University Nursing Report: Mental Health and Autism Spectrum Disorders

This nursing report provides an overview of mental health disorders, with a specific focus on Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). It begins with an executive summary highlighting the prevalence and impact of mental health disorders, particularly depression and ASD. The report then presents a case study of a 13-year-old boy named Joel, who exhibits symptoms of ASD, including social isolation and communication difficulties. The analysis of the case study emphasizes the importance of a multidisciplinary team (MDT) including a special educator, clinical psychologist, pediatrician, and mental health nurse, to develop an effective care plan. The report outlines management strategies, including the roles of various healthcare professionals and the importance of a holistic approach. Recommendations for nursing care, such as providing a non-stimulating environment and gaining the patient's trust, are also included. Furthermore, the role of district health nurses and relevant organizations in supporting children with ASD is discussed. The report concludes by emphasizing the need for early diagnosis and comprehensive care for individuals with ASD, along with the significance of patient-centered care and interventions like mindfulness-based therapies.

Running head: NURSING
Topic: NURSING
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

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Part A:
Executive summary
Over the years there has been a distinct population affected by the word wide prevalence of
mental health disorders. According to the recent reports from the World Health Organization,
mental disorders have been comprising of a broad range of various and vivid symptoms
(WHO 2019). Mental health disorders are usually characterized by the combination of
behavior, thoughts and emotions. The most prevalent mental health disorders are depression,
schizophrenia and bipolar disorders (Zeanah 2018). Such disorders affect a wide range of
population varying in gender, caste age. The ever increasing burden on the mental disorders
is increasing day by day and this increase has a significant impact on the health as well as
major, social, economic, human rights in all countries across the world. Depression is the
most common mental disorder and it has been considered as one of the pivotal cause of
disability all across the world by the World Health Organization (Chiesa et al. 2015).
Approximately 3000 million are affected by depression and according to scientific studies it
has been found that women generally suffer from depressive symptom more than men.
Autism spectrum disorders of ASD is an important mental health disorder (Baio 2014). ASD
is considered to be a developmental disorder where the behavior and communication of the
person is affected. Since symptoms appear during the first two or three years of life, autism
spectrum disorders are known as developmental disorders. As per the specifications of the
Diagnostic and Statistical manual of mental health, the main symptoms shown by the people,
mainly children include communication problems and interaction with different people
(Bryant 2014). Moreover, there has been restricted interest as well as repeated behaviors
leading to social isolation. Moreover, there are various symptoms which usually affect the
ability of the person for proper functioning at school, workplace as well as other areas of life.
Autism is usually considered as a spectrum disorder as there is a wide variation in the

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severity and types of the experience of people. According to the statistical reports of the
prevalence of ASD by the centers of Diseases control and prevention, there is an estimated
increase by a whopping 15 percentage nationally. The target group of this disease are mainly
children varying from the age of 8 -18. Moreover it has been found that 1 out of 59 children
have a diagnosis of ASD by the age of 8 in 2014 (cdc.gov 2019). Although the ethnic gap
have been kept in control, still the percentage of white children have been found to be more
than minority children. Thus it can be clearly seen that children with such disorder need
early diagnosis. In Sydney an estimated 1 out of 70 Australians have been affected by the
diseases. There has been a number of organizations in Australia helping children with autism
spectrum disorders (Christensen 2018). The autism CRC have been the first nation research
cooperatively which has been an effort in the education and diagnostic ability in children on
the spectrum. The research has been aimed at escalating the health of children. Thus the
development in research regarding the autism spectrum disorders in children would lead to
enhanced condition of the population suffering from such disorders.
Part B:
Analysis of the case study and its relation with the disease
The following case study revolves around a 13 year old boy named as Joel. She has
been living with her mother Katie and sister among the local neighborhood of Western
Sydney. Regarding the background of his family he has been living with his mother and his
parents have separated. Katie is a single mother and have been having financial problems
regarding the finance and cost of her family. Joel has been found to have problems in
adjusting to a new environment. He have found to show symptoms like social isolation and
slow cognitive processing. Furthermore, the pivotal problem with Joel is difficulty in
socializing with other people. Joel has also been found to show aggressive symptoms not
knowing the actual cause. Social anxiety, social isolation, behavioral problem and self-

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restriction from activities are the most important symptoms involving the behavioral problem
of Joel. These symptoms are suggestive of autism spectrum disorder the main justification for
the diseases being social miscommunication, delayed mental development and undeveloped
communication skills. He suffers from the constant fear and inferiority complex while mixing
with his friends. He is self-conscious of his difference in socialization. Moreover he has not
been following the medications and have been found to cease his treatment for a short time
period as his self-awareness regarding his present mental condition have led to such decision.
The following paragraphs would encompass the various ways of managing the symptoms of
Joel’s condition and formulation of a care plan which would be effective in reducing the
severity of the conditions seen in Joel.
Management and care plan for Joel
Effective management strategies and formulation of effective care plans are important
for the control of the diseases condition Joel has been suffering from. There is the need of a
Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT) which would be effective in formulation of a care plan
tending to the specific requirements of Joel (Davidovitch et al. 2015). The various members
comprising the multi-disciplinary team would consist of a special educator, occupational
therapist, clinical psychologist and a pediatrician. The special educator would help in
providing academic intervention as well as support for the children especially those with
special needs. Special education teacher would help Joel with the kind of behavioral disorder
he had been suffering from (Harris and Jordan 2014). The instructor would help in
adjustment of Joel to the learning environment, introduce assessments for the differential
instruction for children like Joel who are slow learners. Moreover focusing on the behavioral
issues and the aggressive symptoms simultaneously controlling them would be another
important function of the special educator. The clinical psychologist would help Joel with
individual psychotherapy and introduce interventions for controlling the aggression as well as

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attempts to delineation which would ultimately be focused in improvement of compliance
(Woodman et al. 2015). The help of a general pediatrician is important as it would help in
addressing the concerns of the parents and the caregivers. Moreover the pediatrician is a
qualified and specialized heath professional who would assist Joel in recognizing the at risk
children like Joel through various maintenance visit as well as screening tests. Moreover,
helping caregivers regarding the advocacy of the child would be another important role of the
pediatrician. The most pivotal function of the pediatrician further would be medication
management of Joel for the various disorders related to attention as well as behavior
problems (Levy et al. 2016).
Primary care nurses would help Joel in delivering an effective person centered care as
well as effective healthcare for the people with ASD. The mental health nurse is required for
the case of Joel who would help him in coping up with the persistent deficit in the social
interaction as well as social communication existing across various contexts. Moreover the
mental nurse would help with the various repetitive behavioral patters of Joel which is
inclusive of his isolation from social events. Moreover the mental nurse should help in the
increased awareness as well as attunement to the various behavioral problems Joel has been
suffering (Fortinash and Worret 2015). The primary care nurse would be helpful in
facilitation of primary care services for children like Joel. Regarding the formulation of an
effective health plan the nurse would carry out a diagnostic evaluation of individuals which
would be inclusive of a relevant case history, including all necessary information about Joel.
Moreover a medical evaluation would be carried out for the general physical as well as
neuro-developmental examination involving vision and hearing testing (Cooper, Smith and
Russel 2017). The assessment carried out by the mental nurse would be inclusive of carrying
out an evaluation of the augmentative as well as alternative communication for the

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facilitation of functional improvements. Further tests for Joel based on the severity of the
disease would involve genetic testing, and metabolic testing (Bakken and Sageng 2015).
Recommendations
There are various ways of dealing with children suffering from autism spectrum
disorders. Nursing care would require extra compassion as well as patience for Joel. Taking
care of patients like Joel would be physically as well as emotionally challenging for nurses.
Thus nurses should try to gain the cooperation as well as trust of the patients like Joel
suffering especially from autism disorders. The nurse would assist Joel in helping with the
activities of daily living. The mental nurse would help in securing a non-stimulating
environment for encouraging Joel in his academics. Taking the advice from the parents of
Joel is most important for the nurse as they would be helpful in providing past medical
history and introduce interventions which would reduce his social reduction (Kronenberg et
al. 2015). The nurse should carry out physical assessment involving visual inspection
followed by cooperative progression. The mental health nurse would involve the help and
cooperation of other healthcare professionals of the MDT in the establishment of an effective
therapeutic relationship with the patient, Joel in this case which would help him to open up
with the environment in which he has been living (Dillenberger et al. 2014). The nurse should
follow a holistic approach according to her mother which would be revolved around the care
and support given to her child above all other disorders. Provision of a patient centered care
is another factor to be considered by the nurse for increasing effective communication with
the patient. For the problems regarding self-awareness and social isolation intervention based
on mindfulness would be incorporated by the nurse. Such therapeutic approaches would
ultimately help Joel in escalating his awareness and low self-esteem along with the fear of his
disease being evident among his friend circle. Various assessments which would be helpful
of Joel include mindfulness based cognitive therapy, acceptance and cognitive therapy and

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dialectical behavior therapy. The nurse should also take strict measure regarding the
diagnosis of the ASD like symptoms in Joel. It would be done in two steps involving
Developmental screening as well as comprehensive diagnostic evaluation. The
comprehensive diagnostic evaluation would be targeted at the assessment of the behavior of
the child which would be inclusive of vision screening, neurological screening and other such
methods. The developmental screening would be targeted at the assessment of basic skills
which would be focussed on the aggressive symptoms and those involving behavioral
problems and social isolation.
Role of district health nurses
District health organizations play an important role in taking care and support to
children suffering from mental health disorders. The Children’s hospital network in Sydney
has a wide range of professionals catering to the needed of children with autism like
symptoms (Sidrak, Woong and Woolfenden 2019). Moreover it helps children though its
association with raising children’s network website for information. The autism spectrum
Australia (ASPECT ) is another organization which would be helpful for Joel
(schn.health.nsw.gov.au 2019). The services provided by the central coast local health district
would be involved in the provision of services which would reduce the need for children to
be admitted to hospitals which could help them to stay within the comfort of home. Special
services are provided by children requiring overnight in-patient car which could be
transferred to the children’s ward at the Gosforth hospital (cclhd.health.nsw.gov.au 2019).
Special care is often provided for the children having chronic as well as complex medical
conditions with behavioral disorder along with general pediatric conditions which would
require special assessment and treatment like Joel.
Thus from the following paragraphs it can be understood that special treatment and
care should be given to Joel for his escalation of the present health condition. Moreover, there

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should be formulation of effective care plan by the multidisciplinary team along with the
mental health nurse helping him in fast recovery.
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