Process Recording - w8

· Provide a transcript of what happened during your field education experience, including a dialogue of interaction with a client. I was working Daveion Johnson who has Autism and ADHD. He was struggling with passing all his classes in school. He was suspended from school for fighting. He was in the foster care system and removed from his foster care and is now in an emergency shelter. He was initially closed off to me, but when he realized I wasn’t going anywhere, he started to open up.

· Explain your interpretation of what occurred in the dialogue, including social work practice theories, and explain how it might relate to diversity or cultural competence covered this week. Daveion is a 16-year-old black male he was initially removed from his parents and grandparents for stealing and fighting. You can make up the dialogue.

· Describe your reactions and/or any issues related to your interaction with a client during your field education experience. You can make this up.

· Explain how you applied social work practice skills when performing the activities during your process recording. You can make this up.

Support your Assignment with specific references to the resources. Be sure to provide full APA citations for your references. Below is additional information for my experience with Daveion.

During my field education experience, I interacted with Daveion Johnson who is a teenager with Autism and attention deficit hypersensitivity disorder (ADHD). He is struggling with passing all his classes in school. He was suspended from school for fighting. He was in the foster care system and removed from his foster care and is now in an emergency shelter. He was initially closed off to me, but when he realized I wasn’t going anywhere, he started to open up. The goal of my interaction with Daveion was to get him to open up so that I could find a way to help him become a good person and student.

I started my interaction with Daveion by asking him how he was doing and told him that I was pleased to meet with him. I was very nervous because I have never interacted with such a client and especially a teenager. I started the conversation by making Daveion know that I was there to help him overcome his problems. It was very difficult to get him to open up, but with time he realized that my main purpose was to help him by understanding what the root cause of his problems. I told him that I am not interacting with him to judge him or make him feel bad with regards to his behavior but told him that I understand what he is going through and that I wanted to help. This made him open up and explain what he thought was happening to him. I asked him if he understood the extent of his health condition and he said that he knows that he has autism and ADHD. As a result, he told me that he has been trying very hard to be a good student but the situation in his life especially the aspect of struggling with class work and being suspended has made him realize that he needs help. I asked him if he would like to make his life better and he told me he was not sure if it would be possible because he has been struggling with his health condition for a long time. I also asked him how he felt about living in the foster care system and if living in a stable home would improve his health condition and hence his performance at school. He told me that he understands that he is a difficult person to deal with maybe because of his condition. But he said that it would be good if he found a stable home.

I felt very sad for Daveion because with his autism and ADHD he needs a loving family that would take care of him and also manages his condition through guidance. Through the interaction with Daveion, I realized that Daveion was feeling alone in dealing with his health status. He understands that he is not well health wise and that is why he is struggling with class work and always getting into fights at school and being suspended. However, he did not know who to turn to because he felt alone and since he is in the foster care system, this makes the situation even challenging. There is no one he feels he can turn to but himself which is very sad. Based on the psychosocial theory, individuals’ sense of self grows and evolves as they come into contact with a number of social crises throughout their life which forces them to react and adapt. But in Daveion’s case, he is reacting based on the symptoms of his health condition and situation in life of living within the foster care system. The social crises that Daveion is going through especially of not having a family to guide and care for him have made him lash out in the form of fighting at school. Additionally, being removed from his parent’s and grandparent’s home has made him feel like he is not loved. At one point during my interaction with Daveion, he pointed out that he does not understand why he was removed from his family’s home for fighting and stealing instead of being given the treatment or assistance that he needed. Placing him in a foster care system is kind of discriminatory and uncalled for because he is still young. In other words, Daveion felt isolated from the rest of the world especially his family members.

Moreover, the health condition of Daveion makes it very difficult for him to understand the importance of social interaction. Based on my interaction with Daveion, he did not have friends. He told me that most of his schoolmates say that he is a weirdo and hence avoid talking to him. He feels that no one understands him and hence he feels alone. It is perhaps his health condition that has made it very difficult for Daveion to model good behavior based on observations in their environment. Daveion has not been able to learn good behavior maybe since he was young because of his health condition.

Based on systems theory, Daveion’s behavior is influenced by a variety of factors that work together which include his parents, friends, and schoolmates. It is important for Daveion to have a sense of belonging and feelings of love and concern from his family members and friends. Therefore, I think that the failed system in Daveion’s life is contributing to his behaviors which are also made difficult with his autism and ADHD. However, with the proper systems, Daveion can concentrate in class and avoid fighting and stealing.

I applied my social work practice during the process recording by explaining to Daveion the source of his problems and what he needed to get better. I asked him how he felt about his family and if he would like to go back. I also asked him how he felt when his schoolmates called him a weirdo and avoided interacting with him. These questions made me realize that Daveion needed a well-functioning family system and also friends to interact with at school. This would help him feel loved, cared for, and wanted within his living environment. In short, Daveion needs the help of his family members to overcome the effects of his health condition. Without the support of his family and friends, he will continue to struggle in class and fighting.