UMKC First Person Account of Psychological Diagnoses Reflection Paper This application assignment is intended to give you an opportunity to develop an in-d

UMKC First Person Account of Psychological Diagnoses Reflection Paper This application assignment is intended to give you an opportunity to develop an in-depth understanding of a particular psychological diagnosis. First, you will examine that psychological disorder through the lens of one person’s real life experiences by selecting and reading one of the following first person essays. Each of these essays provides a firsthand account of the author’s experiences with a mental health diagnosis. You should select an essay that is of interest to you and one that provides you with an opportunity to learn about experiences that might be different from your own personal experiences, such as from an author who has different experiences than you based on their diagnosis, their gender, culture, social or geographic background, etc. After reading the essay, you will embark on your own research of this psychological disorder by using three sources: 1. your textbook, 2. NIMH website information, and 3. one other scholarly source of your choosing (see note below). Using all these resources, you will answer the following questions (A thru C below) in well-written paragraphs.

To submit this assignment: Create a word document with your written answers (labeled A-D as below) and upload your file (type doc or docx). Your final document should be 3-5 full paragraphs and not be longer than 2 pages.

LINKS TO ESSAYS:

These essays are selected from the book: LeCroy, C.W., & Holschuh, J. (2012). First person accounts of mental illness and recovery. John Wiley & Sons.

(you will find the essays in the 5 files)

WRITTEN ANSWER QUESTIONS:

[IMPORTANT: Please be sure to label/title your document with the name of the essay you chose]

A. Summary and reflection on the essay [4 pts] : Write 1-2 paragraph(s) that provides a brief summary of the essay you read, including a description of the author’s experiences with the psychological diagnosis they describe. Be sure that you describe the following:

[1 pt] What diagnosis & symptoms does the author describe in their essay?
[1 pt] What do you think is the author’s primary goal, or take-home message, for the reader?
[1 pt] What are your observations about the developmental aspects of this essay? Describe at least one aspect of the person’s story that relates to an important aspect of developmental psychology. For instance, discuss how you think their experiences relate to their particular stage of life, how their experiences link to their experiences with parenting, their cognitive development, etc.
[1 pt] Describe at least one aspect of the person’s experiences that reflects important social and/or cultural factors. Be specific about what social/cultural factors are important in this person’s story. Be careful not to make superficial assumptions or base your observations on cultural stereotypes or generalizations – reflect thoughtfully on this person’s own words. How do they describe their social and/or their cultural world? How do these influences shape the author’s experiences and their story.

B. Understanding the diagnosis. [7 pts] Develop 1-2 well-written paragraphs that provide the following descriptive and factual information about the diagnosis:

1. Description and symptoms 3pts– provide a summary/overview of the main features of this condition, including the key symptoms that are part of the diagnosis.

2. [2 pts] Describe basic prevalence information and statistical information/facts about the diagnosis. How common is this diagnosis in the US population? Provide at least 2 other facts about the diagnosis based on your research.

3. {1 pt} Causes and risk factors – write 1-2 sentences about what the known causes or risk factors are for this condition.

4. [1 pt] Treatment – write 1-2 sentences about what types of treatment are considered effective for this condition.

C. Your Personal observations/reflections [5 pts]. Write 1 paragraph describing your own observations, thoughts, and reflections about this story. You have a wide range of angles you can take – I just want to see you write a thoughtful and well written paragraph explaining what you took away from this essay and this assignment. For instance: What did you learn that you did not know previously? What questions did this essay/assignment spark for you? What aspects of this story can you relate to other experiences you have had or other courses you are taking? Did this essay relate to your future career goals? How? Etc.

D. List of References. Make sure you list your 3 sources and proofread your paper. You will also be graded on the quality of your citations [2 pt] and the quality of your writing [2 pt]. Note on your sources: You are to use three reputable, scholarly sources for this assignment. One source should be your course textbook, the second source should be the website of the National Institute of Mental Health. (side note: If you are not already familiar with what the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is/does, then I urge you to read about this important scientific organization). There is a lot of information throughout the NIMH website but you will especially want to look under “brochures and fact sheets” and “statistics” sections ( see https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/index.shtml (Links to an external site.)). For your third source, you should find a scholarly, scientific article on the diagnosis by conducting a search using a reputable scientific database. I suggest you use “google scholar” or the UMKC library database for “PubMed” or “Psychinfo” to conduct your search). You may use any scholarly format for listing your references (such as APA or MLA style).

You can find the “PubMed” and “PsychInfo” databases through UMKC by following this link and scrolling to the appropriate database: https://libguides.library.umkc.edu/az.php?a=p Disorders Usually First Diagnosed in Childhood
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that leads anywhere. So I try to focus on what I can do, and it makes me feel
good to say, “See this great gift I have? It’s because I’m autistic!”
Maybe you don’t agree, and maybe it’s not even a gift in your opinion,
but why not let me have my joy over that bit of being? Life goes better for
all of us if we change what we can, and accept what we can’t, with some semblance of a smile. There is nothing wrong with wanting to take away a disability. That’s a great goal, and one I fully support. What’s wrong is making
something out to be “bad” and then failing to take it away, leaving us stuck
with the “bad” irremovably bonded to us. Moral judgment has no place in
the world of remediating disability.
Alien: A Story of Asperger’s Syndrome
Stephanie Mayberry
I used to beg my mother to “admit” to me that I was adopted. I just knew
that had to be why I was so different. Later, about the time that UFOs became popular with Close Encounters of the Third Kind, I was convinced I was
an alien—or at least an alien hybrid.
Then I grew up.
Thirty-four years later, at the ripe old age of 44, I sat across from a doctor who told me he was giving me a diagnosis of Asperger’s syndrome.
And a lifetime of wondering suddenly had all the answers.
Asperger’s syndrome is a neurobiological “disorder” that is classified under the autism umbrella (meaning it is an autism spectrum disorder—there
is no actual umbrella). People with Asperger’s syndrome (AS) may think and
act in ways that neurotypical (NT), or “normal,” people may consider odd,
strange, or even offensive.
I know that there are times I say things that upset people. Over the
course of my life, I have done things that caused people to think I was
strange. Many even told me so. I never really understood it. Then again, I
don’t really understand people.
I can’t speak for others with Asperger’s; I can only talk about my own
symptoms and struggles. We are all different, just like “normal” people.
There is a saying, “If you have seen one person with Asperger’s, you have
seen one person with Asperger’s.” There are some common traits that we
Aspies often share though.
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I guess I should tell you, Aspie is a moniker that many people with
Asperger’s use to identify ourselves. It is “politically correct” and perfectly
okay to use.
Communication and Social Interaction
I am not a very social person; many Aspies aren’t. Some just don’t really like
people, but many don’t know how to function effectively and appropriately
in social situations. Sometimes I like to be around people—not too many.
I think sometimes that it would be nice to have a friend, a real friend. But
people exhaust me.
It is very stressful trying to communicate with people. The things that
interest me don’t interest them. I am fascinated by neuroscience. I also really
like law. My job has to do with law. But when I talk to people about it they
tell me that I am talking “over their heads.” I am not, I am talking to them,
but someone explained to me that that is an expression that means I am
talking about things that they can’t understand.
Oh, I am a very literal thinker. If you tell me that it is raining cats and
dogs outside, the picture I get in my head is of cats and dogs falling from
the sky. I know now what that means, but it is still confusing for just a second as I process it. This can make it difficult to talk to people sometimes.
Neurotypicals (NTs), or “normal” people, use a lot of terms like this. It can
make talking to them very confusing and frustrating for both of us. They say
something, I take it literally, and they get frustrated with me because I don’t
understand. I have been through this a lot. It is not fun.
Many Aspies tend to be very honest. You might think that that is a really
good thing, but it has gotten me into trouble more than once. It has also
caused me to hurt people’s feelings, which is something I never, ever want to
do. But they ask me and I answer with the truth.
This is where a lot of Aspies get into trouble. Most of us don’t know
what to say and what not to say. We can’t tell what is appropriate and what
isn’t. When it comes to our minds, we just say it. When I have tried to explain this to some NTs, they often respond, “Oh, I am like that, too.”
The first time this happened, I said, “No, you aren’t, not really.” They
got really offended. But I was just helping them understand. When I was
first friends with the man who is now my husband, he spent a lot of time
saying, “Wow! You are honest!” He was surprised a lot—he told me I
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surprised him. I didn’t think it would be a surprise because I am the way I
am and I don’t change.
Most people with Asperger’s don’t have that intuition, that “knowing,”
that NTs have. They can “read” people, understanding what facial expressions and vocal tones mean. We can’t much of the time. I can tell when a
person’s expression changes, but I have no idea why. I can’t read expressions
and it is really confusing because someone can be angry or sad and still
smile. How am I supposed to understand that?
They use the same expressions, and sometimes vocal tones, for different
emotions. A person can frown when they are angry or when they are concentrating on something or when they are trying to sort something out in
their head. Apparently, there are subtle differences that most people would
understand to know if the frown was angry or concentrating or whatever. I
don’t have that.
A lady at work tried to teach me how to “read” facial expressions. She
went into this long explanation, telling me that I should pay attention to
what emotions I am feeling and what I think that person is feeling or may
feel at that time.
I was polite. I listened and said “okay” a bunch of times. But it made
no sense. I am not an emotional person and I don’t understand emotions in
other people. People act on their emotions, and many times they become
completely irrational. It just doesn’t make sense to me. Plus, how can I know
how someone else is feeling if I am not them? Her explanation did not work.
But I still thanked her because that is the polite thing to do. It is a rule.
Rules and Routines
Aspies tend to be very rule focused, and I am no exception. I like rules. I like
having rules to follow, knowing exactly what I am to do in given situations. I
like having a set time to get to work and to go home. It is a little upsetting that
they don’t have rules at work for breaks and lunch. I am afraid to take breaks
sometimes because I don’t want it to be wrong and for someone to get upset.
I made my own schedule, though, and it works for me. I made my own rules.
Routines are very good, too. I don’t like change very much. I don’t rearrange my furniture in my home. It changes the way the space feels and I
don’t feel like I am in my own space. It is upsetting and takes several days or
even weeks for me to get used to it.
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My morning routine is very precise. I wake at 4:00 a.m. My husband
puts his arms around me and holds me for 7 to 10 minutes. I get up and take
a shower while he makes coffee. We have our coffee, talk, and sometimes I
write while he reads. At 5:00 a.m., we pray together. At 5:15 a.m. we finish
praying and I get dressed for work. I leave at 5:27 a.m. The light at the end
of the street turns at 5:32 a.m., so I make sure I get to my car out of the parking lot and to the light by then so I can catch a green light. I catch the 5:37
a.m. commuter bus. I always pull into the commuter lot at 5:35 a.m. When
my husband drives, though, my schedule gets way off. It makes me feel like
I can’t breathe. I don’t like it when my routine is messed up.
Sensory Defensiveness
I am sensory defensive. Many Aspies are to one degree or another. Sensory
defensiveness is a hypersensitivity to one or more senses such as taste, smell,
hearing, sight, or touch. Taste isn’t bad, but smells and noise can make me
very upset. Bright lights are bad, too. When I am in an area where there are
bright lights, lots of noise, and activity, I get very agitated and anxious. I just
want to run away.
I have worked in situations where people were cruel. Once, I worked for
a government agency. I told my boss about my Asperger’s and my sensory
issues. She acted like she understood, and she did help me for a while. Then
one day a coworker told her some lies about me and she got angry with me.
She moved me to an area where there was a lot of noise and people moving
about all the time. The lights were very bright. It was awful.
Another supervisor arranged for me to move into an office, but for the
week I was in that other area, I got very little work completed. It was very
stressful.
Noises that bother me the most are noisy food (celery, apples, carrots,
chips) and beeping or humming at certain levels. It makes me feel like my
ears are going to bleed or like my spine is getting shocked.
I am hypersensitive to touch, but I am not sensitive to pain. I don’t really feel pain all that much. However, if I wear the wrong material it will feel
as if I am wearing sandpaper. When I shop for clothes (I hate to shop but I
have to feel the clothes to make sure I can wear them) I usually go to thrift
stores because the clothes are soft and “broken in.” As I shop, I look at skirt
length first (I only wear skirts, long skirts), then I feel the fabric to make sure
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it is the right kind. Then I look at the waistband. I have to have an elastic
waistband because anything else feels wrong.
When I get stressed, though, all of these things get way worse. Even my
softest clothing feels scratchy. Noises seem even louder (I hear really, really
well, things other people don’t) and lights seem brighter. Smells are stronger.
Right now I am sitting in my living room in my apartment. I can hear
the cars out on the street. Someone is setting off fireworks (very stressful—
too intermittent and not rhythmic). I can hear my computer running, my
refrigerator, my dog breathing, the light on the range buzzing, the crickets
outside, my husband breathing in the other room, and the people upstairs
walking around in their apartment. The thing is, my brain can’t filter the unimportant sounds from the important ones, so it treats each of these sounds
as if they are top priority. I am almost always in a state of hyperalertness. You
might know it better as “fight or flight.”
It is so hard to think with the fireworks going off outside. It is really
bothering me. It is also against the rules because it is after 10:00 p.m. That is
very rude and inconsiderate. But I wish they would stop because my anxiety
is starting to bother me. The sound is too inconsistent and at a bad level.
The Loop
Sometimes a thought gets stuck in my head. I can’t get it out. This is a common thing with Aspies. I get the thought or idea and I analyze it, question
it, and discuss it. Sometimes it is a concern I have. Other times it is something that really bothers me or I don’t understand it.
My husband has gotten very good at redirecting me. He will do something to get my attention on something else. Usually, it has to be something
visual and he talks while he shows me. It can be a book or a photo or an
electronic device (I like electronics—I am very good with them).
But when these thoughts get stuck in my head, I call it “the loop.” My
head feels tight and my brain feels like there are gears inside that are grinding, freezing up. I can’t think or do anything but concentrate on that one
thought. My anxiety gets really bad then.
One thing that gets me in the loop is my face-blindness. If a person isn’t
where they are supposed to be and I see them, I usually don’t recognize them.
For instance, one day I went into a convenience store and a lady walked up
to me, called me by name, and started talking to me as if she knew me very
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well. I had no idea who she was. It was very upsetting because I knew that
obviously I should know this woman, but I did not. I was looking at her and
listening to her, trying to find some clues so I could determine her identity.
I walked out of the store and felt terrible. I was afraid she knew I did
not know who she was. I was afraid that I hurt her feelings. It is a terrible,
very sad feeling when this happens to you. I went into the loop and kept
asking my husband if I had hurt her feelings. I even asked him if he would
go back and see her to see if he knew her (I had gone inside by myself ). But
he said she was probably long gone. That Sunday at church a friend of mine
mentioned seeing me at the store. I know this woman well, but I only see
her at church. She was not where she “belonged” so I did not recognize her.
Lying will put me in the loop, too. I don’t lie. I get very, very upset when
someone lies to me or about me. When it happens I feel very violated and
helpless. I get very anxious and want to right the wrong. I want to bring
the truth to light. Sometimes people don’t understand this. They say to just
ignore the lie. But that breaks so many rules!
Patterns and Analysis
We Aspies are logical, analytical beings and we usually love patterns. I know
that I am drawn to patterns and often find them where other people, NTs,
don’t see them. While I do tend to analyze things a lot, even overanalyze
things, it is very useful.
I think that Asperger’s left me with the inability to read people, but God
gifted me with a gifted eye for patterns and a sharp mind for analysis. It
makes up for what I lack. I like being intelligent.
I can also use these skills to do my own type of “reading” people. I had
a supervisor who was very quiet. In the morning she seemed almost crabby.
She would frown and sometimes raise her voice a little. Everyone was afraid
of her.
I watched her, though, because it seemed that she changed slightly at
about midmorning. She seemed to be a reserved and maybe even shy person,
but she seemed different later in the day. So, I watched her patterns and
analyzed the differences in her demeanor between the time she arrived at
work and midmorning. I catalogued responses, the words she used to answer
questions, the way her face looked, such as muscle tension around the eyes
and mouth, and her speech (did she talk fast or slow, loud or soft, flowing or
with spaces between her words?).
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What I found was that in the morning she did have a lot of tension
around her mouth and her eyes, like the muscles were clenched. Her eyes
stayed downcast and her posture was slightly droopy. Her speech was at an
odd pitch and her words were not spoken fluidly, but more broken with irregular spaces between.
By afternoon, her facial muscles looked relaxed, her eyes were looking about, above her shoulder level, and they were shiny. Her posture was
straighter and stronger. Her speech was much more fluid and seemed to
come easier.
I suspected that she was not a morning person (she probably stays up
too late and does not get enough sleep). My coworkers were afraid to talk to
her at all, but I started talking to her later in the day. She was very friendly.
Finally, I asked her if she was not a morning person. She admitted that
she was not. My coworkers were very surprised that I had asked her that.
They said they would never ask someone something like that. But she had
not reacted badly or like she was offended. She seemed happy. It made our
interactions much more pleasurable because I waited until around 10:00
a.m. to approach her on issues. Then she would be awake enough to effectively address them and would not get irritated.
The God I Know
The most important thing about me is that I am a Christian. God is the
most important thing in the world to me. Without Him, I would not have
the life that I do. And I have a pretty great life. He has guided me through
some terrible times and protected me from some very dangerous situations.
He has shaped me into someone I actually like.
Even though I grew up in the church, I was not “settled.” It seemed that
many of the churches I attended would take only parts of the Bible and toss
out what they did not want to use. I think a lot of people do that: accept the
parts of the Bible that they can live with and discard the things that would
infringe upon their lifestyle or hinder their fun.
It doesn’t work like that, though. The Bible is God’s Word and we are
to follow it. That is why I love the Bible. It has such straightforward rules. I
can read the Bible and find the answers to just about any questions I have.
True, sometimes the terms are confusing. I am Apostolic now, and when
I first started attending I heard the pastor talk about “fruit.” There were
“fruits of the spirit,” people would “bear fruit,” and people were told to be
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“fruitful.” That really confused me. I asked my husband and he explained
that a person is fruitful when they share the Word with others. They are
fruitful when they do things and act in a way that shows people who Jesus
is. He explained it better, but I do understand it now.
I haven’t always acted in the way I am supposed to act, but God has
forgiven me and now I live for Him. He works through me, reaching out
to others. I began my blog TheChristianAspie.com because I felt pressed by
God to write about what it is like to be a Christian with Asperger’s.
I started writing and people started reading. I get letters and comments
from people all over the world. Some have questions, some want to tell me
that they have Asperger’s or someone in their family has Asperger’s, some
want to ask me how they can best minister to this special group. This has
become my ministry.
I never thought I would ever be good enough to minister to people in
this way, but God is amazing and He works through me. I have even spoken
on Asperger’s and accepting people who are different or strange.
He has instilled in me a fierce drive to reach out to this population.
There are many, many Christian Aspies out there who want to worship and
attend services, but people don’t know what to do with them or how to
interact with them. The things I am writing are educating those people so
that when an Aspie shows up at their church, they can effectively minister to
them. And God has blessed me in ways that are just incredible.
My Job
I work a full-time job. It is estimated that approximately 86% of Aspies are
not able to keep full-time, permanent employment. I know I have had a lot
of different jobs. But I have been on this job for several years now.
It isn’t easy. On jobs they expect you to be social. They expect you to
attend office parties and go to lunch with people. I don’t see work as a
social situation. I am there to work, not go to parties. But I am polite so
I go for just a minute, then I leave. I am not comfortable at those things
anyway.
I have had jobs where I was treated very badly. I have had managers who
were very mean to me. Most of it I did not realize, but people I worked with
told me. The managers would use sarcasm, and I don’t understand sarcasm
most of the time. I did not realize they were being mean.
Disorders Usually First Diagnosed in Childhood
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My husband says that it is a good thing that I don’t “…
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