June 20 Post Two

Jacob could not bring himself to tell his parents about Casey, so he then decides to maintain minimal contact with Sarah and the baby. Given Sarah’s history of depression, Sarah was overwhelmed with being a new single parent and sole provider for Casey. She experienced a severe case of post partum depression which caused her to be emotionally unavailable for Casey. She struggled to provide Casey’s physical needs. Casey’s cries were often ignored which forced her to retreat and engage in self soothing behaviors. She would resort to thumb sucking and progressed to rocking back and forth. It also contributed to Casey’s autistic like behaviors as she developed into a toddler. Casey demonstrated unrelated behaviors and had difficulty bonding. Sarah’s mother was extremely concerned about Sarah’s emotional state and how it was affecting her baby. She was also aware of her inability to provide Sarah with more financial support since her husband lost his job and had to take another job with significantly less pay. Her mother suggested that Sarah move in with them and transfer to a community college close to home. She suggested that Sarah could go to school as a part time student, and get a part time job to help meet expenses. This would also help Sarah’s mother provide child care while Sarah was at school and work.

Sarah never realized the extent of the damage that alcohol had on her baby. As Casey grew older, she demonstrated developmental delays in all areas. Cognitive functioning was markedly delayed as evidenced by her inability to identify simple objects in her environment both expressively and receptively. This meant that she was unable to identify objects in her home such as a chair, a table, or a toy. She also was not responsive to simple verbal commands such as, “give me the toy” or “are you hungry?” Casey lacked the normal curiosity of developing toddlers her age. Her developmental milestones such as walking and talking were absent.

            Casey is now two years old and her speech is incomprehensible. Whenever she talked, her speech sounds were garbled and demonstrated no specific sound pattern. She has just begun to crawl and pull herself up to stand, which should have been done at one year old. Her delays have been compounded by behavioral issues. Casey demonstrates an inability to maintain focus on toys or activities. She tends to be hyperactive and demonstrates frequent outbursts of temper which includes screaming, hitting, biting, and throwing objects. She does not relate to other toddlers and does not engage in parallel play. This means that when in the company of other toddlers who are individually playing with toys, Casey could not sit with them and play with a toy. Parallel play does not require personal interaction. Yet, Casey was incapable of this most basic skill.  She showed no interest in other peers who may be engaged with a toy, game, or pretend play. These behaviors are typical of children at this age. Casey would not even imitate behaviors such as clapping hands or stamping feet.

            At age 3, Casey entered a part time nursery school program and still was not toilet trained. Shortly after enrolling, Sarah received many complaints from her teacher stating that Casey could not stay seated for a long period of time, would hit other children in class, and continued to throw toys across the classroom. She could not participate in activities with her peers, because she was significantly behind them developmentally.

1)    Will Casey be eligible for special education services in the future? What services might be beneficial for Casey and Sarah now?

2)    What are some educational issues Casey is facing in school as a child with fetal alcohol syndrome?

3)    Given Sarah’s financial situation, what government resources would she be entitled to? i.e. welfare, food stamps

Decision Point: Does Sarah drop out of college and stay home with Casey knowing that she can always return to school?