CASE: Out Of Control

RESULTS: Developed Skill Set

Overview: “Carol” is 39-year-old women with Moderate Intellectual Disability and Down Syndrome, and has been working with Stephanie Young Consultants for the past 3 years. Due to these diagnoses, Carol is often inflexible, has difficulty controlling her emotions, causing her to become easily upset, and often out of control.

Challenge: When Carol is out of control. She can be verbally and physically aggressive and has destroyed property. Due to these behaviors, she resides in a residential home with 24/7 staff and requires an extensive amount of attention to keep her calm when she is upset.Carol has learned that if she becomes upset enough, staff will provide her with the attention she enjoys. Although Carol can communicate verbally, she often has limited understanding of the context and language in everyday conversation, and when she misinterprets this, it often leads to her aggressive outburst. She can be independent for some of her daily living tasks but does need assistance on awareness and abilities. Carol has a supportive family. Carol has an infectious smile, she enjoys Disney movies, ice cream, and loves any activity involving art. She looks forward to outings with her family.

Carol learned how to safely express her frustrations without yelling, hitting or throwing things

Solution: Our SYC behaviorist has provided direct care service providers with the training and intervention strategies necessary to manage and modify difficult behaviors, while teaching functionally related replacement skills to Carol. SYC engages Carol in behavioral art activities, creating social stories that help Carol learn how to safely express her frustrations without yelling, hitting or throwing things. Her SYC Behaviorists trains staff at Carol’s residence to help give them the tools they need to better manage Carol’s outburst. She has also worked closely with staff on repeating verbal communication to ensure Carol understood what was being asked, as well as not engaging in carol’s attention-seeking behaviors. SYC has also worked with Carol and staff to create structure and positive reinforcement in the home that help carol lower her overall frustration to everyday events.  Carol has been currently working on flexibility by defining what situations are a big deal versus little deal along with coping strategies that could be helpful in little deal situations.

Results: Since working with SYC Behavior, Carol has had a decrease in her overall serious incidents, utilizes alternative means of expressing her frustration and communicate to others her needs.