Dysarthria, A Speech Disorder

Communication, understanding and patience, the three keys to success

Today, I went to Ariq’s school to get his school report. I was glad that he really improves well; however, there is a little note from his therapies that we had better give him more drills in two-way communication. I don’t mean to say that he cannot communicate his ideas or thoughts. In fact he does, although it is only those of habitual ones. He is able to say such things like “Kakak mau makan” (I want to eat), “Kakak mau minum susu” (I want to have some milk), “Kakak mau keluar” (I want to go out), “Pergi kemana” (Where are we going?), “Kakak mau mandi” (I want to take a bath) and many others. Ariq also understands simple commands like “Ganti baju” (Change your clothes), “Buka celana” (Pull down your trousers), “Tutup pintu” (Close the door), “Ambil bukunya” (Get the book) and so on.

Another Fun Day With Therapy

Ariq, our first son, as we all know, suffers from cerebral palsy due to the lack of oxygen during the delivery process. This hampers his movements, coordination, balance and motoric skills. Since he enrolled in Kitty Center, a school for special needs, back in 2005, Ariq has purchased several therapeutic instruments that support his daily therapies such as AFO shoes, splints, bandages and peto chairs. The result has been quite good, alhamdulillah for he is able to follow all the drills without any major difficulties. Although he experienced some hard time but eventually he managed to conquer his obstacles. We are grateful that he does his therapies happily now, no more weeping nor complaining whatsoever. He does all the drills whole-heartedly.

Ariq with Dad

Animal-Assisted Therapies

Animal-Assisted Therapies For Children With Special Needs:

Dolphins, the friendly mammals

According to wikipedia, animal-assisted therapy is a kind of therapy that involves an animal with special characteristics and it serves as a fundamental part of a person’s treatment. Animal-assisted therapies are designed to improve the physical, emotion, social and/or cognitive functioning of the patient. These therapies also provide educational and motivational effectiveness for the participants.

Many kinds of animals are used in therapies including dogs, cats, elephants, horses and dolphins as well as other small animals. Among them, the most popular methods are those assisted by Dolphins and horses. These forms of therapies, in the context of children with special needs, offer improvements in such areas as physical (Fine motor skills and balance) and also mental (improving self-confidence, verbal skills and attention skills); nevertheless, both may present some physical threats to both people and animals, which may be difficult to overcome. This post; however, will only concentrate on the dolphin therapy.

Anti Smoking Campaign

Anti Smoking Campaigns

Here are several great, creative as well as horrific posters submitted in regards to the Anti Smoking Campaigns. Some artistic and informative ways suggestions to stop killing ourselves through smoking.

Enough said, here are the entries:

The Good News Is Finally Coming

This evening my wife told me a very enlightening and promising news, Ariq will soon graduate from his physiotherapy class. The therapist said that his hip joints and left knee (once dislocated) have shown improvement even though his ankles are still a bit weak and this is clearly seen whenever he stands up without his AFOs. Back to his improvements above, this may also because of all the therapy sessions he does everyday at home. This is like a blessing for us, the signs that he’ll be able to walk soon are emerging. We have always been patient enough for all these. We have never complained or felt fussy about when he would walk, maybe this is the answer to our prayers.

School of Shock (Part 2)

The students at the Rotenberg Center are mainly divided into two major groups. Slightly more than half the residents are what the school calls “high functioning”: kids like Rob and Antwone, who have diagnoses like attention-deficit disorder, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and other emotional problems. The other group is even more troubled. Referred to as “low functioning,” it includes kids with severe autism and mental retardation; most cannot speak or have very limited verbal abilities. Some have behaviors so extreme they can be life threatening: chomping on their hands and arms, running into walls, nearly blinding themselves by banging their heads on the floor again and again.

The High-functioning students

The Low-functioning students

School of shock (Part 1)

Jennifer Gonnerman

This interesting article was written by Jennifer Gonnerman, published in Mother Jones – Smart, Fearless Journalism, August 20th 2007. This has been a photo essay on the Judge Rotenberg Center; formerly known as the Behavior Research Institute, a facility where autistic, mentally retarded, and emotionally troubled children from eight states are subjected to food deprivation, social isolation, and even electric shocks. A look inside the taxpayer-funded program that treats American kids like enemy combatants. Eight states are sending autistic, mentally retarded, and emotionally troubled kids to a facility that punishes them with painful electric shocks. How many times do you have to zap a child before it’s torturing?

Cerebral palsy

John Little, an English surgeon who introduced the term of CP in 1860

CP, then known as “Cerebral Paralysis”, was first identified by English surgeon William Little in 1860. Little raised the possibility of asphyxia (suffocation) during birth as a chief cause of the disorder. It was not until 1897 that Sigmund Freud, then a neurologist, suggested that a difficult birth was not the cause but rather only a symptom of other effects on fetal development. Research conducted during the 1980s by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) suggested that only a small number of cases of CP are caused by lack of oxygen during birth. Cerebral palsy falls into 4 major categories, classified based on the damage area in the brain. These classifications are:

Apgar Score

Dr. Virginia Apgar

Apgar Score, a method of early test developed by anesthesiologist Virginia Apgar in 1952 and now used in modern hospitals worldwide , rates a baby’s appearance, pulse, responsiveness, muscle activity, and breathing with a number between zero and 2 (2 being the strongest rating). The numbers are totaled, and 10 is considered a perfect score.

Ariq, our first son, suffers from Cerebral Palsy

When our first son; Ariq, was born, he was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy, as quoted from Wikipedia, Cerebral refers to the cerebrum, which is the affected area of the brain (although the disorder most likely involves connections between the cortex and other parts of the brain such as the cerebellum), and palsy refers to disorder of movement. CP is caused by damage to the motor control centers of the young developing brain and can occur during pregnancy (about 75 percent), during childbirth (about 5 percent) or after birth (about 15 percent) up to about age three.