Reference no: EM133466896

Question: Just because you have a disability doesn''t mean it is going to be obvious to everyone by just looking at them. I currently work with children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and each my kiddos have deficits in different areas and some are more obvious than others. When I was observing an initial assessment when I was new to the field I was very confused on how this individual was Autistic however; by the end of the assessment I was able to observe the client''s deficits. This child was in a general education classroom with neurotypical peers and without prior knowledge I would not have known that he had Autism but rather he wasn''t disciplined. I know that Autism isn''t a disability that is always obvious to the naked eye which is why we should never assume that we know why a child or any individual is acting a certain way.

This child''s parents had been trying to get them help but they hadn''t been successful because their child presents as neurotypical if he is not seen during certain activities or situations. Luckily, the BCBA I was with gave the parents the benefit of the doubt and scheduled to observe the child over a longer period of time across settings. Fortunately we were able to see their concerns and provide services. This child was being denied services prior because of something he couldn''t help because he didn''t fit the "mold" of a child with Autism. Throughout the reading it spoke about the loss of advocates and specialist leaving individuals that need professional support are not being able to obtain the help they need (Wehmeyer et al., 2017). There are some families that want to take the more holistic approach and try to "cure" their child''s Autism however; therapies such as ABA are evidenced based and have research showing the positive effects it can have on individuals when they are exposed to treatment and even more effective the earlier they start. We as professionals need to be more aware of how we are determining if a child needed services. Observing for 30 minutes across one setting is not enough to get a true representation of the child and our job is to look out for what is in the best interest of our clients and we cannot do that if we are coming to quick conclusions.

In our ethics code it states that one our main goals is to increase the clients quality of life. "Quality of life is an ideal emphasizing the quality within individuals'' lives and ways to bring maximum enjoyment of life for each individual" ( Wehmeyer et al., 2017).The clients teacher had been doing their own research prior to the observation and trying different things to help their student because they knew that this individual learned differently than the others. She truly cared about her students and understood that not everyone learns the same way. From this encounter I have learned to take the time to observe individuals in a variety of settings and situations before making up my mind about what an individual needs or why they may be acting in a way that is not the same as everyone else in the environment. Every encounter with an individual with a disability will be different and it is our job to not jump to conclusions.