Diagnosis to Neurodevelopmental Disorders
Diagnosis to Neurodevelopmental Disorders
Social work clinicians keep a wide focus on several potential syndromes, analyzing patterns of symptoms, risks, and environmental factors. Narrowing down from that wider focus happens naturally as they match the individual symptoms, behaviors, and risk factors against criteria A–E and other baseline information in the DSM-5. Over time, as you continue your social work education, this process will become more automatic and integrated. In this Discussion, you practice differential diagnosis by examining a case that falls on the neurodevelopmental spectrum.
To prepare: Read “The Case of Bogdan” and identify relevant symptoms and factors. You may want to make a simple list of the symptoms and facts of the case to help you focus on patterns. Read the Morrison (2014) selection. Focus on Figure 1.1, “The Roadmap for Diagnosis,” to guide your decision making. Identify four clinical diagnoses relevant to Bogdan that you will consider as part of narrowing down your choices. Be prepared to explain in a concise statement why you ruled three of them out. Confirm whether any codes have changed by checking this website: American Psychiatric Association. (2017, October 1). Changes to ICD-10-CM codes for DSM-5 diagnoses. Washington, DC: Author. Retrieved from https://www.psychiatry.org/psychiatrists/practice/dsm/updates-to-dsm-5/coding-updatesBy
Day 3 Post a 300- to 500-word response in which you address the following: Provide a full DSM-5 diagnosis of Bogdan.
Remember, a full diagnosis should include the name of the disorder, ICD-10-CM code, specifiers, severity, and the Z codes (other conditions that may be a focus of clinical attention). Keep in mind a diagnosis covers the most recent 12 months. Explain the diagnosis by matching the symptoms identified in the case to the specific criteria for the diagnosis. Identify which four diagnoses you initially considered in the case of Bogdan, using the DSM-5 diagnostic criteria to explain why you selected these four items. In one or two sentences each, explain why three of these diagnoses were excluded. Explain any obvious eliminations that could be made from within the neurodevelopmental spectrum. Describe in detail how Bogdan’s symptoms match up with the specific diagnostic criteria for the primary disorder that you finally selected for him. Note two other relevant DSM-5 criteria for that illness from the sections on “diagnostic features” and “development and course” that fit his case.
By Day 6 Respond to at least two colleagues in the following ways: Compare the diagnosis you provided and the process in which you reached the diagnosis with those of your colleague. Explain how the Z codes (other conditions that may be a focus of clinical attention) that your colleague identified may influence Bogdan’s upcoming treatment.
You must proofread your paper. But do not strictly rely on your computer’s spell-checker and grammar-checker; failure to do so indicates a lack of effort on your part and you can expect your grade to suffer accordingly. Papers with numerous misspelled words and grammatical mistakes will be penalized. Read over your paper – in silence and then aloud – before handing it in and make corrections as necessary. Often it is advantageous to have a friend proofread your paper for obvious errors. Handwritten corrections are preferable to uncorrected mistakes.
Use a standard 10 to 12 point (10 to 12 characters per inch) typeface. Smaller or compressed type and papers with small margins or single-spacing are hard to read. It is better to let your essay run over the recommended number of pages than to try to compress it into fewer pages.
Likewise, large type, large margins, large indentations, triple-spacing, increased leading (space between lines), increased kerning (space between letters), and any other such attempts at “padding” to increase the length of a paper are unacceptable, wasteful of trees, and will not fool your professor.
The paper must be neatly formatted, double-spaced with a one-inch margin on the top, bottom, and sides of each page. When submitting hard copy, be sure to use white paper and print out using dark ink. If it is hard to read your essay, it will also be hard to follow your argument.
