Vera is an eight-year-old African American female who lives with her mother and has visitation with her father every other weekend. She was brought to the clinic by her mother in response to concerns reported by her teacher at school, as well as difficulties at home, concerning odd and disruptive behaviors, obsession concerning her mother’s safety, anxiety, and declining academic performance.
Diagnosis
Based on her presenting symptoms, Vera meets the full criteria for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). The DSM-5 (American Psychological Association, 2013) diagnosis of OCD requires the presence of either obsessions, compulsions, or both. Obsessions are characterized by recurrent, unwanted images, thoughts, or urges that cause a person distress and accompanying attempts to ignore these images, urges, or thoughts or neutralize them through other thoughts or actions, such as compulsions (American Psychological Association, 2013). The DSM-5 (2013) characterizes compulsions …show more content…
Based on preliminary results, it is likely that a differential diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) will be ruled out. Although Vera is experiencing some of the main symptoms of ASD, such as her implementation of rigid rules for playground games and her repetitive rituals, she does not display the hallmark symptoms of social and emotional impairment found in children with ASD (American Psychological Association, 2013). This is shown in part by her ability to use expressive language to report her emotions and her interest in maintaining relationships with her peers. Additionally, although she is experiencing some impairments in her social relationships, these deficits are a result of her need to complete compulsions, rather than a global difficulty in relating to others that is characteristic of ASD, as per the DSM-5 (2013). To rule out this diagnosis, developmental records should be obtained from Vera’s mother and/or
Diagnosis
Based on her presenting symptoms, Vera meets the full criteria for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). The DSM-5 (American Psychological Association, 2013) diagnosis of OCD requires the presence of either obsessions, compulsions, or both. Obsessions are characterized by recurrent, unwanted images, thoughts, or urges that cause a person distress and accompanying attempts to ignore these images, urges, or thoughts or neutralize them through other thoughts or actions, such as compulsions (American Psychological Association, 2013). The DSM-5 (2013) characterizes compulsions …show more content…
Based on preliminary results, it is likely that a differential diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) will be ruled out. Although Vera is experiencing some of the main symptoms of ASD, such as her implementation of rigid rules for playground games and her repetitive rituals, she does not display the hallmark symptoms of social and emotional impairment found in children with ASD (American Psychological Association, 2013). This is shown in part by her ability to use expressive language to report her emotions and her interest in maintaining relationships with her peers. Additionally, although she is experiencing some impairments in her social relationships, these deficits are a result of her need to complete compulsions, rather than a global difficulty in relating to others that is characteristic of ASD, as per the DSM-5 (2013). To rule out this diagnosis, developmental records should be obtained from Vera’s mother and/or