A newly enrolled 4-year-old boy accompanies his mother into your classroom. He holds a piece of string and sits on the floor without looking at you. He makes forced exhalations that result in a low-pitched repetitive vocalization. He begins moving a toy car back and forth repeatedly; he lowers his head to be on level with the car and stares at the wheels. After taking history from the mother and giving the child some time to warm up to you, he still does not initiate any eye contact or social interaction. You attempt a game of peek-a-boo, which evokes very brief eye contact and a social smile. You ask the child to show you where his mommy is and he doesn't respond. You point to the toy closet and say: "Look at all those toys!" The child follows your point and looks at the toys. The mother reports that he can use 5-10 single words although he uses none during the exam. There is no immediate or delayed echolalia. He eats only one type of chicken and one shape of pasta; he recently had a severe tantrum when his mother gave him an unfamiliar shape of pasta. Throughout the exam, the child holds his piece of string up close in his peripheral visual field and flicks it between his fingers. At times the flicking generalizes to his whole hand, which he then rapidly flaps. His mother reports that he often puts his face up close to the television. There is no report of heightened sensitivity to any stimuli. During the exam, he accidently hits his head on the side of your desk but he does not appear to register any discomfort (1) What disorder does this child most likely have? Justify your impression. (2) Identify 2 characteristics of the child that you think might greatly affect his learning (3) Formulate 1 intervention that you can do to address the symptoms you have identified.
A newly enrolled 4-year-old boy accompanies his mother into your classroom. He holds a piece of string and sits on the floor without looking at you. He makes forced exhalations that result in a low-pitched repetitive vocalization. He begins moving a toy car back and forth repeatedly; he lowers his head to be on level with the car and stares at the wheels. After taking history from the mother and giving the child some time to warm up to you, he still does not initiate any eye contact or social interaction. You attempt a game of peek-a-boo, which evokes very brief eye contact and a social smile. You ask the child to show you where his mommy is and he doesn't respond. You point to the toy closet and say: "Look at all those toys!" The child follows your point and looks at the toys. The mother reports that he can use 5-10 single words although he uses none during the exam. There is no immediate or delayed echolalia. He eats only one type of chicken and one shape of pasta; he recently had a severe tantrum when his mother gave him an unfamiliar shape of pasta. Throughout the exam, the child holds his piece of string up close in his peripheral visual field and flicks it between his fingers. At times the flicking generalizes to his whole hand, which he then rapidly flaps. His mother reports that he often puts his face up close to the television. There is no report of heightened sensitivity to any stimuli. During the exam, he accidently hits his head on the side of your desk but he does not appear to register any discomfort
(1) What disorder does this child most likely have? Justify your impression.
(2) Identify 2 characteristics of the child that you think might greatly affect his learning
(3) Formulate 1 intervention that you can do to address the symptoms you have identified.
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