Within the couple of hours of my niece Janelle being born, doctors were concerned how little she was and her slow mobility. Unaware of her condition in Brownsville, she was sent to Driscoll Hospital in Corpus Christie within a couple of weeks. While being in the care at the hospital, medical doctors diagnosed Janelle with Prader-Willi Syndrome. As you can imagine, so many questions and thoughts went through her parent’s minds. To start, what is Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS)? According to Genetic Home Reference, PWS is a complex genetic condition that affects many parts of the body, such as muscle tone, insatiable appetite, intellectual impairment, and learning disabilities. Which Janelle experiences all of these abnormalities and we have to take …show more content…
PWS has affected her developmental milestones over the years. For instance, Janelle didn’t learn to walk until she was three, she didn’t know how to speak until she was five, and still has trouble speaking. National Institutes of Health states, “Individuals with PWS have varying levels of intellectual disabilities. Learning disabilities are common, as are delays in starting to talk and in the development of language.” These disabilities have been an issue in school because not only does Janelle get frustrated when she can’t speak correctly, but many teachers don’t have the patience or knowledge of what to do with her condition. As a result, instead of her being in a regular classroom setting, she was put in a special education class, which has been the best decision for Janelle. In addition to intellectual disabilities, PWS affects their personality plus how one reacts to certain situations or events. For instance, Foundation for Prader-Willi Research states, “Behavioral difficulties may include obsessive-compulsive symptoms, skin picking, and difficulty controlling emotions.” For example, there are certain places where we cannot take Janelle because if we say no to something she wants, she will over react as well as be emotionally unstable along with not being able to control her behavior. Also, …show more content…
Overall, these situations can happen to anyone. As many families that deal with PWS know, it is important to work hard by implementing positive behavior, controlling appetite, and staying consistent with different approaches. One thing families have to remember is that it’s no one’s fault, especially the person with PWS; it’s just a matter of learning and readjusting our life styles to better understand this syndrome. Even though at times it can be a hassle to deal with diet plans, behavior issues and constantly monitoring Janelle’s actions, she has opened are eyes in ways we couldn’t imagine. For instance, as a future teacher she has given me the best reward, by showing me that all children are different and they will learn no matter what, it’s just the effort one puts to make a difference in the way they learn best. For instance, I recall trying to teach Janelle how to read, even though it was difficult she never gave up and that made me want to learn different strategies and to implement different techniques so she can learn in a way that best suites her. Even though we still have many complications to come across, we are hoping the years will go by with more knowledge and understanding of
Chapter thirteen has two subject matter that it discusses in some detail, mental illness and developmental disabilities. This review will be exploring the history, philosophy and theories of developmental disabilities. Social workers come in contact with many clients that have developmental disabilities, and the chapter gives a glimpse the history, problems, and theories related to developmental problems. Chapter thirteen explores the issues of dealing with developmental disabilities in the past and what is being done today to help social workers face the issues.
Lavoie’s workshop provokes an emotional response. After viewing life through the eyes of a child with special needs, I cannot help but have a more significant understanding of what people, especially children with disabilities, must deal with every day, everywhere. During the many years that I have worked with children with various disabilities, I have encountered each of the topics discussed in Lavoie’s workshop and agree with the points he makes regarding children with disabilities. Particularly impacting the way I interact with my students are the topics concerning: anxiety, reading comprehension, and fairness.
Giving others who do not suffer from autism or caregivers an insight on how the individual may be feeling and what they are going through. This book can also help numerous medical professionals such as speech-language pathologists and pediatric doctors. As Grandin stated in the book that not all sufferers act, think, and feel the same so this novel may not be beneficial to readers who are looking for information on a wide scale of individuals who suffer from the illness. She also stated that there is no cure for autism, however some medications can help with some symptoms such as depression or anxiety. What intrigued me the most about Grandin was that she never gave up and worked on her social skills. Not only did she became a spokesperson for autism, but also became a professor at Colorado State University in which both require public speaking and being comfortable in front of people.
Patricia Bauer was a former Washington post reporter and one of the founders of the UCLA, a school for young adults with intellectual disabilities, although she gains most of her knowledge on the topic from raising a daughter with Down Syndrome. This article was originally published in The Washington Post, one of the most circulates newspapers in America. When this article came out in August of 2008, two major things were happening concerning mental disabled people. The first was a movie that came out
ASD individuals may find it hard to communicate and socialize with others around them. However, because each child is unique, they have their own unique abilities and ways of responding to new experiences. Other issues children with ASD have include; anxiety, sleeping problems, and learning disabilities. Those who are diagnosed with ASD or any other disability are usually judged and bullied. In the documentary Violet’s mother says she is afraid of her child being labeled and underestimated because she is diagnosed with autism. A child’s disability can also affect their family members. Family members may have a difficult time understanding and getting to know the autistic child in order to provide for them. They struggle to find interventions such as treatment and therapy for them, the right medical care, and trying learn to cope with all this. At times parents and caregivers can also feel stressed or irritated knowing they have to fulfill all of the child’s needs. Siblings on the other hand, may find it unfair that the autistic child gets the most attention and
Unfortunately, a lot of parents may have a difficult time accepting their child, and coping with their needs and the responsibilities. From the book “The Elephant in the Playroom,” some families dealt with depression and physical and mental deterioration of their health. These struggles were shown in the story by Laura Cichoracki. Laura’s son’s name was Patrick. Patrick was a 6-years-old boy with autism. “I wasn’t eating right, I wasn’t showering regularly, I wasn’t sleeping well” (Brodey, p. 64). I also read the story told by Susan Marrash-Minnerly, which highlighted emotions that parents face. Susan also shed light on how wonderful children with special needs can be to a family, such as her ten-year-old third grader who had autism. Susan talked about how it was normal to feel angry at times, especially with the ups and downs a child’s disability may come with. “When I look back, I want to tell other parents that a child’s future is worth grieving over – but it’s not the end of the world” (Brodey, p. 75). After reading these stories, it became apparent to me that families who are raising kids with special needs, need support, kindness, and available resources. “I was fortunate to be surrounded by other moms who understood my pain…who could be supportive and emphatic.” (Brodey, p. 67). Overall, educators can use this kind of information that was shared in “The Elephant in the Playroom” about family systems and risk/resiliency by creating lines of open communication between families. This is to connect parents together that share similar struggles. By creating open communication is can allows for the teacher and parents to be on the same page when it comes to the issues affecting special needs students and
Prader-Willi Syndrome has two distinct stages. The first stage begins at birth and lasts until the patient is roughly two years of age. When a baby with Prader-Willi Syndrome is born they are sometim...
This case study describes the difficult decisions and agony that Frank and Anita had to face in August of 2000 when their daughter Chanou was born with an extremely rare, incurable metabolic disorder. Because of the disorder, Chanou had an abnormal bone development that brought about a constant pain that prevented her parents from even touching her without causing increased pain.
This source highlighted different approaches taken by schools, teachers, and aides that work closely with persons with ASD. While states offer equal educational opportunities to students, it is important for the individual to understand what their needs are when choosing a school or program. While mainstreaming students with ASD into normal learning environments can be beneficial to personal development, it can also be damaging if the students is not emotionally prepared. This type of frustration can cause the individual with ASD to exhibit problematic behavior or cause them to develop
Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for children with disabilities in a Least Restrictive Environment to not have their needs met adequately. Some parents think that teachers do not have the proper skills to help their child with disabilities flourish in the classroom. Two concerns/challenges are that typical developing students will imitate inappropriate behaviors made by students with disabilities and students with disabilities could potentially get teased about their disabilities and inappropriate behaviors. As said by Virginia Buysse and Donal B. Baily, Jr. (1993) “… the opportunities for young children with disabilities to interact with peers in integrated settings must be carefully
After working with the 3rd graders, I became an assistant teacher at an early childhood education center in a low-income neighborhood with numerous students who needed extra support due to behavioral and emotional disorders. At one point, I encountered a student with selective mutism; selective mutism is when a person is capable of speaking but voluntarily chooses not to communicate verbally. I began to work one on one with him to understand why he didn 't communicate verbally. The first course of action was a meeting with his mother to learn more about him and th...
There are thousands of disabilities in our world today and people are either born with them or develop them as they grow. A congenital illness or disability is when a person is born with the disability or illness unlike an acquired disability that can occur and develop over time. Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is a congenital disability that happens to be the most common inherited cause of intellectual disabilities. This disease causes developmental problems along with cognitive impairments and physical issues, which are similar to autism-like behaviors. Depending on the severity of this disability a person can live a happy, fulfilling life, full of support and love. This disability will be examined and explained more in depth when looking at the individuals quality of life, the impact on family members, treatment options, possible stigmas and how service providers help/hinder rehabilitation.
Alison’s story is the perfect example of what many families must go through when faced with the possibility of having a child diagnosed with a learning disability. Alison was not diagnosed with visual and auditory dyslexia until the summer before entering college. However, while still a toddler, her symptoms had been brought to her mother’s attention by her sister’s teacher. Alison’s mother then noticed her habits in repeating words incorrectly and how Alison would need tactile clues to follow directions. At the recommendation of her kindergarten teacher, Alison was tested for learning disabilities and the results from the school psychologists were that she was acting stubborn or disobedient. Her family did not stop with the school’s diagnosis. They had private testing completed that confirmed Alison did not have a specific learning disability. The final word came from a relative that happened to be a psychologist. He insisted Alison would grow out of her difficulties. So Alison continued on with her entire elementary, middle and high school journey as a student and daughter with an undiagnosed learning disability.
Being able to interact with other people is a topic covered in great detail in her book. While she has gotten better at doing so, there was a time when she had much more difficulty. “When I was a teenager,” Grandin says, “I was aware that I did not fit in socially” (2006, p. 74). Many people with ASD can relate to this sentiment. Grandin endured painful teasing from others (2006, p. 90) who did not understand her and thought she was weird. However, over time, things improved for Grandin as she learned how to successfully interact with other people. Others with ASD can overcome people’s narrow-minded viewpoints and learn to successfully interact with others, just as Grandin
specific learning disabilities in the United States of America. The Journal of International Association of Special Education, 10(1), 21-26.