William is a fifteen-year old, student with Autism. William is, basically, a very happy and pleasant young man. He has a wonderful sense of humor and is a pleasure to be around.
The humorous side of William made him able to get a few friends in his class.
William wants to do well in school. He is a perfectionist and expects to earn straight A’s in his classes. But William needs reminders to pay attention during class. William also tends to rush through schoolwork, not fully reading directions and questions in his hurry to complete the assignment. William also becomes easily frustrated and angry, although his behavior has improved this year; he still becomes occasionally agitated and yells, hits himself, throws things or cries.
This temperament side is more often shown and makes his friends feel annoyed, especially in weeks full of assignments. His classmates were so annoyed so that in their group assignments no one wanted to partner with him anymore and they excluded him.
Theoretical background
Aggression type
Example of relational aggression – exclusion, ostracism.
Emotions: anger
Coping/Stressors related to mental illness/social rejection
Coping/Functional coping strategies
Questions and answers
1st Question
At what point in the scenario do you find that the protagonist was a victim of violence? To what kind of violence does the scenario refer to?
1st Answer
When none of his classmates wanted to be friends with him anymore and excluded him from group assignments and left him alone like he was before he entered that class.
It refers to emotional violence, most probably verbal and non-verbal with gestures and mimic carried out.
2nd Question
Do you think that the thoughts, the actions, the feelings and the attitudes adopted by the protagonist of the scenario helped him/her to cope with this situation? Are there any alternative ideas?
2nd Answer
No, with his mental conditions he is not able to cope with the situation. If William’s emotional break downs do not get special intervention regarding the management of his negative emotions, then the pressure that William faces in the social sphere will become more severe.
3rd Question
What other interventions and actions could further help the protagonist to deal with this incident and with any potential similar incidents in the future?
3rd Answer
- Figure out the reasons for the emotional break down.
- Create a safe zone for him
- Behavioral and developmental interventions
- Family-based interventions
- Therapy-based interventions and medical interventions
Alternative interventions (ex.: elimination diets)