Mixed bag: Tics, compulsions, and more

Abstract

When Ricky was 6-years old and completing kindergarten at a parochial school, his parents, teacher, and pediatrician were concerned because he was recognizing less than half of the lowercase letters of the alphabet and inconsistently recognizing numbers through 50. However, he could count beyond 100. Ricky made mild articulation errors in spontaneous speech and continued to show difficulties sequencing multisyllabic words, features thought to reflect subtle remaining characteristics of his previously diagnosed developmental apraxia of speech. At home and school Ricky avoided all tasks requiring literacy. Although he allowed his parents to read to him, he became restless and walked away when asked to read decodable books or to engage in any type of writing. Although not consistent, he sometimes became frustrated to the point of having emotional meltdowns that included screaming and throwing items. Similar behaviors were seen during initial testing. © 2010 Springer-Verlag New York.