Dylan’s parents, Marie and Bobby, were unemployed and shared a history of substance and alcohol abuse: Human growth and development Assignment, OC, Ireland

Case Study – Dylan
Dylan’s parents, Marie and Bobby, were unemployed and shared a history of substance and alcohol abuse. When Dylan was born he was identified as being at risk. However the commitment of Dylan’s maternal grandmother, Mrs Byrnes that she would assist with his care prevented him from being put into care.

However, this arrangement only worked for a short time. When Dylan was three months old his parents decided to move to another part of the country. The parents broke all contact with the maternal grandmother as they did not want her interfering with their lives. As a consequence of this relocation, Dylan was a regular witness to, and victim of, his parent’s volatile relationship. Their interaction with him was poor and their living conditions were appalling.

When Dylan was two years and nine months old his father died from an overdose. Dylan’s mother was now a lone parent.

When Dylan was three years old he started playschool. The teacher noticed that he was small for his age. She also noted that he came to school dirty, that his clothes were light for the cold weather prevailing at the time, that his baby teeth were completely black, that he had very little speech for his age, that he did not interact with the other children and, most of all, he did not smile.

The teacher in the playschool contacted social services to get help for Dylan and his mother. They contacted the maternal grandmother and it was agreed that the maternal grandmother should get protective custody of the child and that the mother should also live with them. The mother decided that she would agree to the grandmother looking after Dylan but she did not want to live with them. So she left Dylan with the grandmother and did not contact them again.