister are suffering from trauma related to sexual abuse that was perpetrated by her foster parent. This issue needs to be looked into to understand whether it is the cause of her alcoholic condition or there are some other causes.
The fact that Rhiannon is a child who has been diagnosed of autism is also an issue in this case. This is of concern especially considering the fact that the mother to the child is an individual who has been under alcohol influence for a long time. The alcohol situation can be said to be affecting the entire family bearing in mind that Kylie and her brother are working at a place where there is easy access to alcohol. As much as interventions can be focused on improving her life, this accessibility to alcohol remains a major obstacle.
The fact that the mother to that autism child has problems associated with alcohol means that she lacks the capacity to adequately cater for the needs of the child. The mother to the child concerned is a single mother, this is also an important issue in the sense that good parenting especially for such a child requires the efforts of both parents.
This is a family that requires a multi disciplinary therapy intervention if they are to benefit form social work. Another issue that is emergent in this family concerns how to incorporate all the concerned parties towards finding solutions to their health status.
Intervention
There are approaches that can be utilized in social work to treat the child who is suffering from autism. The approaches include applied behavior technique and the communication strategy.
Applied behavior analysis
This is a psychological approach and it underpins the use of theories of psychology to assist the autism child. This strategy employs behavior modification using stimuli, response and reward schemes. It is through these schemes that the child’s behavior is analyzed and changed for the sake of her well being. This approach is essential is training the child in social skills, motor skills and verbal skills that are very useful in the course of interacting with other people in the environment.
The need for teaching such skills arises because the autism child might be lacking the capacity or ability to pick up some of the skills from the environment by herself. Therefore the approach comes in to help the child pick the skills and effectively utilize them in future. As the social worker in charge of the child with autism, the approach can be very useful. It can also be utilized by a parent or counselor to the child. (Trevethick ,2005)
This approach can be said to be child centered because it revolves around the child and his or her behavior towards stimuli in the environment. With positive reaction to certain objects presented in the environment, the social worker has to reinforce it with appropriate rewards. On the other hand, the negative reactions are also keenly observed and punished to prevent their occurrence in future. (Jensen,2002)
According to research studies, applied behavior analysis is based on the assumption that autism children unlike the normal ones are not able to gain form the environment in terms of skills and abilities. In an attempt to assist the autism children, this approach therefore aims at using simple instructions and continuous reinforcement to encourage and discourage specific behaviors in the children as they learn form the environment. Research studies have also indicated that autism children lack the capacity to lead independent lives unlike the rest. With the applied behavior approach, autism children have hope in living independently and being active in their relationship with other people in the environment.
So far research has revealed that applied behavior analysis is the most effective approach towards treating autisms. This approach has achieved positive results in children with autism for instance improved performance in academics and other skills that are essential for child development.
Thirty years of its use in a number of autism patients has yielded positive results because it is evidence based approach. Research has also indicated that this therapy has become widely used as an early intervention to autism children and continues to give parents good outcomes. Studies have shown specific improvements for instance in intelligence for children subjected to the therapy before the age of four years. Autism children have also been able to join others in classes after undergoing applied behavior analysis.
However despite the mentioned success in the use of applied behavior analysis as an intervention measure to help autism children, there some issue surrounding the utilization of this approach. Scientists have argued that the use of aversive strategies to modify behavior do not go well with the therapy. Yelling at a child like Ewan because she has not responded as expected to stimuli is an idea that experts have tended to disagree with.If the mood and personality of the social worker is not conducive, this strategy might not work best to achieve the desired results. A social worker who does not give the child a chance to reveal his / her feelings would not be supportive in this strategy.
This strategy has also experienced lack of consensus form practitioners as to whether it should be used a lone or with other therapies. This is controversial in the sense that social workers are not sure whether to use it a lone or incorporate other approaches. Another important challenge facing the use of this strategy concerns the appropriate reinforcement for the autism child. It is a fact the wrong choice of reinforcement cannot be expected to yield the desired results in this strategy. (Horner, et al., 2002)
In terms of cost , it is critical to underpin that this therapy could prove to be unaffordable for some people especially form the low economic classes. The training that is required for the parents of the child can at time be high for the concerned parents.
All in all , it important to mention that Ewan is a child that can benefit from the applied behavior intervention therapy. Her grandmother is a very important person who can be used to reinforce positive behavior in this child. Since there is a good relationship with other people, this could provide a conducive environment for the successful implementation plan of the intervention. Kylie as the mother has the potential of undergoing the necessary training to undertake applied behavior intervention for her child. If she stays away form alcohol she can be a good parent who can use better strategies towards assisting her child. (Trevethick ,2005)
Communication intervention
This therapy is based on the assumption that the autism child has speech related problems. This is because research findings have revealed that children with autism are non –verbal or extremely verbal. Therefore in any treatment of a child suffering from autism, speech therapy is normally recommended. If Ewan is a child who is experiencing language problems, then communication therapy can be a very essential tool in helping her to develop language skills for better communication in future likes the rest.
Speech therapy can simply be considered to be teaching the child how to pronounce words. In this case Kylies child might be experiencing difficulties in pronunciation. This therapy can be used to make her start recognizing words and pronouncing them appropriately. Speech therapy as an approach can take different techniques.
Non verbal technique might involve the use of non verbal materials and even the electronic speech devices. This would excite the child and would motivate her to learn language skills.This therapy can also entail speech pragmatics which would involve teaching the child how to use certain phrases or words and at what time and with who? This aims at preventing wrong use of words of phrases during speech and communication.
Communication intervention can also entail teaching skills for conversation. This trains the child to make good use of words and sentences during conversations with other people.
According to Horner, et al. (2002), speech therapists often work on establishing and improving concept skills in the autism child. This is fundamental in future reasoning and abstract thinking. All these strategies aim at improving the wellbeing of the autism child in an attempt to make her compete effectively with the other normal children in terms of learning abilities.
Communication therapy is best performed by speech therapist who has the ability to examine the state of the child and come up with strategies of helping her to develop language skills. The autism child unlike the normal children lacks the capacity to utilize the environment to gain important language skills and abilities. The main objective of communication intervention is to provide an enabling environment that is full of opportunities for the child to gain and enhance her language skills.
These skills would be useful in her language development. With the help of a qualified speech therapist, Ewan can be assisted to develop language skills. This might involve the parents or the social worker who can be given instruction concerning the therapy.
It is vital to note that, this therapy is based on the ability of the therapist in instituting the right techniques and implementing them to help the autism child. Lack of expertise in language and speech abilities by the therapist cannot yield the desired characteristics in the affected child. This means that for communication strategy to succeed the therapist has to be very talented and well trained in implementing the intervention with the child. The role of the parent in this strategy is not clearly defined.
This means that the parent to the child is left behind in the effort to help the autism child. This is unlike the applied behavioral analysis therapy which seeks to involve the parents in the intervention. In a communication intervention, the social worker would need to undergo additional training in language and speech to sharpen the abilities to influence the child into developing the necessary speech and language skills. If a good speech and language therapist is found , communication strategy can be of very good help to the autism child. However it is vital to underscore the fact that very few studies have demonstrated the viability of this approach to autism treatment. (Simpson, 1999)
From the description presented it can be deduced that the family is not in a good position to hire a competent and qualified speech therapist to take care of the child with autism.
In terms of cost, this therapy can be considered to be of high cost due to the fact that a speech or language therapy has to be hired. Beside the high cost of speech therapists, the cost of training social workers for speech and language can be costly to some families.
It is essential for Kylie to understand that her child has the potential to learn and compete effectively with the other normal children. This can be achieved only if the right approach or theory is chosen to assist the child. As the social worker in charge, it would be vital to make the family understand the importance of the applied behavior analysis in treating the child with autism. ( Coulshed & Orme,2006)
As already established behavior intervention would also involve taking Kylie through intervention measures to help her stop her addiction to alcohol. This would also be important as far as preventing the problem of alcohol from being manifested in Kylies children.
In conclusion, it is vital for the family to first of all appreciate and recognize the problems they have before a social worker can come in to offer assistance. The parent has to recognize that her persistent use of alcohol is not good for her health and even for the two twins who require maternal care. All interventions in helping the family would require full cooperation and support so as to adequately address their main issues. The case of autism in Ewan would call for immediate action if best results are to be achieved from the applied behavior analysis approach.
Bibliography
Coulshed and Orme (2006), Social Work practice.
Milner and O’Byrne (2002), Assessment in social work.
Payne (2005) Modern social Work Theory.
Trevethick (2005) Social Work Skills, A practice handbook.
Parker and Bradley (2007) Social Work Practice, p.51.
Jensen, V.K., and L.V. Sinclair. 2002. “Treatment of Autism in Young Children: Behavioral Intervention and Applied Behavior Analysis.” Infants and Young Children 14(4): 42-52.
Simpson, R.L. 1999. “Early Intervention with Children with Autism: The Search for Best Practices.” Journal of the Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps 24(3): 218-221.
Horner, R., et al. 2002. “Problem Behavior Interventions for Young Children with Autism: A Research Synthesis.” Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 32(5): 423-446.