ABSTRACT
It was the absence of behavior that prompted Will's referral to the Treatment Center. Will had been enrolled in a Head Start program but had been quickly rejected because he did not demonstrate the prerequisite skills, e.g., he did not speak, he had to be carried to the school, he played neither cooperatively nor in parallel, and he was devoid of those self-help skills expected of a four-year-old. Will would entertain himself by playing with a few toys, and he preferred spinning pots and pans. If his parents demanded Will comply with a verbal request, this would invariably provoke a temper tantrum characterized by dry wailing, his alternately becoming rigid and flaccid when picked up, throwing his arms about, facial grimacing, and wriggling out of one's hands only to run a short distance and to fall phlegmatically to the ground. Will would not predictably obey even so simple a request as "Come with me." One had physically to take his hand to make him comply. When staff would release his hand, Will would wander away from the other persons present and amuse himself in some unstructured manner. Will would not look at one in the eye; his fine and gross motor coordinations varied with tasks but were estimated to be less than what would be expected of a two-year-old. He walked on his toes so consistently that there was a question of muscular atrophy in his arches. Will was unable to run at an age-expectancy rate; actually, it was impossible to make him run, since he simply would not comply with such a request. Will was physically weak and lethargic for his age-not surprising, considering that he was of frail stature and under-exercised. He would eat a variety of foods, but not in great quantities.
