Journal Report Outline

Field Experience:

The social worker visited C—a client with autism spectrum disorder—at their home.

The experience can be described as informative, educative, and explorative. The role of the social worker (SW) in this incident was to observe, assess, and advocate. As an observer, the SW noted C’s behavior and how he interacts with his mother.

As an assessor, the SW assessed the criteria for Protective Supervision and analyzed the client’s judgment, further assessing his needs regarding the environment. As an advocate, the SW advocated for C’s need for constant supervision: Journal Report Outline.

Significant Information: 

C is a minor with autism spectrum disorder, and he is non-verbal and exhibits limited comprehension, safety awareness, and mouthing. His primary issues are safety and the need for constant supervision (Karni-Visel, 2023). He engages in dangerous actions, struggles to follow instructions, and expresses his needs. A doctor’s office referred C for an assessment to determine if his behaviors and limitations require additional supervision and assistance with daily living tasks.

Relevant Factors:

Living with autism spectrum disorder, C needs specialized care because he has developmental limitations and cognitive challenges. Currently, his mother is the provider of support and supervision; thus, his safety is his mother’s responsibility. The client ought to be safe because he demonstrated behaviors like wondering about. Although he does not have major physical limitations, he experiences constipation and prefers certain foods and textures.

C is at the early childhood lifecycle stage, yet from his behavior, he is neurotypically different from his peers; therefore, there is a need for closer supervision. The IHSS with Protective Supervision program is recommended to meet the unique needs of the client (Corey et al., 2018). In return, the child can stay safely in his home environment and help his family maintain their capacity to provide care more comfortably without being overwhelmed by the intense demand for supervision.

The client’s family is currently facing financial constraints due to the demanding needs of care for C. Service from the IHSS and public assistance can help relieve the family from some of the burden associated with caring for C. Environmental factors, like C’s tendency to mouth non-food items as well as his unpredictable engagement with dangerous objects are also issues of concern (Karni-Visel, 2023). These are factors in the environment that pose risks to the client. Another concern is discrimination, as families of children with disabilities like autism often face discrimination.

Even so, strengths identified in this case include the attentive family support and the availability of community and medical resources. Also, C’s social engagement is a strength because it aids in his development. Some needs that are of concern, in this case, are intense supervision, the need for specialized developmental support, and respite services (Karni-Visel, 2023). Still, additional information is needed regarding the family’s financial status, accessibility of community support, and the client’s medical history.

Integration of Theory & Practice:

The social work approach to this case was influenced by Ecological Systems Theory, Strengths-Based Practice, Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA), and Protective Supervision guidelines. The Ecological Systems Theory assessed how environmental factors, such as economic stressors and social stigma, influenced the child’s behavior and family interactions. In C’s case, Strengths-Based Practice focused on identifying and enhancing individual and family strengths, while ABA techniques, particularly positive reinforcement and redirection, shaped structured and flexible interventions. Lastly, Protective Supervision guidelines under California’s Medi-Cal In-Home Supportive Services standards guided the legal eligibility criteria for protective supervision.

The Problem-Solving Process:

Several stages of the problem-solving process were involved in this case. These included the engagement stage, gathering information, diagnosis stage, intervention, and evaluation. The first step was to build a rapport with the parent (mother) and then establish trust from both the parent and the client. The next step was information gathering.

Here, information concerning the child’s behavior, the family routines, and the client’s triggers was collected (Corey et al., 2018). Further, in the diagnosis stage, the child’s developmental challenges were diagnosed, and the family needs were identified. Then, in the intervention stage, recommendations were made, and their effectiveness was evaluated by observing behavioral changes and assessing the mother’s comfort with implementing strategies. This structured yet flexible approach aligns with social work principles.

Applicable Paradigm(s)

The paradigm that helps understand human behavior in this context is the Social Systems approach. This approach explains how an individual’s behavior is influenced by their environment and relationships, including economic constraints, social support availability, and environmental factors. This helps understand how stressors impact the child’s behavior, in this case and thus helps develop a comprehensive, systems-oriented intervention for the family.

Paradigm	Medical	Social Systems	Psychoanalytic	Humanistic	Behavioristic
Past/ Present Emphasis	History/symptoms used to diagnose	Here & now solutions sought	Strong historical emphasis, intergenerational	Here & now emphasized	Present relearning
Assumed Cause of Condition	Physical, bodily malfunctions	Unmet human needs	Internal conflicts, defenses, instincts vs. morals	Experiences that block self-actualization	Determined by previous conditioning
Therapeutic Approach	Medication, surgery, physical treatments & education	Connect person with source of need satisfaction	Make conflict conscious	Create climate for growth, self-exploration	Change specific behaviors, habits, & thoughts
Length of Treatment	Varies depending on diagnosis	Short term preferred	Long term (years)	Short to intermediate (months)	Usually short term

Social Work Values Involved:

The social work approach to this client was guided by the core values and ethical principles from the NASW Code of Ethics. These values include dignity, service, the worth of a person, and the importance of human relationships. Service emphasizes the importance of SW prioritizing valuable individual needs and working toward their well-being (National Association of Social Workers, n.d.). The dignity and worth of a person are manifest when a social worker respects each person’s unique situation and self-worth.

In addition, the NASW code emphasizes the importance of human relationships, where SWs are strongly encouraged to learn to understand and show respect to all individuals. Most importantly, the NASW Code of Ethics highlights the importance of cultural competence and social diversity, which emphasize understanding and respecting cultural differences (National Association of Social Workers, n.d.). Following this approach allowed for a respectful, culturally aware, and strengths-based intervention that aligned with social work’s ethical commitments.

Personal Reactions:

Working with C and his mother led to a mix of emotions and reactions. At first, I felt a sense of purpose and commitment to support the child’s needs, but later, I was surprised by the complexity of balancing the child’s developmental needs with the mother’s need for support. I also experienced empathy and frustration but still had hope throughout the case as I grounded myself in social work values and principles.

This experience reinforced my dedication to social work and the importance of self-awareness in my practice. In addition, this experience deepened my appreciation for the complexities of social work, especially when working with vulnerable populations.

Outcome:

The intervention was moderately effective in meeting the needs of the child and his developmental needs. One of the reasons it was not as successful was due to limited resources and the high care needs of the child. The intervention, however, improved the child’s engagement in therapeutic activities and provided the much-needed support strategy for the child. Also, the intervention taught the SW the importance of resilience, problem-solving, and advocacy. In the end, the child and the family were in a better position to manage the condition effectively.

References

Corey, M.S., Corey, G. & Corey, C. (2018). Groups: Process and practice. Thomson/Brooks/Cole.

National Association of Social Workers (n.d.). NASW Code of Ethics. https://www.socialworkers.org/About/Ethics/Code-of-Ethics/Code-of-Ethics-English

Karni-Visel, Y., Atun-Einy, O., & Ben-Sasson, A. (2023). Social workers’ knowledge of autism and self-efficacy in its diagnosis and interventions. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 108, 102251. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rasd.2023.102251

ORDER A PLAGIARISM-FREE PAPER HERE

We’ll write everything from scratch

---

Select a field experience and use this outline for your journal report. Be concise and protect the confidentiality and privacy of clients, groups, providers, supervisors, field instructors and staff. Submit a copy of your journal report to your Field Liaison through Blackboard.   Final version should be filed in the field portfolio. This is a professional report, you are to use third person in all areas except your personal reactions section.  You will be graded on grammar and professionalism.

Field experience:   Select a key experience with a client, client group, community, agency, supervisor, other field students, or staff.  Describe what happened and your role(s) in the situation e.g. (mediator, planner, enabler, observer, counselor, manager, broker/advocate, facilitator, catalyst, activist, teacher, trainer, mentor, outreach worker, monitor, or researcher).

Significant information:  Provide some brief background information such as, client data, presenting problem, or referral information.

Relevant Factors: Include assessment information gathered that helped you understand the situation or plan your intervention.  What individual, family, community, social, cultural, spiritual, medical, physical, developmental, psychological, and/or mental health factors influenced the situation. Explain the life cycle stage, group development stage, community program development stage, or research process step that applies.

Describe any of the following factors that are relevant: economic, political, environmental, discrimination, or oppression.  What strengths and needs were identified?  What additional information is needed?

Integration of Theory & Practice:  What have you learned in your courses that helped you understand the situation or plan your intervention?  What theory, practice model, approach, strategy, method, technique, intervention, or research method was used? Consult textbooks, course materials, journal articles, and/or instructors and provide citation of materials referenced.

What stage(s) of the problem solving process were involved in this key experience? (engagement, gathering information, assessment/diagnostics, intervention and review, evaluation, termination, aftercare/referral). Explain.

Choose the paradigm(s) that helps you understand human behavior in this key experience:

___Medical     ___Social Systems      ___Psychoanalytic     ___Humanistic      ___Behavioristic

Explain your choices by discussing how behavior in this key experiences is viewed or understood.

Paradigm	Medical	Social Systems	Psychoanalytic	Humanistic	Behavioristic
Past/ Present Emphasis	History/symptoms used to diagnose	Here & now solutions sought	Strong historical emphasis, intergenerational	Here & now emphasized	Present relearning
Assumed Cause of Condition	Physical, bodily malfunctions	Unmet human needs	Internal conflicts, defenses, instincts vs. morals	Experiences that block self-actualization	Determined by previous conditioning
Therapeutic Approach	Medication, surgery, physical treatments & education	Connect person with source of need satisfaction	Make conflict conscious	Create climate for growth, self-exploration	Change specific behaviors, habits, & thoughts
Length of Treatment	Varies depending on diagnosis	Short term preferred	Long term (years)	Short to intermediate (months)	Usually short term

Social work values involved:  Describe core social work values, ethical principles, or ethical standards that were applied in this situation.  Indicate from the NASW Code of Ethics which value or ethic you chose and how it applies to the situation.

Personal reactions:  Write about your reactions.  How comfortable were you with your actions; what was surprising; what emotions did you experience; or how did you deal with your reactions?

Outcome:  How effective was the intervention? How will you use what you learned? What will you do differently in the future? What will your next actions be? What practice behaviors from your Learning Contract did this key experience help you develop?