case study answers

Thomas is a 6 year old Caucasian male living with his single mother, Brittany who is 27. He is currently living with his mother and two younger sisters (4 & 2) in a homeless shelter. Mother reports an extensive history of domestic abuse with her ex that took place in front of Thomas. Currently the father is in and out of the picture and only has supervised visits. Mother has an extensive history of mental instability with prior in patient hospitalizations, she is currently getting treatment at a community mental health clinic for bipolar disorder. Previous drug use is reported by both parents.

Thomas is currently in day care for the summer with his sisters but only has placement because his mother works there. He has been removed from his class due to disruptive behavior and assaulting his teacher. He is required to stay with his mother during the day while she is working with younger children. He has had many outbursts where his mother has had to restrain him. She is covered in bruises and bite marks from where he has attacked her. Mother claims he is on the autism spectrum and has improved behavior when given CBD oil in the mornings.

Life at the shelter is hard for Thomas and his family. Mother is often overwhelmed by never having a break from her children and relies on yelling to try and make her children behave. All three of the children are often loud and do not listen to their mother with Thomas encouraging his younger siblings to misbehave. Thomas also wears a pull up tthrough the night due to frequent bed wetting. Their case worker has often encouraged Brittany to enroll Thomas into a wrap around program that would address his needs as well as the entire family dynamic. Mother has been resistive to acknowledging that there is a problem and believes the issues Thomas is having will be addressed in his IEP when he returns to school.

Thomas is behind the other children in his grade and has difficulty with reading and math. His IEP gives him unlimited time for tests and he has an aid with him during class hours to help give him individualized attention. He is often disruptive during class but has not been in serious trouble in school. Other than his learning disabilities, Thomas has a speech impediment that he is often made fun of because.