Do you or your loved one have physical or mental disability?
Are you raising a child with a Developmental Disability, Autism, Asperger's or ADHD?
Are you struggling with emotional and physical impact of disability on your family?
I will conduct assessment of problem behaviors and develop intervention based on this assessment. I will teach you behavior modification approaches to manage your child'sbehavior, effective teaching techniques, and coping strategies to maximize learning and minimize problem behaviors.
For parents and caregivers I will offer guidance and support in dealing with dailychallenges of having a family member with a disability.
Home visits for behavior assessment in person's environment may be available.
DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES are a group of severe chronic conditions that are due to mental and/or physical impairments. People withdevelopmental disabilities have problems with major life activities such aslanguage, mobility, learning, self-help, and independent living. Developmenta ldisabilities begin anytime during development up to 22 years of age and usuallylast throughout a person’s lifetime.
INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY ( ID) /MENTAL RETARDATION (MR) is characterized both by a significantly below-average score on a test of mental ability or intelligenceand by limitations in the ability to function in areas of daily life, such ascommunication, self-care, and getting along in social situations and schoolactivities. Intellectual disability is sometimes referred to as a COGNITIVE DISABILITY or MENTALRETARDATION. People with intellectual disability CAN AND DO LEARN new skills, but they develop more slowly than people with average intelligence and adaptive skills.There are different degrees of Intellectual disability, ranging from mild toprofound. A person's level of Intellectual disability can be defined by theirintelligence quotient (IQ), or by the types and amount of support they need.Intellectual disability can start anytime before a child reaches the age of 18years. It can be caused by injury, disease, or a brain abnormality.
CAUSES AND RISK FACTORS: For many people, the cause oftheir intellectual disability is not known. Some of the most common knowncauses of intellectual disability are Down syndrome, fetal alcohol syndrome,and Fragile X syndrome, all of which occur before birth. Other causes that takeplace before a child is born include genetic conditions , infections, or birthdefects that affect the brain. Other causes of intellectual disability (such asasphyxia) happen while a baby is being born or soon after birth. Still othercauses of intellectual disability do not happen until a child is older. Thesemay include serious head injury, stroke, or certain infections such as meningitis.
TREATMENT: There is no cure for intellectual disability, but it is treatable. People with ID can improve their adaptiveskills and change their maladaptive behaviors. Most common treatment modalitie sinvolve behavioral and cognitive-behavioral techniques. Parental and caregiver’s involvement is crucial to successful treatment.
PERVASIVE DEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS (PDD) (sometimes calledAUTISTIC SPECTRUMDISORDERS (ASD) are a group of developmental disabilities that can cause significant social, communication and behavioral challenges. It is estimated that an average of 1 in 150 children in the U.S have an ASD. PDD include AUTISM, ASPERGER’S DISORDER, RETT’S DISORDER, CHILDHOOD DISINTEGRATIVE DISORDER and PERVASIVE DEVELOPMENTAL DISORDER NOS.
Autism news: B ytaking scans of sleeping children, researchers are discovering what occurs inthe brains of babies and young children with autism.Usingfunctional magnetic resonance imaging, or fMRI, to peer at images of thechildren's brains, researchers from the University of California, San Diego,found that autistic children as young as 14 months use different brain region sthan youngsters with more typical development when hearing bedtime stories.
The findings suggest that even very early on, the brains of those with autism workdifferently than typical babies. They also help explain why failure of languagecomprehension is a "red flag" for babies with autism, according tothe study's author, Eric Courchesne, director of the UCSD Autism Center ofExcellence. Learningwhen and where brain changes occur can also help rule out some suspected causesof autism. For instance, if brain differences are already present at birth,then environmental toxins or vaccines in childhood can't be responsible, saysDr. Courchesne.RegularMRIs examine the structure of the brain, but by asking subjects to perform atask in the scanner, an fMRI can examine brain function through blood flow andresponse in response to neural activity. Unlike X-rays, they don't use radiation.But scientists have had trouble getting young children to lie still in thenoisy, claustrophobic brain scanners. The UCSD group came up with a solution:Put babies and children in the scanner in the wee hours of the night when theyare naturally asleep.Whilethe children were in the scanner, researchers played a repeating tape of afemale voice reading a bedtime story and the scanner recorded the children'sbrain activity.
This study showed that in the typically developing babies, boththe right and left temporal regions of the brain—parts that help us understanddifferent aspects of language—were activated. In older children, there wasevidence that the left side became even more active compared with the rightside. Butin the babies and children with autism-spectrum disorders the use of the rightbrain was far stronger. The left temporal region of the brain usually dealswith understanding the meaning of words, in a "dictionary" manner,says Dr. Courchesne. The right side helps us understand social language basedon context, like how people sound when they are angry rather than happy, evenif they're speaking the same words.Onetheory is that in autism, the right side is needed to learn the basic definitions of words, crowding out the ability to develop skills to proces smore social, nuanced aspects of language, Dr. Courchesne says. Theresearch could one day help clinicians diagnose children more reliably and younger than 2 or 3 years old, the age when they currently are consistently diagnosed.
Autism isan urgent public health concern. The prevalence of autism had risen to 1 inevery 150 American children, and almost 1 in 94 boys. , The spotlight shown onautism opens opportunities for the nation to consider how to serve thesefamilies facing a lifetime of supports for their children. Currently, the Autism Society estimates that the lifetime cost of caring for a child withautism ranges from $3.5 million to $5 million, and that the United States isfacing almost $90 billion annually in costs for Autism (this figure includesresearch, insurance costs and non-covered expenses, Medicaid waivers forautism, educational spending, housing, transportation, employment, in additionto related therapeutic services and caregiver costs). Scientists are trying to findout what causes the disorder.
SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS: These disorders affect each person in different ways, and can range from very mild to severe. People withPDD often share some similar symptoms, such as problems with socialinteraction, communication, and present with repetitive stereotyped behaviors, But there are differences in when the symptoms start, how severe theyare, and the exact nature of the symptoms. PDD begin before the age of 3 andlast throughout a person's life, although symptoms may improve over time. Somechildren show hints of future problems within the first few months of life. Inothers, symptoms might not show up until 24 months or later. Some children seemto develop normally until around 18 to 24 months of age and then they stopgaining new skills, or they lose the skills they once had.A personwith a PDD might: - Not respond to their name by 12 months - No tpoint at objects to show interest (point at an airplane flying over) by 14months Notplay "pretend" games (pretend to "feed" a doll) by 18months - Avoid eye contact and want to be alone - Have trouble understanding other people's feelings or talking about their ownfeelings Havedelayed speech and language skills - Repea twords or phrases over and over (echolalia) - Give unrelated answers to questions - Ge tupset by minor changes - Have obsessive interests - Flap their hands, rock their body, or spin in circles - Have unusual reactions to the way things sound, smell, taste, look, or feel
CAUSES AND RISKFACTORS: We do not know all of the causes of Autism. There may be many different factors that make a child morelikely to have an Autism, including environmental, biologic and geneticfactors. Childrenwho have a sibling or parent with an ASD are at a higher risk of also having anAutism. Autismtend to occur more often in people who have certain other medical conditions.About 10% of children with PDD have an identifiable genetic disorder, such asFragile X syndrome, Down syndrome and other chromosomal disorders. Someharmful drugs taken during pregnancy have been linked with a higher risk. Weknow that the once common belief that poor parenting practices cause ASDs isnot true. Thereis some evidence that the critical period for developing ASDs occurs beforebirth. However, concerns about vaccines and infections have led researchers toconsider risk factors before and after birth.
TREATMENT: There is currently no cure forAutism, but it is treatable. Children do not "outgrow" autism, butstudies show that early diagnosis and intervention lead to significantlyimproved outcomes. However, research shows that early intervention treatmentservices can greatly improve a child’s development. Early intervention serviceshelp children from birth to 3 years old (36 months) learn important skills.Among the many methods available for treatment and education of people withautism, applied behavior analysis (ABA) has become widely accepted as aneffective treatment. Parental involvement has emerged as a major factor intreatment success. Parents work with teachers and therapists to identify thebehaviors to be changed and the skills to be taught. Recognizing that parentsare the child's earliest teachers, more programs are beginning to train parentsto continue the therapy at home.
ASPERGER’S DISORDERis a milder variant of autism. In Asperger's Disorder, affected individualsare characterized by social isolation and eccentric behavior in childhood.There are impairments in two-sided social interaction and non-verba lcommunication. Though grammatical, their speech may sound peculiar due to abnormalities of inflection and a repetitive pattern. Clumsiness may be prominent both in their articulation and gross motor behavior. They usually have a circumscribed area of interest which usually leaves no space for more age appropriate, common interests. Some examples are cars, trains, French Literature, door knobs, hinges, cappuccino, meteorology, astronomy or history.The name "Asperger" comes from Hans Asperger, an Austrian physicianwho first described the syndrome in 1944.
CAUSES of Asperger's Disorder are not yet known, current research suggests that a tendency toward the condition may runin families. Individuals with Asperger's Disorder are also at risk for other psychiatric problems including depression, attention deficit disorder,schizophrenia, and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
TREATMENT: There is no cure for Asperger'sDisorder, but is treatable. The outcome for children with Asperger's Disorderis generally more promising than for those with autism. Due to their higherlevel of intellectual functioning, many of these children successfully finishhigh school and attend college. Although problems with social interaction andawareness persist, they can also develop lasting relationships with family andfriends. The most common treatments include: - Individual psychotherapy ( behavioral andcognitive-behavioral) - Paren teducation and training - Behavioral modification - Socia lskills training - Educational training
ADHD is one of the most common neurobehavioral disorders of childhood. Itis usually first diagnosed in childhood and often lasts into adulthood. Peoplewith ADHD have trouble paying attention, controlling impulsive behaviors (mayact without thinking about what the result will be), and in some cases, areoverly active. SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS: It is normal for people with ADHD to have trouble focusing and behavingat one time or another. However, children with ADHD do not just grow out ofthese behaviors. The symptoms continue and can cause difficulty at school, athome, or with friends.Personwith ADHD might: - have a hard time paying attention - day dream a lot - not seem to listen - be easily distracted from schoolwork or play - forget things - bein constant motion or unable to stay seated - squirm or fidget - talk too mucH - no tbe able to play quietly act and speak without thinking - have trouble taking turns interrup tothers
TYPES Predominantly Inattentive Type: It is hard for the individual toorganize or finish a task, to pay attention to details, or to followinstructions or conversations. The person is easily distracted or forgets details of daily routines. Predominantly Hyperactive-Impulsive Type: The person fidgets and talks alot. It is hard to sit still for long (e.g., for a meal or while doing homework). Smaller children may run, jump or climb constantly. The individual feels restless and has trouble with impulsivity. Someone who is impulsive may interrupt others a lot, grab things from people, or speak at inappropriate times. It is hard for the person to wait their turn or listen to directions. A person with impulsiveness may have more accidents and injuries than others. Combined Type: Symptoms of the above two types are equally present in theperson.
CAUSES OF ADHD : Scientists are studying cause(s) and risk factors in an effort to find better ways to manage and reduce the chances of a person having ADHD. The cause(s) and risk factors for ADHD are unknown, but current research shows that genetics plays an important role. Recent studies of twins link genes with ADHD. I naddition to genetics, scientists are studying other possible causes and riskfactors including: Brain injury,Environmental exposures (e.g., lead), Alcoho land tobacco use during pregnancy Research does not support the popularly held views that ADHD is caused by eating too much sugar, watching too much television, parenting, or social and environmental factors such as poverty or family chaos. Of course, many things,including these, might make symptoms worse, especially in certain people. Butthe evidence is not strong enough to conclude that they are the main causes ofADHD.
TREATMENTS: In most cases, ADHD is best treated with a combination of medication and behavior therapy. No single treatment is the answer for every child and good treatment plans will include close monitoring, follow-ups and any changes needed along the way. Parental involvement is critical to successful treatment.
Do you or your loved one have physical or mental disability? 
