Sammy’s Mental Management Plan

Running head: MENTAL MANAGEMENT PLAN 1
Sammy’s Mental Management Plan
Student’s name
Institution affiliation
City
Date

MENTAL MANAGEMENT PLAN 2
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withdrawn and displays continuous injurious behaviors such as slapping himself.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