5173 July 5, 2010

Today we viewed a video of an Autistic individual, Susie Rubins. At the age of 13 years she was considered retarded with a mental age of 2 1/2 yeras. She was fortunate to find a communication system where she could articulate her thoughts and ideas to others and discovered words were more than just sounds. With this ability to communicate she was reassessed and found to have an IQ of 133.It is an examle of judging a person because of appearance and/ or behaviours. Susie is very aware of her situation and is very successful in college and living as independently as possible with the required support staff.
We were also presented with a case study about a students named Tyler.He is a delightful student diagnosed with Athetoid Cerebral Palsy and requires a supportive team and an assortment of assistive technology devices to communicate and participate in school, home and the community. Tyler is a popular and an active participant within these same environments due to the supportive team and assistive technology.
Both cases demonstartes that individuals with significant challenges can lead a happy fulfilling life and be a contributing member in their community. The key to this is a team of individuals working together and considering the needs of the individual.

Athetoid Cerebral Palsy:
About 10 percent of children with cerebral palsy have athetoid cerebral palsy. Athetoid cerebral palsy is caused by damage to the cerebellum or basal ganglia. These areas of the brain are responsible for processing the signals that enable smooth, coordinated movements as well as maintaining body posture. Damage to these areas may cause a child to develop involuntary, purposeless movements, especially in the face, arms, and trunk. These involuntary movements often interfere with speaking, feeding, reaching, grasping, and other skills requiring coordinated movements. For example, involuntary grimacing and tongue thrusting may lead to swallowing problems, drooling and slurred speech. The movements often increase during periods of emotional stress and disappear during sleep. In addition, children with athetoid cerebral palsy often have low muscle tone and have problems maintaining posture for sitting and walking.(http://www.about-cerebral-palsy.org/definition/athetoid-cerebral-palsy.html)