Autism Spectrum Disorder: Case Study Analysis and Nursing Interventions

Running head: AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER
AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

2
AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER
Introduction
The purpose of this paper is to highlight on a case study where child is experiencing
cognitive or mental health disorder: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). I a LPN, selected the
child with ASD as the main target of interest because ASD affects both mental and cognitive
skills of a child. This developmental disorder generally appears in the first two years of life
(National Institute of Mental Health, 2019). The paper will begin with a narrative overview of
the case study that will highlight my personal experience in working with an autistic child in
the paediatric ward of the hospital. After providing the background information about the
child, the paper will highlight two main issues or problems that the child is facing. This will
be followed by analysis of the issues and how it is impairing her daily living activities
(DLAs). At the end the paper will provide specific nursing interventions and will highlight
the role of a LPN in overcoming identified health priorities. Overall I would like to highlight
the main complications experienced by ASD children and nursing interventions for recovery.
ASD is a developmental disorder. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual
of Mental Disorder (DSM-5) by the American Psychiatric Association, children with ASD
experience difficulty in communication and interaction with people and are found to have
repetitive behaviour or limited interests. The child with ASD has reduced ability to perform
properly in school, work and other sectors of life in comparison to a child (National Institute
of Mental Health, 2019). Thus taking into consideration about the complex mental and
cognitive needs of ASD child with autism, I preferred to work and analyze the need of ASD
child. Proper analysis of the need and the framing of the subsequent interventions for ASD
child will help to improve their overall health and well-being and at the same time will help
to assist them in their academic performance. According to the Canadian Press (2018), one

3
AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER
out of 66 Canadian children is diagnosed with autism. This increased prevalence of ASD
among Canadian children is another reason behind my selection of ASD child for analysis.
Case Study Background Information
In the hospital out-patient department of the paediatric unit, I meet a girl named Ana
she was brought in order to work on her gross and fine motor skills as she was suffering from
developmental delays arising from ASD. Ana’s mother reported that, “My girl Ana I four
year old. During her birth she was born as a healthy child and her motor development was
normal hitting the major milestones of standing, sitting and walking”. Then her mother
reported that, “When Ana was 3 years old, she was identified with a low tone along with
awkward motor skills”. “The doctor says that my girl has ASD and this is the reason for her
developmental delay”. “I bought her to the hospital in order to manage her gross and fine
motor skills so that she can perform equally like her friends in school”.
At the out-patient department in the hospital, I observed Ana closely. I found that Ana
is mainly communicating by the use of the non-verbal means. I also found that she use her
communication mainly for the behavioural regulation. I also found that she communicated
requests mainly by reaching for the communication partner’s hand and placing it on the
desired object. For example, when I bought a tray of chocolates in-front of her as a welcome
gift and asked her “Which one do you like to have?”, she refused to answer, After repeated
asking, She placed my hands over a dark chocolate toffee. I understood that she wants that. I
also observed that Anna played with the toys functionally when seated and showed repetitive
behaviour like she was constantly removing the shoes of one Barbie doll and then putting it
on. She was also found opening and closing the door of the cupboards constantly that
contained toys. Her repetitive behaviour gets increased when she wants of show case her
anger. She also inconsistently responded to her name and her gaze in eyes was absent.

4
AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER
Case Study Analysis: Identification of the Two Main Issues and Respective Solutions
The main identified issues with Anna apart from the fine and gross motor skills are
communication problem and repetitive behaviour in response to emotional explosion.
Communication Problems
National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Disorder (NIDCD) (2019)
highlighted that children with ASD in the majority of the times are self-absorbed and at times
seem to exist in their private work under which they have limited ability of successfully
communicate and interact with others. I also found Anna engrossed in her own world as when
she is called on by her name, she rarely responds and mainly remain indulge in playing with
toys or starting out of the windows. Øien & Eisemann (2016) reported that ASD children
experience difficulty in communicating and understanding what others want to say. Like even
after repetitive asking which chocolate he wants she gave me a blank stare and after a while
drag my hand over the dark chocolate toffee. This might be due to the fact that ASD children
seems more interested in environmental sounds like whirring of a fan or vacuum than that of
individual’s voice and thus taking time in recognising and understanding the question.
Berggren, Engström and Bölte (2016) highlighted that running out of words or gap in the
communication skills is the reason why the ASD child provides blank gaze and refuse to
indulge in active conversation. Williams, Siegel and Mazefsky (2018) argued that ASD
children have trouble in communicating non-verbally. However, Anna can effectively use
non-verbal communication skills like use of hands gestures to highlighting her needs or
choice.
Øien and Eisemann (2016) reported that impaired speech and language development
and difficulty in communication skills hampers the academic performance of the child and at
the same time impairs active participation in the social activities with other peers and thereby
hampering overall process of health and well-being. Kao et al. (2015) reported that there is a