Topic “children”

By Mike Bush, KSDK.com, St. Louis: St. Louis (KSDK) - Most doctors choose their specialty. In the case of Dr. Jan Brunstrom, her specialty chose her. "I never thought I would do this," she explained. One of the busiest doctors at St. Louis Children's Hospital, she and her team treat kids with cerebral palsy, more than 2,000 a year. They come from as far away as Europe and on this day, she had patients from Philadelphia and Cedar Rapids. "She understands the needs of the kids," said mom Donna Ferguson from Pennsylvania. Kristi Trotter from Iowa, another mom added, "She really looks at it whatever abilities children do have rather than which ones they don't." Cerebral palsy is the term for a non-contagious group of disorders that affect a person's ability to move their limbs, maintain posture and in some cases communicate. These children face many challenges and no one knows that better than Dr. Brunstrom. She too has cerebral palsy....

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Oswald FamilyOur journey as a special needs family has had amazing highs and astonishing lows. Through it all, I've experienced the joys of a family growing stronger together in the face of a true unknown with Katy's chromosome deletion. Even with all of that strength, we are still faced daily with obstacles and emotions that we don't show many - if any - people at all. In the interest of helping others understand what goes on in our lives every day, here are five things you should know about a - or rather about our - special needs family, at least through my eyes. 1. We’re ostracized. Whether you realize it or not, we’re outsiders. We have a...

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Include, Belong, Learn, by George Theoharis and Julie Causton-Theoharis (associate professors at Syracuse University in New York) Two schools serving many students with disabilities show it's possible to let everyone learn together. --------- Kenny is a student at River View, a public K–8 school in central New York. Kenny spent his first few school years in a self-contained special education class because, according to an evaluation, he was "too disabled to be in the general education setting." In Kenny's 4th grade year, River View undertook a new schoolwide intervention. As part of that change, Kenny began learning in a general education classroom. Within a year, he no longer qualified for special education because he had made such significant academic progress. At River View—and a similar school that serves K–6 grades called Summer Heights—more students are now achieving at grade level in math and at a proficient or advanced level in reading than was the case before these schools rolled out a schoolwide intervention. Achievement went up for both nondisabled students...

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With its 1001 ways to improve the life of any human being, the use of the iPad has also been a hot topic in the disability community. It is the combination of superb touch screen devices with the scientific knowledge and experience from a speech therapist that is making the difference for thousands of children and adults with special needs around the world. Barbara Fernandes, a speech pathologist and CEO of Smarty Ears has been developing applications for Apple devices for over one year to help children and adults with a variety of speech and language disorders to improve their communication skills and consequently their quality of life. Smarty Ears will be showcasing their most recent releases at the Macworld Expo 2011 in San Francisco. Macworld 2011 is “a four day celebration that entertains and educates. Macworld offers access to hundreds of Apple related products and services.” Source: MacworldExpo.com This year parents of children with a communication disorder such as stuttering, difficulty pronouncing words, or children that cannot communicate due to Autism or Ap...

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By Geraldine Gittens Wednesday September 22 2010 <!-- // authors --> A NEW Irish-made cartoon series has become the first television series in the world to have a main character with Down Syndrome -- and it is set to take the world by storm. The new RTE series Punky, which will be aimed at pre-school children, features a six-year-old girl who lives with her family, and encounters daily adventures like any other child. Gerard O'Rourke, from production company Monster Animation, says Punky is a playful little girl who overcomes many daily challenges, but she is slightly differently to other children. Already international TV companies from the United States, UK, and Australia are showing keen interest. Punky will be broadcast by RTE's Young People's Programming in the New Year, and it will feature 20 seven-minute-long episodes. "It's the first [series] where the main character has Down Syndrome, from all of our research to date," said Mr O'Rourke. "It was unique and scary to deal with the subject matter on a mainstream cartoon. Down Syndrome Ireland provided a great be...

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By CINDY KRISCHER GOODMAN - McClatchy Newspapers ESPN commentator and former tennis star Mary Joe Fernandez remembers the day she learned her son had asthma. "It was like a wake-up call that threw me into action," Fernandez said. She realized she would need to become ultra-organized to keep up travel for her broadcasting job, find the best asthma treatments and manage her son's medical needs. "I came up with an action plan that I leave behind with his school, or baby-sitter, or my parents so when I travel they know what to do." Fernandez just recently started to talk openly about her son's illness, even during a recent tennis clinic for children at the U.S. Open in New York to raise awareness and empower other parents. Despite their fears about job security, more parents of children with chronic illnesses and disabilities are opening up - even at work. What they have going for them is strength in numbers: One in seven children under age 18, or approximately 10.2 million children in the United States, have special health care needs, according to Department of Health a...

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