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The Tech That Makes Life Easier For Kids with Cerebral Palsy

The Tech That Makes Life Easier For Kids with Cerebral Palsy. From low tech to high tech, these devices make a big difference in the education of students. What Exactly is Cerebral Palsy?.

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The Tech That Makes Life Easier For Kids with Cerebral Palsy

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  1. The Tech That Makes Life EasierFor Kids with Cerebral Palsy From low tech to high tech, these devices make a big difference in the education of students

  2. What Exactly is Cerebral Palsy? It’s a neurological disorder that affects movement and posture (Latin Roots: Cerebral – Brain & Palsy – Imperfect Motion) Cerebral palsy can be a condition you are born with or it can be an affliction cause by head trauma after birth. There is currently no cure.

  3. Simple Necessities • Wheelchair • Lap Tray • Walker These are the most basic of technologies that help Children with CP be included in a regular classroom.

  4. Complications of Cerebral Palsy that can be effectively assisted with technological advances • Communication – Many, but not all, children with CP have a hard time speaking. The fine motor functions of the mouth are affected to the point where coherent sentences my not ever be formed. • Mobility – CP is characterized by an inability to move muscles fluently. Many students make spastic movements due to faulty brain pathways and stiff joints.

  5. Walkers and Wheelchairs There are many types of walkers and wheelchairs. Each can be designed for the particular needs of the user. For example, most walkers are held in front of the child but for some they are made to go behind the student because they have a tendency to lean backwards as opposed to forward. There are motorized options for wheelchairs as well as models that can move to an upright position (they are quite a bit more expensive).

  6. Advanced Chairs

  7. Advanced Chairs • The chairs on the previous page have come about in an effort to make life a less dependant one. Technology is making quality of life easier both outside and inside the classroom. • Gross mobility issue are quite taken care of, but there is still much work to be done when it comes to restore fine motor skills to children with CP.

  8. Current Research Some of the most important work being done with fine motor skills is being conducted out of New Jersey. Biomedical engineers from the New Jersey Institute of Technology are working on modifying some of the physical therapy used for stroke patients (The symptoms of a stroke can coincide quite noticeably with the characteristics of cerebral palsy – lack of motor control mostly). They are also developing new interactive media to help them incorporate a new glove that will help children form a muscle memory and loosen their joints in an attempt to create new brain pathways for these motions. They are also working on generating neural signals through the ear to help relax muscles and coordinate balance.

  9. Technology in an Inclusion Setting Inclusion is a way to ensure that all students are taught in what is referred to as “The Least Restrictive Environment” as often as possible. However, there are many barriers to full time inclusion. Technology has come a long way to facilitate the growing need of our educable populace. Pictured here is an interactive plasma screen. It has replace the white board in the schools that can afford them. They allow kids to interact with the rest of the class using gross motor skills instead of the fine motor skills used to write or draw on a white board.

  10. Time to Talk One of the biggest frustrations for anyone is when people don’t understand them. This is just as true for student with cerebral palsy. There are a number of communicative devices, including some that use pictures as a means of idea conveyance. The most widely used however is a simple notebook. The notebook is light and portable and has larger than normal keys. You can store prepared phrases in it and also type out whatever you like. It plays back with an electronic voice.

  11. Where and How to Get These Items It’s actually rather easy for a parent to get assistive technology online. Schools can order from the same places as parents. Some Websites I Found: http://www.inclusive.co.uk/catalogue/index.html UK Based but very high ranking http://www.dynavoxtech.com/ - For message boards and notebooks http://www.ablenetinc.com/home.aspx - Software and communication tools http://www.prentrom.com/ - This site provides an exchange of sorts from teacher to teacher

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