| 5.4a
Behaviour management Case study A : Jack |
Case
scenario A – Jack
Personal details
Jack is 44 years old.
He lives at Hoxten Park with his wife, who works full time.
They have two children aged 15 years and 6 years.
Pre-injury hobbies include model shipbuilding and gardening (his wife
has reported that he takes great pride in his garden).
Details of injury
Jack was working as an electrician and fell off a roof. He sustained
a frontal brain injurys and has
residual weakness in his left arm.
Neuropsychological assessment indicated that he is concrete and rigid
in thought. At times he can also be inflexible and mildly impulsive. His memory/learning ability
remain fairly intact.
Goals within TLU
Jack spent some time in the acute rehabilitation ward in hospital before
transferring to a share house in the community (a
Transitional Living Unit or TLU) to continue rehabilitation. The
primary goal within the TLU is to assess his independence and increase
the functionality of his left arm
Problems arising
The TLU is currently full of young males, with whom Jack has nothing
in common. Staff find that he constantly gravitates toward them and that he is always hovering
around the office doorway.
When he speaks with staff, it is mostly to complain about the
other residents (complaints range from ‘dobbing
on them’ about tasks not completed to criticisms
of their character and the ‘youth of today’).
On the odd time, staff have witnessed low level frustration toward
the other residents, with the occasional verbal outburst. No real aggression has been noted.
Questions
- What is the main problem
- What do you want the outcome to be?
- Is there anything currently reinforcing this behaviour (Are staff
making this worse?)
- What potential reinforcers are available to you?
- Devise a way to use this reinforcer to manage this behaviour.
- Are there other issues you need to consider?
 To
suggested answers for Case study A
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