CASE STUDY -- ARYAMAN

ARYAMAN DUTTA

Aryaman a 12 year boy with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) was referred to Saksham for Occupational Therapy and Sensory Integration to reduce his hypersensitivity. He has been attending Day Care facility at Saksham since past 3 years.

Aryaman is a high functioning, verbal Autistic who showed to be hypersensitive to changes in schedules or newer events such as a delay of 5 minutes in pick-up time, changes in weather, a change in therapist or class, or a new student in class-room. He had problem in communicating with peers and showed aggression in response to neglect from them or to any mistake on his part as he did not understood the way to communicate sorry. Aryaman never initiated conversation and rarely made eye contact with other individuals.

With therapy Aryaman has slowly learnt to control his temper and shares his needs and concerns when asked upon. Aryaman during these years has been exposed to Social Stories to help him suit to various social situations such as classroom behavior, behavior at a mall or in a park or in school van, daily routines and pre-exposure to situations that need to occur in the near future has made him easy to cope up with changes in the schedules.

Aryaman has been exposed to sensory experiences such as Brushing on arms and legs to reduce hyperactivity, and various Brain Gym Exercises to improve his mental functioning. Also, therapy aimed at improving communication abilities to establish better relationships with his peers & feel less frustrated during daily interactions with other people. Aryaman was also trained for various Activities of Daily Living Skills such as Feeding and Toileting. Now, Aryaman has developed a tendency to sit patiently and independently performs certain tasks allotted to him in his classroom. He has also improved upon his command following abilities. Aryaman now rarely shows aggression when notices a new face or when in a crowded place. He has as well improved upon his eating hypersensitivity and now completes his lunch or snacks offered to him. He now expresses his toileting urge. Aryaman is being trained to improve upon his communication skills, reading ability and mental functioning.