Sammy’s Mental Management Plan

This article discusses Sammy’s mental management plan for dealing with neurodevelopmental, behavioral, and emotional disorders. It provides a preliminary diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and explores the behaviors and factors contributing to Sammy’s condition. The article also outlines intervention steps and strategies for improving Sammy’s communication skills and addressing his aggressive behavior.

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Sammy’s Mental Management Plan
Student’s name
Institution affiliation
City
Date

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Sammy’s Mental Management Plan
Introduction
The children during their development mentally may get exposed to some
neurodevelopmental, behavioral and emotional disorders. These may have an impact on
psychological as well as their social life. It makes them display some involuntary aggressive,
antisocial or even ignorant behaviors. This exposes them to many risks in their daily to day
activities for example injuries to them or their peers. This means that they entirely depend on the
cautious care of their caregivers who in order to be fully effective in this they have to have
correct knowledge of the situation that they are in. Sammy is a critical example of such child. A
treatment plan of diagnosis, assessment and intervention measures is necessary so as to lay a
roadmap to the caregivers on the ways to deal with the situation in the most psychological
manner.
Preliminary Formulation
A preliminary diagnosis of Sammy is Autism Spectrum disorder, commonly known as
ASD. It has affected his behavior as well as communication. For example, he is socially
withdrawn and displays continuous injurious behaviors such as slapping himself. He is also very
aggressive and even sometimes screams at the teachers in school. When at home he does not
display the same behaviors. People having the disorder may make a little or considerably
inconsistent eye contact and tends not to look or even listen to anyone (Avenevoli et al., 2013).
They may be very slow to someone who is calling them or those making any verbal attempts to
win their attention. Sammy is seen to have a problem in paying attention to one object for a
certain period of time. He has problems in social communication and interactions with other

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people in his environment. These behaviors are repetitive even though there is some degree of
inconsistency between school life and life while at home. He gets upset with some changes in the
usual routines. He experiences irritability problems (Singh et al., 2010). He has the self-injurious
tendencies to the extent that he slaps himself on some occasions. He also loses his temper
sometimes and screams at his teachers. This shows that he temperament disorders which make
him display a violent reaction to the other people. At home, the subject is very quiet and doesn’t
exhibit the behaviors similar to the ones in school. This shows that he has a high degree of
sensitivity to routine and environment changes.
Sammy can also be placed in the category of antisocial personality disorder, which also
referred to as sociopathy. In this condition, one tends to ignore the presence, rights and the
feelings of other people (Merikangas et al. 2010). They tend to treat other people harshly and
also with callous indifference and show no degree of guilt or even remorse as a result of this
behavior. For example, Sammy screams at his teacher, an act which is morally incorrect but he
does it with the utmost degree of consciousness. He is also arrogant at times and takes some
unnecessary risks which sometimes may cause harm or injuries to others and sometimes to
himself. According to the Mayo Clinic, the victims at times happen to have poor or even abusive
relationship as it is seen in the relations with the teachers in school. This is also a serious
violation of rules which even himself is aware of. It is also an involuntary disregard of right and
wrong (Meloy & Yakeley, 2011). All the above show that Sammy has a problem with his social
life as he is generally impulsive even at his young age.
Key Behaviors
One of the critical behaviors that require intervention is communication skills. He is
reported to communicate sporadically and using very short phrases. For sure communication is

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the gear of social life and for him to interrelate well with peers, teachers, and parents, then
improvement in conversation is a fundamental issue. According to the national institute of
mental health report, the victims of ASD syndrome have great difficulties in a back and forth
communication. For example, what they are saying does not match the facial expressions
gestures or movements which they display (Kessler et al., 2010). They have an unusual tone that
sometimes sounds robot-like. This shows that they have a limited degree of participation in
conversation and it is also difficult to communicate their problems to the relevant parties of
interest. It also leads to poor interactions as other people may mistake what they mean to what
they say and how they say it.
Sammy also shows some degree of inconsistency of behaviors. There is some pressure
between the parents and the teachers as the same aggressive and ignorant 9-year-old boy in
school is the calm and quiet boy at home. This behavior is repetitive and seems to be brought up
by the change in the environment. His mind has assigned some meaning to the various situations
that he is in probably because of something that has happened to him in the past. For example, in
school, he may have been mistreated in the past and happened to keep these memories in his
mind. While at home the parents give the best care and attention to their children that they could
ever manage. He happened to register all this in his mind and it is attributable to the sudden
change in behavior when he moves from the school to the home environment (Coid & Ullrich,
2010).
The other behavior that demands attention is his injurious acts. It is clear that he partakes
in some activities without considering the risks that he could be putting himself in. He shows
disregard to what is right and what is wrong and this may cause harm to himself and others even
with imperfect knowledge that he is doing so. This can also make him take part in some activities

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that may prove very suicidal as he does not seem to prioritize his personal safety. The antisocial
syndrome is also dangerous as the wild nature of dealing with his personal issues may lead to
drug and substance abuse in the later growth stages. The victims happen to look for some
remedies to solve their problems without minding the side effects that it may have to them or the
third parties to the actions (Mojtaba et al., 2011). This also affects their social life where even
other people may avoid them to prevent inflicting damages on themselves.
Sammy sometimes displays aggressive behavior while in school. He is reported to hit,
kick and even scream at the teachers. The immediate cause of this behavior is unknown, but it is
hazardous. It shows that he has some personal grudge which he is ready to unleash by use of
violent means. This is very critical because if it is not corrected in time, it may cause him to have
poor relationships in the work, business and other social environments (De Brito & Hodgins,
2009). He rarely shows any degree of remorse after hurting others and this shows that it does not
really matter to him. This may also usher in the risk of mistreatments to the children or even his
wife in the future. It may also motivate gang or cults participation due to his comfortability while
partaking in hostile behaviors.
Maintaining Factors
The strategies which need to be applied so as to obtain the various factors that contribute
to this behavior so as to design the appropriate maintenance techniques ought to be very cautious
so as not to draw the attention of the child and effective in generating the accurate causes to this
behavior (Poythress et al., 2010). These involve constant monitoring of the moods of the child so
as to detect any changes and what may cause them. One of these changes is the anxiety. A
functional assessment of behavior should be used and the results recorded so as to assist in the
analysis during the sessions. For example, the teacher can tell him to conduct a task in a

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particular manner and observe the way in which he will react to it (Collins et al., 2011). Crying
or consequential resistance to doing it may show he does not like to do that activity. It also
indicates that the action has some meaning to him which is not really positive. If the test results
in a positive reaction, for example, a smile or readiness to do it, then it will be evident that it
pleases him. This will help one to know his likes and dislikes so as to determine what to do when
he becomes aggressive.
It is also clear that his behavior while at home is very different from his conduct while in
school. The parents, teachers and peers can be interviewed on separate occasions. They will be
asked what causes aggressiveness, calmness and the time of the day that he does so. The
interview should also involve a background check to know his history (Seedat et al., 2009). This
will help to determine the past experiences that may have resulted in the present behaviors. It
will also help to check on the degree of repetitiveness of a specific course of action because it
can only be well managed if its pattern is ascertained. The peers and the parents are the parties
who are in contact with him most of the time and so may be able to give his daily routine. These
routines are assessed to determine what exactly causes anxiety.
Sammy should take part in the general developmental screening from a pediatrician or a
care provider. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends it as it will help to determine
the level of advancement of the disease. The family members can also be assessed on whether
they have ever had a history of ASD or other genetically oriented conditions in the course of
their development to ascertain whether the state is hereditary (Patrick & Brislin, 2014). The
doctor also asks some professional questions and combine the feedback, the screened results and
his or her observations to determine the correct care or treatment action that can be used to solve
or control the condition.

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Intervention Process
The intervention steps will involve a system of multidisciplinary approaches meant to
alter his behaviors back to normal (Nock et al., 2009). The school has a significant influence on
the behavior patterns of children. School-based interventions need to be put in practice, for
example, designing a mental health program where Sammy will be mentored on the best
reactions to specific activities in a way that has minimal negative impacts on others as well as
himself. Time to time monitoring can also be done to have determined the effects of the
programme on him. The teachers can also investigate any cases of bullying in school, harassment
or discrimination (Black et al., 2010). This may be the cause of the anger towards himself that
may result in a reckless behavior. A multidisciplinary approach involving school rules,
individual counseling as well as training on conflict resolution. Well competent and specialized
personnel can be used to facilitate this process.
Clinical interventions are also applicable where Sammy can be subjected to a screening
where the physical treatment can be ascertained in a manner that it does not inflict physical or
mental injury on him. The health officer makes a report addressed to the caregiver on how to
assist him in the daily to day routines (Insel & Gogtay, 2014). The caregivers, in this case,
parents can be taken to parenting skills training on how to improve the emotional outcomes for
the child. The parents can be trained on the best manners to control his behavior by disciplining
him. He is reported to treat others in a hostile way without the conscious feeling that it is wrong.
This shows that he has to be taught how to distinguish what is right from what is wrong.
It is also clear that he has a problem with communication. He gives some short phrases
which most cases do not reflect the feelings that he is seeking to reveal. An understanding should
be built by giving him some questions that require some reasonably lengthy explanations for

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example, ‘Sammie, why are you late for class?’ The answer that he will provide trying to defend
himself will determine what the phrases mean. He can now be trained on the best way to express
his feelings, for example, smiling while happy or frowning while sad. This will help bridge the
inconsistency between what he says and what he means. He can also be trained so as to have
social and problem-solving skills.

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