Case Study Adriana's Emotional Behavior

Adriana lives at home with her mother, father and 9 year old brother. She was adopted when she was 3 from Bulgaria, where she lived in an orphanage. The parents claim that the orphanage was in a sterile environment and the children there didn't receive personal attention/stimulation. Adriana has been enrolled in preschool since August, even though she is eligible for kindergarten. She started off quiet but at the end of the year became aggressive. This aggression wasn't cued by a specific antecedent and her teachers said that Adriana didn't register any emotions throughout the day, for example if she hurt someone to spoiler their play. Time outs were used as punishment for Adriana’s unwanted behavior, but it didn't change her anti social behavior as the year continued. Adriana has also been aggressive toward neighborhood kids as well, so the parents have cut off all play with other kids because they don't know how to handle the aggressive incidents, and want her to start at a new school so she can get a fresh start. Adriana is underdeveloped in terms of her emotional self awareness and empathy

Then I would incorporate the use of affective reflections. I would observe what Adriana was doing, looking for a wide range of emotions and then put the child’s emotions into words. When doing this I wouldn't evaluate, I would use the simplest statements, and use a variety of words overtime. By using affective reflection I identify the child’s emotions, and promote the child’s understanding and communication about emotions to others. Using these also help children coper with strong emotions. I would make sure to communicate to Adriana’s family about her emotions. Things I will avoid would be sounding all-knowing, accusing the child, coercion the child to talk about their emotions, and failing to introduce new feeling