Group Project 1 Disability Categories

1. Group Project 1Disability Categories COMM-1080-043-SP13

2. Group #5- The Transformers (E) Jensen, Andrea Lujan, Beau Moody, Rachel White, Carrie

3. What is Cerebral Palsy? • Cerebral Palsy is a group of disorders that can involve brain and nervous system functions, such as movement, learning, hearing, seeing, and thinking. • Cerebral palsy is caused by injuries or abnormalities of the brain. • Most of these problems occur as the baby grows in the womb, but they can happen at any time during the first 2 years of life, while the baby’s brain is still developing. Source: PubMed Health

4. Symptoms Symptoms of Cerebral Palsy can vary between people with this disorder. Symptoms can be but not limited to: • Mild to very severe affects • One or both sides of the body are affected • It can be more pronounced in either just the arms or legs, or involve both the arms and legs Symptoms are usually seen before a child is 2 years old, and sometimes begin as early as 3 months. Source: PubMed Health

5. Amiyah’s Story • Amiyah (a twin) was diagnosed at 10 months with Cerebral Palsy. Her family noticed she was not using her right hand and arm to hold her bottle, as her twin sister was. • She also was tilting her head to the right due to inadequate muscle strength. • Amiyah’s pediatrician suggested an MRI, as suspected the left side of her brain shown all back on the MRI. • Amiyah had a left cerebral hemisphere stroke. • It is unknown when the stroke happened, prenatal, during birth or shortly after. Photo Source: http://eyeuk.wordpress.com/

6. What is a Left Cerebral Hemisphere Stroke? The three main components of the brain are: • The Cerebrum • The Cerebellum • The Brainstem The cerebrum is the largest and most developmentally advanced part of the human brain. It is responsible for several higher functions, including higher intellectual function, speech, emotion, integration of sensory stimuli of all types, initiation of the final common pathways for movement, and fine control of movement. The cerebrum is divided into a right hemisphere and left hemisphere. The left hemisphere controls the majority of functions on the right side of the body, while the right hemisphere controls most of the functions on the left side of the body. Thus, injury to the left cerebral hemisphere produces sensory and motor deficits on the right side. Source: The Internet Stroke Center

7. Amiyah’s Trials with Cerebral Palsy Her right hand was affected the most physically, you call it “righty” and the medical field will refer to it as the “helper hand.” She has been about 6 months behind her twin sister intellectually, but that varies at times. Challenges growing up with Cerebral Palsy that she has had to overcome: • Learning how to climb stairs and ladders • Riding a bike with training wheels • walking in a crowd • climbing a hill of snow • opening and getting through doors • holding items • Writing on a piece of paper

8. Amiyah’s Trials withCerebral Palsy Cont. • Cerebral Palsy affects muscle strength, Amiyah wears an ankle brace during the day to keep her ankle from turning inward and to keep her hip from dislocating and a leg brace at night to train the muscles to stay aligned. • She also wears glasses during the day due to the fact that the muscles in her right eye are weak and a patch over her left eye 2-3 hours a night to strengthen the right eye. • Depending on the severity of Cerebral Palsy, her right hand may never have the dexterity, as the left hand will. Amiyah will more than likely never be able to write, pick up small objects or use her thumb to complete tasks. • She also wears a thumb brace to keep with her thumb from turning inward.

9. Amiyah’s Trials withCerebral Palsy Cont. • Bones grow faster than the muscles do, so stretching is the most important therapy for children with Cerebral Palsy . Stretching keeps Amiyah’s thumb, wrist, shoulder, ankle, calf and legs limber and is a daily task for the rest of her life. • Amiyah’s underdevelopment of strength and control, she has had to learn to climb stairs, ride a bike, open doors, write on a piece of paper, clothe herself, climb into the car, etc., in her own way and with more time. • The doctors have no diagnosis as to what Amiyah’s future will hold cognitively or physically, her future depends on her determination.

10. The Impact Family and Home Environment • Amiyah has mild to moderately severity Cerebral Palsy, which does not constitute the use of a wheel chair. • Cerebral Palsy affects balance, if Amiyah takes a fall she cannot catch herself with her right arm. When Amiyah is in a crowd of people she gets very nervous and will stay close to an adult. • Amiyah needs more time and energy to complete everyday activities like entering a car, getting dressed, climb stairs, etc., so her family has learned to be patient. • As Amiyah grows up, her life gets easier, since she has learned to adapt to her condition with the ideal “If, there is a will there is a way.”

11. The Impact Family and Home Environment Cont. • The most devastating part for a parent that has a child with Cerebral Palsy is during the diagnosis. • The parents don’t know what the future holds for the family or specifically with the child. • As time goes on the family realize how resilient the child is and how they can learn to do anything's physically. • Parents will not accept the terms in which limitations are put on a child. • Other people and children being rude, staring or saying “she can’t do it”, when in reality Amiyah can do anything she puts her mind to.

12. Conclusion “If there's a will, there's a way.” • Amiyah is now 7 years old and she can rock climb, ride her bike, skateboard, complete flips on the trampoline as well as many other activities. • As Amiyah grows up, her life get easier as she learns to adopt to her condition even with limitations others have placed. • It is important not to close doors on the disable just because we do not think they can do it. • People with disabilities have the same opportunity to live life as everyone else does.

13. What have we learned as a group? What did you learn about people with disabilities? • It doesn’t matter the disability, what matters is the determination. What did you learn about group process? • We all came together very well once we found a standardized way to communicate. What was your group’s decision-making process? • We each used our strengths in a manner in which it contributed to the group project. • We matched each individual strength to a portion of the project.

14. Audience Question Q. What are some everyday tasks that you take for granted?

15. Works Cited Acute Ischemic Stroke: New Concepts of Care. (2013, February 10). Anatomy of the Brain. Retrieved from The Internet Stroke Center: http://www.strokecenter.org/professionals/brain-anatomy/anatomy-of-the-brain/ A.D.A.M., Inc. (2013, February 10). Cerebral palsy. Retrieved from PubMed Health: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001734/ NHS refuses to help little girl with a fixable disability. (2013, February 17). Retrieved from http://eyeuk.wordpress.com/: http://eyeuk.wordpress.com/2011/08/27/1707/