Celebrating Abilities

WOW! This guy says it briefly, but in a ways that I never thought about.......

A Teacher's Life for Me: Standardization is the Death of Excellence: The push in education for the past decade has been to standardize. We have standardized tests for students. Teachers are being asked to st...

Why Special Isn't So Special

noreply@blogger.com (Jacqui) — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 02:48:00 +0000

Why Special Isn't

Moving Along the Timeline: Past, Present & Future of Disability

noreply@blogger.com (Jacqui) — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 00:01:00 +0000

Moving Along the Timeline: Past, Present & Future of Disability from Missouri Family to Family Resour on Vimeo.

October is Down Syndrome Awareness Month

noreply@blogger.com (Jacqui) — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 02:30:00 +0000

From The National Association for Down Syndrome website:

Facts About
Down Syndrome

What is Down Syndrome?

Down syndrome is a genetic condition that causes delays in physical and intellectual development. It occurs in one in every 691 live births. Individuals with Down syndrome have 47 chromosomes instead of the usual 46. It is the most frequently occurring chromosomal disorder. Down syndrome is not related to race, nationality, religion or socioeconomic status. The most important fact to know about individuals with Down syndrome is that they are more like others than they are different.

Diagnosis

Down syndrome is usually identified at birth or shortly thereafter. Initially the diagnosis is based on physical characteristics that are commonly seen in babies with Down syndrome. These include low muscle tone, a single crease across the palm of the hand, a slightly flattened facial profile and an upward slant to the eyes. The diagnosis must be confirmed by a chromosome study (karyotype). A karyotype provides a visual display of the chromosomes grouped by their size, number and shape. Chromosomes may be studied by examining blood or tissue cells.

Cause

Down syndrome is usually caused by an error in cell division called nondisjunction. It is not known why this occurs. However, it is known that the error occurs at conception and is not related to anything the mother did during pregnancy. It has been known for some time that the incidence of Down syndrome increases with advancing maternal age. However, 80% of children with Down syndrome are born to women under 35 years of age.

Learning & Development

It is important to remember that while children and adults with Down syndrome experience developmental delays, they also have many talents and gifts and should be given the opportunity and encouragement to develop them.
Most children with Down syndrome have mild to moderate impairments but it is important to note that they are more like other children than they are different. Early Intervention services should be provided shortly after birth. These services should include physical, speech and developmental therapies. Most children attend their neighborhood schools, some in regular classes and others in special education classes. Some children have more significant needs and require a more specialized program.
Some high school graduates with Down syndrome participate in post-secondary education. Many adults with Down syndrome are capable of working in the community, but some require a more structured environment.

Health Issues

Many children with Down syndrome have health complications beyond the usual childhood illnesses. Approximately 40% of the children have congenital heart defects. It is very important that an echocardiogram be performed on all newborns with Down syndrome in order to identify any serious cardiac problems that might be present. Some of the heart conditions require surgery while others only require careful monitoring. Children with Down syndrome have a higher incidence of infection, respiratory, vision and hearing problems as well as thyroid and other medical conditions. However, with appropriate medical care most children and adults with Down syndrome can lead healthy lives. The average life expectancy of individuals with Down syndrome is 55 years, with many living into their sixties and seventies.

Disability Means Possibility

noreply@blogger.com (Jacqui) — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 01:48:00 +0000

Disability Means Possibility

noreply@blogger.com (Jacqui) — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 01:48:00 +0000

TEST

noreply@blogger.com (Jacqui) — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 09:32:00 +0000

Walk Now For Autism Speaks

noreply@blogger.com (Jacqui) — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 01:50:00 +0000

On October 2, 2011 ~ my family participated in Long Island's Walk Now for Autism Speaks for the 3rd year. My family walks in honor of my nephew, Raymond (aka RayRay). RayRay is 6 years old and attends a special program in his district. Team RayRay has grown with each passing year.

What is Autism?

Autism is a general term used to describe a group of complex developmental brain disorders known as Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDD). The other pervasive developmental disorders are PDD-NOS (Pervasive Developmental Disorder – Not Otherwise Specified), Asperger Syndrome, Rett Syndrome and Childhood Disintegrative Disorder. Many parents and professionals refer to this group as Autism Spectrum Disorders.

How common is Autism?

Today, it is estimated that one in every 110 children is diagnosed with autism, making it more common than childhood cancer, juvenile diabetes and pediatric AIDS combined. An estimated 1.5 million individuals in the U.S. and tens of millions worldwide are affected by autism. Government statistics suggest the prevalence rate of autism is increasing 10-17 percent annually. There is no established explanation for this increase, although improved diagnosis and environmental influences are two reasons often considered. Studies suggest boys are more likely than girls to develop autism and receive the diagnosis three to four times more frequently. Current estimates are that in the United States alone, one out of 70 boys is diagnosed with autism.

What causes autism?

The simple answer is we don't know. The vast majority of cases of autism are idiopathic, which means the cause is unknown.

The more complex answer is that just as there are different levels of severity and combinations of symptoms in autism, there are probably multiple causes. The best scientific evidence available to us today points toward a potential for various combinations of factors causing autism – multiple genetic components that may cause autism on their own or possibly when combined with exposure to as yet undetermined environmental factors. Timing of exposure during the child's development (before, during or after birth) may also play a role in the development or final presentation of the disorder.

A small number of cases can be linked to genetic disorders such as Fragile X, Tuberous Sclerosis, and Angelman's Syndrome, as well as exposure to environmental agents such as infectious ones (maternal rubella or cytomegalovirus) or chemical ones (thalidomide or valproate) during pregnancy.

There is a growing interest among researchers about the role of the functions and regulation of the immune system in autism – both within the body and the brain. Piecemeal evidence over the past 30 years suggests that autism may involve inflammation in the central nervous system. There is also emerging evidence from animal studies that illustrates how the immune system can influence behaviors related to autism. Autism Speaks is working to extend awareness and investigation of potential immunological issues to researchers outside the field of autism as well as those within the autism research community.

While the definitive cause (or causes) of autism is not yet clear, it is clear that it is not caused by bad parenting. Dr. Leo Kanner, the psychiatrist who first described autism as a unique condition in 1943, believed that it was caused by cold, unloving mothers. Bruno Bettelheim, a renowned professor of child development perpetuated this misinterpretation of autism. Their promotion of the idea that unloving mothers caused their children's autism created a generation of parents who carried the tremendous burden of guilt for their children's disability.

In the 1960s and 70s, Dr. Bernard Rimland, the father of a son with autism, who later founded the Autism Society of America and the Autism Research Institute, helped the medical community understand that autism is not caused by cold parents but rather is a biological disorder.

Inclusion is believing

noreply@blogger.com (Jacqui) — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 18:10:00 +0000

Retarded

noreply@blogger.com (Jacqui) — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 18:51:00 +0000

HOW TO LET PEOPLE KNOW YOU LOVE THEM by Amanda Gore

noreply@blogger.com (Jacqui) — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 02:44:00 +0000

My Holland

noreply@blogger.com (Jacqui) — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 13:01:00 +0000

The following was yesterday’s post over at Hopeful Parents. I’m not quite ready yet to bid it adieu, so I’ve reprinted it here.

The Welcome to Holland essay seems to engender some strong reactions, to say the least. As I said in a comment on HP yesterday, “While the original essay rings true for me, I have to acknowledge that the beauty of this life doesn’t exist without pain. BUT, neither does the pain exist without some beauty.”

That’s MY Holland. What’s YOURS?

For my Italian friends … The following is based on the beautiful essay, Welcome to Holland, by Emily Perl Kingsley.

There are the days that I wouldn’t trade Holland for the world

The days that I stand in awe of the windmills’ quaint majesty

And marvel at the overwhelming beauty of the tulip fields

There are the days that I scoff at Italy

The days that I feel downright sorry for those who have never been to Holland

Never wondered at the beauty created by Rembrandt’s brush

What they are missing here, I tell myself

Poor souls!

How much richer they’d be for a visit someday

For a walk in these wooden shoes

**

And then there are the days that I look more closely at the Dutch landscape

The days that I see past the tulip fields to the mothers wringing their hands, waiting – always waiting

The days that I see the doctors – the specialists and therapists – everywhere it seems, filling the streets, doffing their caps as they move from one house to the next – an endless conveyor belt of service and need

There are the days that I see the siblings, struggling with dual citizenship in two dramatically different nations – neither of which they can fully claim as their own

There are the days that I can no longer smell the fragrance of the flowers for the stench of desperation and fear

The days that I send my girls off on the train, backpacks full with supplies for their daily trip to Italy

Knowing that only one of them speaks a word of Italian

Relying on a host of translators and guides to keep my youngest safe on such desperately foreign soil

There are the days that my heart simply breaks because I can’t make the whole world speak Dutch

There are the days that I watch the planes flying in – filled with mothers clutching their children, looking out the window, ready to point to the Spanish Steps and the Colosseum – knowing they’ll find out soon enough, that’s not where they are

There are the days when I wonder if my girl even notices the windmills, or the tulips – if she knows there are Rembrandts here

Or if she simply wishes that she were in Rome

**

There are the days that I see my Holland for what it really is

A breathtakingly beautiful place

A place full of love and compassion

Freedom and camaraderie

And a place where children hurt and mothers’ hearts ache with the impotence of not being able to make it better

Just The Way You Are

noreply@blogger.com (Jacqui) — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 02:12:00 +0000

Celebrating Abilities

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Why Special Isn't So Special

Moving Along the Timeline: Past, Present & Future of Disability

October is Down Syndrome Awareness Month

Facts About Down Syndrome

What is Down Syndrome?

Diagnosis

Cause

Learning & Development

Health Issues

Disability Means Possibility

Disability Means Possibility

TEST

Walk Now For Autism Speaks

What is Autism?

How common is Autism?

What causes autism?

Inclusion is believing

Retarded

HOW TO LET PEOPLE KNOW YOU LOVE THEM by Amanda Gore

My Holland

Just The Way You Are

Facts About
Down Syndrome