Child & Adolescent Psychology

Bryan Academic Institution Byran is experiencing difficulties with social interactions (especially with his peers), what appears to be a restricted range of interests, what appears to be insistence on sameness or ritualized patterns of behavior, and agitation when there is a change in routine or when pressed to interact with others in a manner that extends beyond his interests.

Bryan is only six years old and we are given very little information regarding his developmental history other than he was a quiet child and that according to his mother he was loving and happy until the last year. We can therefore tie in the onset of his difficulties with his entrance into formal schooling where he is then exposed to social situations, interactions with others, and demands that he may not have been exposed to previously.

It is very possible that the types of behaviors that are currently being reported were not overtly evident before Byran's entrance into school (White, Kreiser, & Lerner, 2014). Nonetheless, the brief history we have is most consistent with a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2013); however, in order to make a firm diagnostic decision we would need more developmental history.

Even though it is still premature to formally assign a diagnosis to this individual given the sketchy information that is available we should be suspicious of the presence of an autism spectrum disorder as opposed to an anxiety disorder or other disorder. Based on what we are given we can for the moment rule out obsessive-compulsive disorder because his behaviors appear to be grounded in the need for restricted interests and sameness and do not appear to be associated with obsessive worry or anxiety.

Even so, more information is needed in order to formalize the diagnosis and to develop a full treatment plan. A full developmental and medical history would be in order to rule out potential other etiologies such as medication use, possible attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, etc.; however, given the brief description of the case the current situation appears to satisfy the diagnosis of autistic spectrum disorder. Further developmental information, psychological testing, etc. would help better ascertain the formal diagnosis and the severity level of his difficulties (APA, 2013).

It would be important to have a brief neuropsychological evaluation of the child in order to determine his intellectual potential, attentional abilities, level of abstraction, etc. compared to his peer group (Saulnier & Ventola, 2012; White et al., 2014). This information is important in helping to determine the level of severity of his disorder and to plan interventions as identifying a formal level of severity of his autism spectrum disorder would figure heavily in the treatment plan for this young person (APA, 2013; White et al., 2014).

Thus, before a formal treatment plan could be devised it would be extremely important to gather more information regarding the severity of Bryan's difficulties, understanding his potential strengths, and developing a formal diagnosis that can guide the treatment intervention (APA, 2013; Saulnier & Ventola, 2012). One of the important concerns in this particular case is of course the impact of the cultural background of the family regarding Bryan's difficulties in any formal diagnosis.

We are not given any information regarding the structure of the family other than Byran is of Pakistani -- American dissent. It would be extremely important to ascertain the attitude of the parents regarding their son being diagnosed with a formal mental disorder. Not only would this guide any treatment intervention plans, but it would also determine the potential for family therapy and for parental support for Byran as he attempts to negotiate through the educational system and benefit from school and treatment (Saulnier & Ventola, 2012).

Understanding how the parents potentially view the diagnosis of a mental illness is extremely important here. There is empirical evidence that more conservative, traditional, Pakistani individuals hold a less favorable opinions regarding mental illness compared to Pakistani individuals who receive more education and are more informed regarding the causes and limitations of people with mental illness (e.g. see Husain, 2014; Waqas, Zubair, Ghulam, Ullah, & Tariq, 2014).

Consequently having a discussion with the parents regarding their views on mental illness and their understanding of their child's limitations of behaviors is extremely important in developing an effective intervention plan for this young man. Such a discussion would best take place between the parents, the child's teachers, and the psychologist and potential treatment providers in order to come up with a solid understanding of where the parents stand on these issues and how to proceed given their views and attitudes.

Such a discussion should also take in the consideration potential cultural differences between the child's family and his teachers and potential treatment providers and this discussion should be done with the utmost consideration for the values of the family (Holly, Chiapa, & Pina, 2014). The first thing to do would be to schedule Byran for a formalized psychological assessment including neuropsychological testing in order to better understand his strengths and weaknesses.

A part of this formal valuation should be a complete developmental and medical history of Byran in order to rule out other potential factors that could be contributing to his difficulties. This information should be used in developing a formal diagnosis for Byran that includes the severity level of his difficulties and/or autism spectrum disorder (APA, 2013; White et al., 2014). Once all this information is gathered the next step would be to discuss the findings with the parents, development understanding for their.