Initially, therapy sessions can be intimidating, especially for children and adolescents. When I introduced myself to Caleb and he made no eye contact, I was not remotely surprised. Disappointingly, this behavior persisted throughout the entire session and were accompanied by some other deficits in communication, social interaction, as well as repetitive and stereotyped behavior. These behaviors persisted in such a way by the completion of our session, I decided to give Caleb a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Even shy people will occasionally make eye contact out of politeness during typical social interactions. By fourteen years old, most teenagers are aware of this social courtesy; therefore, Caleb’s constant overtness in not making any eye contact shows a deficit in non-verbal communication. As stated previously, this could be due to nerves over a first therapy session, but the persistence of the lack of eye contact over fifty minutes became concerning. Furthermore, Caleb failed to show social-emotional reciprocity in his apparent inability to partake in the structure and movement of a standard, back and forth conversation. For example, every question I asked he merely replied with a simple and unrevealing answer of either “yes” …show more content…
She told me about his troubles with making and maintaining friendships because he has no interest in inspiring relationships with his peers. For instance, Caleb is highly invested with independent, imaginative play. Most people his age are interested in throwing birthday parties and attending school dances, both of which hold no interest for Caleb. This conflict of shared hobbies contributes to a lack of ability and interest to make and maintain friendships. What is more, his difficulty in making eye contact and participating in conversation also makes friendships hard and would count as social
Even shy people will occasionally make eye contact out of politeness during typical social interactions. By fourteen years old, most teenagers are aware of this social courtesy; therefore, Caleb’s constant overtness in not making any eye contact shows a deficit in non-verbal communication. As stated previously, this could be due to nerves over a first therapy session, but the persistence of the lack of eye contact over fifty minutes became concerning. Furthermore, Caleb failed to show social-emotional reciprocity in his apparent inability to partake in the structure and movement of a standard, back and forth conversation. For example, every question I asked he merely replied with a simple and unrevealing answer of either “yes” …show more content…
She told me about his troubles with making and maintaining friendships because he has no interest in inspiring relationships with his peers. For instance, Caleb is highly invested with independent, imaginative play. Most people his age are interested in throwing birthday parties and attending school dances, both of which hold no interest for Caleb. This conflict of shared hobbies contributes to a lack of ability and interest to make and maintain friendships. What is more, his difficulty in making eye contact and participating in conversation also makes friendships hard and would count as social