Psychology of Abnormal behavior (7)

Name: Mandy (Amanda)

Background Information

Mandy is a 16-year-old Caucasian female who lives at home with her mother Jeanne. Jeanne makes sure Mandy has a consistent daily routine and tries to teach her day-to-day responsibilities. Mandy seems to be making slow progress and then other days she regresses, especially when her mother is not as attentive to her needs. Mandy’s mother is a single mother who works from home to be able to provide constant care for her daughter. Her father Peter comes to visit occasionally but is not consistently there. He loves his daughter and tries to interact with her, but cannot seem to without becoming overwhelmed and angry. Mandy goes to a school for the mentally disabled; however, she does not like the staff and is always acting out to be able to go home. She takes medication twice a day, and has doctor visits regularly. She has a difficult time coping with certain situations and does not know how to control her emotional impulses. Her mother has to hold her and tell her to breathe before she will calm down. Sometimes the outbursts are so bad there is nothing and no one that can control or sooth her. Jeanne also uses singing to calm and refocus her daughter. Mandy is very responsive to this technique and it gets her back down to a controllable level. This is the only form of positive coping shown. Mandy’s weaknesses are her short temper, and violent outbursts. This makes it almost impossible for her to be out in public or in a social setting.

Description of the Problem

When a situation arises that a normal 16 year old could handle, she seems to react like a young child. Mandy repeats anything said to her, displaying echolalia. Mandy also has outbursts of aggression. Her aggressive behaviors include biting, pushing, punching, yelling, and running away from her mother. She has overly dramatic emotional swings during these outbursts, where she is very enthusiastic or very upset. While Mandy is experiencing these fits, she becomes physically abusive with objects, throwing them at walls and other objects around her. After the outbursts Mandy encounters, she feels sympathetic only to her mother. She is the only person that she will apologize to for her behavior.

In addition to the above outbursts, almost every night while she is sleeping she yells out, “Mandy’s a bad girl, I hate myself!” Her mother will then have to comfort Mandy. When Mandy is in public, her emotions are erratic; she is very enthusiastic or extremely angry. She is not concerned with the reactions of people around her or how her behavior impacts others. She has no impulse control and immediately acts on how she feels. She begins to feel the need for some social interaction, but due to lack of knowledge on how to do so, she is angered by this emotion as well. Her interest in the opposite sex becomes more apparent and at one point in the film she asks her mother if she will ever get married. This shows her longing for human interaction and her capability to understand social interactions. Physically, Mandy’s hands are disfigured and are constantly curled. She walks on her toes primarily, and she rocks whenever she feels anxiety.