Decision Making As Part of a Team
Recently, I worked at the center for autism-related disorders in Texas as a volunteer behavioral therapist. I worked alongside other officials specializing in Autism Spectral Disorder (ASD). One of our clients, a nine-year boy, presented aggressive behavior and so the team had decided on the type of treatment to be used on him. Possible options for the treatment included the use of medication, behavioral therapy, and educational therapy.
The team used the decision by an expert as its decision-making model used. The team’s developmental pediatrician decided to use medicine as the treatment option on behalf of the other team members, including the boy’s parents. The reason is that pediatricians can diagnose autism as they are often involved with behavioral issues in children; hence they can prescribe and monitor medication.
What worked well with the decision is that the medicines helped with challenging behaviors such as anxiety, hyperactivity, tantrums, and sleep problems. As a result, it made it easier for the client to engage with his family, join school programs, feel more comfortable around other people, and learn better. However, even though medicine helped, it did not eliminate the problem behaviors because his symptoms still caused a little stress to the family.
If I happened to be in such a situation again, I would recommend the use of a consensus decision-making model and the use of behavioral therapy. The reason is that the decision by expert model limited opportunities for creative solutions from the other team members and that medicines do not cure ASD. Where a consensus model is used, ideas from all the members get accommodated, enabling the team to agree. Drugs may only be used for autism after behavioral and educational therapy has failed, and the medicines have thoroughly been assessed to minimize the possibility of potential side effects.