Case study
Take a look at the following case study:
Aiden is 9 years old and mum was called in by the school yesterday afternoon to discuss his behaviour. He's been throwing things off his table, shouting at the teachers and getting angry with other children during this term. He's had a behaviour plan for the last two months. Yesterday morning, a teacher had to run after him as he stormed out of the playground and ran down the road. It took around 30 minutes for the teacher to persuade him to come back into school.
Whilst visiting Aiden’s mother, Suze, she tells you that she and his dad Nick have been arguing for the last year or so. She says they'd never argued in front of Aidan, but 6 weeks ago Nick left the house and hasn’t returned. Suze tells you that she’s 18 weeks pregnant by another man.
Suze hasn’t spoken to Nick since and Aiden has refused to talk to her about his dad leaving the house. She doesn't know if Nick and Aiden have spoken to each other. Talking in the kitchen you observe cider cans in the cupboard as Suze finds the teabags. It’s that cheap 7.4% cider. Seeing you looking, Suze reveals that she finds it easier to cope when she’s had a drink. The midwife she saw at the scan told her to stop drinking completely, but she insists that she’s cut down. She now just has one can a day.
Aiden: While you’re there, Aiden gets home from school. He immediately makes some toast and sits in front of the TV playing on his computer game.
Suze asks for help to fill in the forms due to her difficulties with reading and writing. As you talk, Suze mentions she's always had problems concentrating and remembering things. She says Aiden can now help her with some of these forms, but she doesn't know if he's doing them properly. She just feels she’s struggling and it’s hard work to be a mother as Aiden is getting older. Suze becomes visibly upset during the visit.
Suze lives in a flat which she inherited from her Dad. He died at 48 years from an alcohol related liver cancer.
Nick works as a delivery driver for a local firm. Suze tells you that Nick has another child, Mark, who is 14 years old.
