Task Week1: Sharvari Shah

Case 1
Tentative Diagnosis: (DSM-5): 299.00 (F84.0) Autism Spectrum Disorder Level 1: Requiring
Support
Reasons for Diagnosis: Persistent deficits in social interaction is manifested through delay in
socio-emotional reciprocity as the child fails to engage in back-and-forth conversation, has
reduced sharing, followed by deficits in nonverbal communicative behavior (poor eye
contact, lack of facial expression, doesn’t smile back), there is the presence of fixated
interests that are abnormal such as putting everything in mouth and biting it. The child
doesn’t give a response upon hearing his own name. Engage in limited interaction with the
caregiver.
Causes: Recent evidence has shifted the causal spotlight from ‘refrigerator mother’ (lack of
warmth provided by the mother during the earlier childhood) to biological factors. These
biological factors include heritability, prenatal and perinatal factors: maternal and paternal
age, birth trauma, fetal distress, low birth weight, immunological incompatibility, increased
serotonin (5-HT) levels in the brain, and/or neurophysiological abnormalities.

Case 2
Tentative Diagnosis: (DSM-5): 315.00 (F81.0) Mild Specific Learning Disorder with
Impairment in Reading
Reason for Diagnosis: The child presents delay in speech and language deficits. The child
has difficulties with recognizing letters and spelling. The child has difficulty with similar-
looking letters; he experiences confusion depicted through his mirror imaging tendency/
reversal of words, difficulty remembering shapes of letters. Another pro
Causes: Environmental factors include premature birth/low birth weight, exposure to
substances (nicotine, drugs, alcohol) during pregnancy, and maternal infectious illness.
Genetic factors consist of heritability, postnatal brain lesions in the left occipital lobe, and
recent research has also identified the role of chromosomes 15 and 18.
Case 3
Tentative Diagnosis: Cerebral Palsy (Dyskinetic)
Reasons for Diagnosis: Few signs that depict the diagnosis of Cerebral Palsy are Poor head
control, random or uncontrolled body movements and arching of the back, lack of muscle
control
Causes: Causal factors that can lead to brain development deficits are premature birth,
white matter abnormalities, gene mutations, maternal infections, fetal stroke, bleeding into
a newborn’s brain, infant infections, traumatic head injury, and lack of oxygen during labor.