HOMEWORK HELP | Biopsychosocial History: Write a biopsychosocial history of the client and discuss the implications for behavior analytic services.

Assignment Details

For this Assignment, you will write two initial assessment requests. Use the information included in the two case studies (i.e., mock client scenarios) below as the foundation for your initial assessment requests. For each case study, provide a 1–2-page essay response to each of the required sections below. In addition to the information provided in the case studies, use the materials provided in previous units and peer-reviewed, behavior analytic resources from the Purdue University Global Library to demonstrate that your recommendations in each section are based in relevant research literature and best practice standards.

Required Sections

1. Biopsychosocial History: Write a biopsychosocial history of the client and discuss the implications for behavior analytic services. Include a recommendation for the scope of behavior analytic services likely required for this client. Take care to include all of the information provided in the case study, but you do not need to add any other hypothetical information
2. Prioritization of Target Behaviors: Describe how behaviors targeted for change have been prioritized for assessment. This section should include an actual list prioritizing the target behaviors from the behavior(s) that will be assessed first to the behavior(s) that will be assessed last. Discuss the social validity of the prioritized list of target behaviors. (This section may include hypothetical information that is outside the content provided in the case study. That is, you may write in the past tense and pretend that you have used specific procedures to prioritize the target behaviors and confirm the social validity of the list.)
3. Proposed Assessment Sequence: Propose an assessment sequence for the client. Review safeguards that will be included to ensure that all assessments are conducted in an ethical manner. (You do not need to describe the procedures used in each assessment. Just identify what type(s) of assessments will be conducted, when, and why)
4. Preference Assessment: Design a preference assessment to identify likely reinforcers for the client. Be specific; that is, include technical descriptions of all procedures to be used and why the specific preference assessment chosen would be the best option for the client.

Case Study 1 – Mike Crafone

• 4-year-old boy
• Lives with mother, grandmother, older sister
• Identified by his school district as having a developmental delay
• Qualified for and enrolled in early intervention program in school district at age 2.5 years
• Attendance at the early intervention program has been sporadic due to transportation difficulties the family has been experiencing
• Early intervention program has one BCBA on staff, but the program is not behavior analytic in nature and the BCBA has never met or assessed Mike’s behavior
• Diagnosed by a developmental pediatrician at age 3.5 years with autism spectrum disorder. According to the developmental pediatrician, he is physically healthy.
• Recommended for ABA services by the social worker at the developmental pediatrician’s clinic
• Mother isn’t certain about what ABA is, but she has heard from other parents on the internet that she can get help at home
• School district still is trying to determine what special education services, if any, will be needed when he enters kindergarten in approximately one year from now
• Mother reports that he
  • Flaps his hands and squeals quite often
  • Hits his head with his fists and bangs is head on surfaces. He has broken a tooth from this.
  • Runs away from her in public places
  • Can repeat words that people say to him, but he doesn’t always do it. He does not spontaneously produce words.
  • Is a picky eater. She often can’t figure out what he wants to eat.
  • Can’t complete any self-help routines that commonly can be completed by 4-year-olds (e.g., putting on slip-on shoes)
  • Requests items or activities by leading her by the hand to certain locations
  • Is not toilet-trained

Case Study 2 – Earl E. Bird

• 12-year-old boy
• Lives with mother, father, and younger twin sisters
• Diagnosed with oppositional defiant disorder by his family’s psychiatrist
• Has been attending individual and family counseling for two years
• Recommended for ABA services by his family’s counselor. She stated that he needs to “work on his social skills”
• Has never received any ABA services in the past
• Does not receive any special education services at school
• Has been suspended for getting in a fight and then “talking back” to the principal
• Pediatrician reports that he is physically healthy and is proceeding through puberty at a developmentally-appropriate rate
• Parents report that he
  • Has physically attacked family members (one of his sisters had to have stiches after he pushed her off a slide)
  • Yells profanities in public places
  • Does well on standardized testing in school when he tries, but his grades vary dramatically
  • Likes video games and anime and doesn’t like anything he considers “babyish”
  • Tries to be private about his social life

Instructions

• Follow Assignment directions (review grading rubric for best results).
• Use correct APA formatting per the APA Publication Manual, 6th Edition.
  • Title Page
  • Use proper headings for each question
  • Citations
  • Figures
  • Reference Page
• Demonstrate college-level communication through the composition of original materials in Standard English.
• Be written in Standard English and be clear, specific, and error-free. If needed, be sure to use the University Writing Center for help.

Submitting your Assignment

Save your Word document in a location that you will remember with your full name and the class number. When you are ready, submit it to the unit Dropbox labeled Assignment.

MODEL ANSWER

Case Study 1

Biopsychosocial History

A biopsychosocial history tends to evaluate the client on the biological, psychological and social dimension. For the biological dimension, Mike has a developmental delay as he cannot complete tasks that are often completed by four-year-old. He could also be having a medical condition that makes him hit his head with the fists and bangs the head on the surface. He has autism spectral disorder which has proven to be a genetic disorder. He must have, therefore inherited the genes for the condition from the parents. The | PLACE YOUR ORDER NOW AT writtask.com | is so far negatively impacting on his life. For the psychological dimension, he has been taken to a developmental pediatrician before when he was of age 3.5 and has also been recommended for ABA services (Lehman, David & Gruber, 2017). He also can’t figure out what he wishes to eat and flaps his hands and squeals often, which is often a sign for young and excited children. Consequently, it is a sign of a developmental delay.

Lastly, for the social dimension, the mother, grandmother and older sister don’t know what the condition he is suffering from. He doesn’t talk to any and only directs the | PLACE YOUR ORDER NOW AT writtask.com | whenever he requires something. He is also not trained on how to use the toilet, which shows the level of ignorance that caregivers have. He has a disengaged family setting which makes it hard for him to engage in any social activity.

Behaviour analytic services would play a significant role in meeting Mike’s social and language development needs. For instance, the intervention can help improve | PLACE YOUR ORDER NOW AT writtask.com | the level of independence in undertaking self-directed activities. Additionally, his speech can as well be improved as he will not have the difficulty with communication as he is experiencing now | PLACE YOUR ORDER NOW AT writtask.com | of the possible services for the client include a picture exchange communication system, which helps improve how he requests items. Other activities include modelling and | PLACE YOUR ORDER NOW AT writtask.com | systems.

Prioritization of Target Behaviors

Prioritizing target behaviours is an important step towards solving a social development problem. There are many target behaviours which I believe can help improve | PLACE YOUR ORDER NOW AT writtask.com | target behaviour is helping improve his communication abilities, especially when requesting for items. Instead of always holding one’s hand and directing them to the intended item, this target behaviour intends to improve his ability to connect an object and its name. This is prioritized because it will improve the communication deficiency that he has. As indicated before, this target behaviour can be achieved by using a picture exchange communication system where he can link names/ words and items. The second priority is to improve the social relationship with the mother.

From the case | PLACE YOUR ORDER NOW AT writtask.com | away from the mother when in public places. Improving their relationship will be a good step towards improving the overall social relationship ability. The behaviour that will be the third to assess his self-injurious behaviour which can be | PLACE YOUR ORDER NOW AT writtask.com | better after he has become self-reliant | PLACE YOUR ORDER NOW AT writtask.com | has better cognitive skills as reflected in step 1 and 2. The last item to be assessed is other developmental delay aspects such as the inability to use the toilet and other self-help routines. In the target behaviours, communication | PLACE YOUR ORDER NOW AT writtask.com | has to be prioritized as it will help improve his independence. By using a picture exchange communication tool, he will learn both communication and other | PLACE YOUR ORDER NOW AT writtask.com | abilities. Once he is better in communicating, improving his social relationship abilities will be easy to achieve. The third and fourth target behaviour are reducing self-inflicted injuries and assessing developmental delay, which can only come after Mike has a better cognitive ability.

Proposed Assessment Sequence

Four key target behaviours were identified for Mike’s case. The target behaviours were; improving his communication behaviour, improving social interaction abilities, assessing his dangerous behaviour and finally, all developmental delays. Based on this fact, the assessment sequence will start by screening using a competency-based tool such as observation accomplished by the parent, teachers and | PLACE YOUR ORDER NOW AT writtask.com | can be monitored from time to time in different settings. At home, the observation will include how Mike communicates with the mother, grandmother and the | PLACE YOUR ORDER NOW AT writtask.com | ability to use words without repeating them when in a conversation will be key. Observation can also be used to monitor his social interaction both at school and at | PLACE YOUR ORDER NOW AT writtask.com | communication and social interaction have been monitored, the next step is to assess for the possibility of engaging in self-injurious behaviour by use of cognitive-behavioural | PLACE YOUR ORDER NOW AT writtask.com | assessment is assessing developmental delay using the ages and stages questionnaire, which can be completed at any stage by either the parent or the teacher. The identified sequence is key in addressing the identified target behaviours.

To ensure that the interventions are accomplished ethically, the assessment will be done with the best interests of the patient at heart. To achieve this, the therapists will need to use an assessment tool/ mechanism that meets the needs of the | PLACE YOUR ORDER NOW AT writtask.com | the patient is a minor and may not be in a position to make individual decisions regarding care, any intervention measure should be done at the consent of the parent or the caregiver. Lastly, assessments have to be done with a clear plan of the desired outcomes. 

Preference Assessment

Reinforcers are both tangible and intangible objects/ actions meant to increase the occurrence of specific | PLACE YOUR ORDER NOW AT writtask.com | are critical in shaping the desired behaviours for a child that has been diagnosed with ASD. Based on Mike’s condition, the most feasible/ preferred assessment is to screen the patient’s developmental history with a specific observation on his communication and social interaction. In this assessment, the parent or teacher will monitor both the social, emotional and communication functioning of the client. Since the main concern is autism spectral disorder, other additional assessment may also be key.

Additionally, to ensure the preferred assessment captures all the concerns of the patient, specific reinforcers may be necessary. The preferred assessment is effective | PLACE YOUR ORDER NOW AT writtask.com | a holistic approach upon which other assessment techniques can be incorporated. Furthermore, since ASD is the main concern, the screening tool will be able to capture both the social, communication and other developmental needs that Mike has.

Many reinforcers can be used towards ASD and other conditions evidenced in | PLACE YOUR ORDER NOW AT writtask.com | common reinforcer is to use social | PLACE YOUR ORDER NOW AT writtask.com | often runs away from her mother in a public place. However, after being trained to be socially responsive and he can stick around the mother without running away, she can give her token such as a toy as a | PLACE YOUR ORDER NOW AT writtask.com | possible reinforcer is rewarding him by singing for him or praising him for mentioning items whenever he needs them. At school, the teacher can critically evaluate Mike’s most attractive reinforcer and reward him whenever he meets social and communication targets. For any child, any form of motivation is likely to improve the response to both social and communication deficiencies.

Case Study 2

Biopsychosocial History For Earl’s case, the | PLACE YOUR ORDER NOW AT writtask.com | dimension in the biopsychosocial | PLACE YOUR ORDER NOW AT writtask.com | of the patient includes genetic inheritance of oppositional defiant disorder which the family’s psychiatrist has diagnosed him. On the psychological front, his behaviour is questionable as he seems to be so | PLACE YOUR ORDER NOW AT writtask.com | physically attacked members of the family and yells at anything that makes him angry. At school, he has been suspended for | PLACE YOUR ORDER NOW AT writtask.com | in a fight and taking back at the principal, which shows the extent of th….