Lesson 1: Common Childhood Disorders

Description

The parents of Heinrick, a three and a half year-old boy, consulted a doctor regarding the odd behaviour of their son. As a baby, Heinrick did not respond to social contact or “baby” games (unlike his younger sibling) and was aloof from others. Although his appearance was normal and his motor development age-appropriate, Heinrick had no interest in other children and ignored his parents. If he were in the care of an adult other than his parents, he would scream most of the time.

Heinrick did not speak much, but when he did, the content was a repetition of what others had said – usually mimicking the same accent and style of speech of the original speaker. Heinrick did not use hand gestures or facial expressions when communicating. Also of interest, bright lights and rotating objects captivated Heinrick – he would stare at them and laugh, flap his hands, or dance. This behaviour was also observed when he was listening to music.

The only toy that interested Heinrick was a toy car. He would hold this car in his hand constantly but did not “play” with it or any other toy. When he put a jigsaw puzzle together he would use one hand only – keeping the toy in the other hand. He could arrange the puzzle quickly, however, and it did not matter if the picture side was exposed or not. Heinrick also loved to arrange kitchen utensils in patterns over the floors in his house. If one of his parents tried to take the

toy car away from him or remove a spatula from his patterns of utensils in the kitchen, Heinrick would throw a temper tantrum.

Although the pregnancy was uneventful, Heinrick’s delivery was complicated and he required supplemental oxygen at birth. At first, it was thought that Heinrick might have a hearing disability, but this was ruled out because of his accurate echoing, his capacity to be soothed with music, and his ability to hear candy being unwrapped in another room. According to test results, Heinrick had a mental age of three in non-language skills but only one and a half years in comprehension.

Diagnosis

Heinrick had little interest in playing with other children. It was also obvious that he lacked skills in the area of social interaction and communication. His speech was restricted and often just repetition of what others said. Heinrick did not engage in imaginative play and the activities that he did do (jigsaw puzzles and arranging kitchen utensils) were repetitive. Also, he became extremely distressed if anyone interfered with these activities or his other routines. Heinrick’s DSM diagnosis for Axis I is Autistic Disorder.