A Case
History
by
Lola
Austin, PhD
D&R
Clinic
I have been seeing
a youngster who is now 5 years old. When I first began seeing him, he
and his mother were both severely depressed because of the death of
his father. They had spent approximately a year and a half in their
apartment, really not seeing anyone or doing anything. This young
boy's motor, language and social skills were delayed. He was still
not completely potty trained and he had been seen recently by two
other professionals, both of whom diagnosed him as having autism. It
was my impression that he was not autistic because he was interested
in what was going on around him and, although he was very anxious and
very frightened, I noticed that he wanted to have attention focused
on him and that he wanted to make contact.
Slowly I began to
build a relationship with him through talking to his mother and by
doing some parenting type things with his mom. This included helping
her find different ways of disciplining him and teaching her how to
give herself time out. At the present time, I have him in language
therapy with one of my staff members at the clinic. He was able to
begin public kindergarten this year and his speech has progressed. He
will now hold short conversations. He can sit in groups with other
children and participate and listen to what his teacher is
presenting. His motor skills are still delayed, although he can write
his name now. His language skills are still delayed, however they
have improved a great deal and I am excited about his progress. I
predict that if he continues along his current lines of development,
he will be just a "regular kid" by second or third grade, a quite
dramatic change from austism.
In addition, his
mom is now able to express her feelings. She is beginning to mourn
her loss and she is no longer numb and withdrawn. She has enrolled in
classes in college and she is looking toward the future. She is
realizing that it would be a great thing to build friendships, to get
out more, and the most important thing of all is she is able to cry.
She had not been able to cry over her husband's death and mourn or to
get in touch with her overwhelming anger about being left with this
child.
It has been very
exciting to watch both of them grow and become better able to
function personally, emotionally and socially as the take their life
journey one day at a time. That's the joy of doing this kind of
work!
Dr. Austin, a
licensed psychologist, is the owner-director of the Diagnostic and
Remedial Reading Clinic. You can learn more about her and the clinic
by clicking on D&R
Reading Clinic
and/or Lola
Austin, PhD
or call Dr. Austin at 210-341-7417.
