Special Needs Child Case Study

Special Needs Child: Case Study

Overview of the Case Study

In this reviewed video (Lupercio, 2017), the narrator is a parent of a child with special needs, and the video aims to present her experience with a special needs child. The special needs child is her daughter. At birth, the child was normal - just like every other child – and the initial signs that the child has some concerning condition was when she was at the age of six months. The initial sign that the mother noted was her eye that was "wiggling very rapidly back and forth." From this stage, the parent was highly worried and took her to the Emergency Room after the wiggling lasted for more than a day, and it didn't go away, even after the child had a good sleep.

The ER recommended an ophthalmologist whose diagnosis was that the nystagmus (constant wiggling of the eye) would go away at some time, and the child would grow normally. However, about a year, the child was not making the growth and development progress that a child at her age should be making, e.g., walking and speech. The delay in walking progressed into the child's second year, at her speech was only made up of simple words like "Ma" and "Pa" (Lupercio, 2017). At the age of two and half years, the mother took the child to a neurologist whose examination showed that her brain was fine, but she was not developing at the rate as expected of her age.

The parent than started on therapy programs, which include both professional and home-based therapies. Physical therapy continued up to when she was three, at the time when she joined preschool. At school, she was receiving physical therapy, speech therapy, occupational therapy, and adapted physical education. A diagnosis at the school showed that, even though she was three years old, she was functioning at t the level of a one and a half year old. At age four, the mother took her for an examination by a neurologist who concluded that it could be cerebral palsy. This condition could have been a result of oxygen flow to the brain being cut at birth or a young age.

The girl started using and is still using a walker at the age of four. Before the walker, the patient would be helped in her walking by having her hand held, but the walker was introduced as a measure to promote her independence. In addition to problems with are gait, she has had a problem with trembling hands and difficulties in controlling her mouth. Other than these challenges, the patient is always in high spirits and very determined to accomplish whatever she sets herself to achieve. As she…

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…for the special needs child.

The last important thing is the need to trust in the child to find their way around things and to curve their path in achieving set goals (Garner & Sandow, 2018; McNamara & Blenco, 2018). In the current case study, the parents have entrusted the child with the role of finding her way around things and activities that she wants to do. As a result, the special needs child is taking a special needs karate class, can eat on her own – despite making a mess, and she can now go to the restroom unaided.

This case study has been an eye-opener for me, and therefore when working with parents, I will; 1) advise parents on the need to accept their children and accept that normal is not standard, but just like beauty, within the eyes of the beholder. 2) Advice parents to seek medical attention, primarily, the relevant therapy for children with cerebral palsy. 3) Recommend that parents ensure they have a supportive circle in caring for the special needs children because, regardless of how strong a parent can be, the specialized care needed for these children can be overwhelming. 4) Argue for the importance of allowing the child to explore her/his way around things and not have the parent force a specific way. And 5), advise parents on the need to note even the simplest improvements…