Cerebral Palsy in Children - PowerPoint Presentation Example

Cerebral Palsy Slide 2 (Introduction) Cerebral Palsy is one of the commonest physical conditions in the western world particularly among the children. Research shows that out of 1000 babies 2-2.5 of these children have the cerebral palsy condition. Due to malformation and brain damage caused by cerebral palsy the development of the affected children is highly affected even though most of such children can live to be adults. Such children may be highly intelligent or average and thus they attend classes with children without this condition (Rosenbaum, 2003; Kartha, 2009). Definition of Cerebral Palsy Slide 4 Malformation of the brain Cerebral Palsy is the malformation of the brain caused by the interruption of the brain development in infants particularly when the foetus does not stay in its right place or does not generate sufficient cells in the brain during the early periods of pregnancy (Gersh, 1998; Schmerzier, 1999). Neurological Damage Cerebral Palsy is a condition that results from injury or damage of the brain during, before and after pregnancy. When the nervous system of the baby is affected it causes paralysis which affects the baby’s brain. Neurological damage or injury is caused by difficulties in delivery, premature births and trauma in the brain (Gersh, 1998; Schmerzier, 1999). Slide 5 Brain (Motor Movement) The motor movement in children is strongly connected with brain malformation or damage. The nervous system in children comprises of two parts; the peripheral nervous system and the central nervous system (Gersh, 1998). The Motor Cortex is basically the beginning point of motor movement. The interpretation of the message occurs in two parts: the Basal Ganglia and the Cerebellum. After processing the message it moves to the spinal cord. In order for the right muscle to start the message has to go back to the peripheral nervous system (Gersh, 1998). Slide 6 Impacts & Types Cerebral Palsy is of four types. Spastic CP is the most common type which causes the children muscles to be tight and stiff making it difficult for the body to move due to spinal cord and motor cortex damage. The two parts are directly associated with muscle movement and messages. Spastic CP is the opposite of Athetoid CP because the child’ muscles become hard and loose. Children with Athetoid CP have difficulties maintaining a single position because their basal ganglia and cerebellum is damaged. Ataxic CP is another type of CP. Children with Ataxic CP experience problems with coordination of movements. The other type of CP is the combination of Athetoid Cp and the Spastic CP (Schmerzier, 1999; Gersh, 1998) Challenges Slide 8 Physical Significant Motor Abilities Cerebral Palsy causes significant problems in the movement of the muscles and children have difficulties sitting, standing, rolling, walking and exploring the environment around them. Minor Motor Abilities CP makes children experience problems in touching, holding and grasping objects because children experience difficulties in controlling their detailed and small movements. Mobility Children with CP are unstable when walking. Most of them have to use walkers and wheelchairs. This makes it difficult for such children to move freely in their environment (Education Queensland, 1998) Slide 9 Communication Speech problems CP causes communication problems in children due to damage in the brain which results into poor tongue coordination. It also makes it difficult for such children to move their facial muscles during articulation of words. Delay of Language Emotional Problems Children with CP suffer emotional stress because they cannot speak fluently due to speech problems. Hence, speaking clearly becomes even harder for them. Expressive Language- Receptive language The development of receptive language starts earlier than expressive language in children with CP due to difficulties in oral motor movement. Such children have unclear speech which makes it difficult for them to get what they want. Misunderstanding Due to little output in communication and poor speech production children with CP are misunderstood as having intellectual disabilities (Education Queensland, 1998; Gersh, 1998) Slide 10 Behavior and Social Challenges Social Challenge Poor participation in social activities CP limits children from participating in social activities such as school activities because walkers and wheelchairs limit their movements. Hence, such children experience difficulties playing with the rest of the children (Education Queensland, 1998). Challenge in behavior Reliance on other children Assistance from other people is key in children with CP due to the need for self care skills. Such children rely on help from other people all their life due to the need for mush support and lack of personal training and skills on how they can take care of themselves (Education Queensland, 1998). Low Self-confidence Due to speech and communication problems children with CP have low self esteem. They take more time to articulate words due to their oral-motor problems. Such children may lose their self-confidence when their friends make fun of them or dislike their way of communicating (Education Queensland, 1998). Bullied and Rejected According to Rosenbaum (2003) children with CP experience rejection and bullying from their peers. This includes teasing and nicknaming of children with CP which make it difficult for them to make friends or actively participating in activities in school. Due to communication and physical difficulties children with CP also fall victims of bullying because they are unable to escape from bullying children (Flynt & Morton, 2004; Heinrichs, 2003; Queensland Education, 1998). Slide 11 Learning Absenteeism Health problems CP causes numerous health problems which keep children with CP away from school. This impact negatively on performance of such children in school. Difficulties in reading Phonological problems Articulating and retrieving words is one of problems experienced by children with CP. This is due to speech development problems which affects their reading skills in the future. This problem may persist even in adulthood resulting into reading difficulties. Handwriting difficulties Minor Motor Skills Poor motor skills in children with CP results into difficulties in holding abilities. Hence, such children experience problems holding a pencil or a pen as well as problems scribing words. They are always late in submitting their work due to hand writing problems (Queensland Education, 1998) Advice to the teachers from different aspects Slide 13 Physical Aspect Physical barriers reduction In order to make children with CP more independent, it is important to remove obstacles in the classroom to ensure that such children can get what they want without relying on other children. Handrails can also be increased in the classroom to make the children with CP more independent. Hence, learning and indepdence can be enhanced when children with CP are availed with numerous opportunities to do things by themselves (Queensland Education, 1998; Individualized Teaching Programs for Children with Cerebral Palsy). Enhancing the Ability of children Physically Engaging therapists in the curriculum It is important for teachers to engage therapists in the curriculum to give children with CP the required support. The role of therapists is to modify or combine the needs of children in the learning environment in school (Pickles, 2004; Queensland Education, 1998) Slide 14 Social Element Enhance the relationships of children with CP with Peers Communication capability Alternative and Augmentative Communication system (AAC). It is evident that the ability to communicate affects the social relationship of children with CP. Hence, the AAC system should be applied to enhance and facilitate the communication abilities of children with CP. The social relationship barrier with peers can be reduced by enabling children with CP to learn different ways of communication such as the use of body movements, hand gesture, letter boards, and picture boards (Queensland Education, 1998). Learning together or Co-operatively Buddy System A reward system should be established to encourage children without difficulties to help those with difficulties. Children with CP problems can be helped to overcome living and learning problems. Hence, constructive relationships will develop between children with and without difficulties (Torreno, 2009). Slide 15 Aspect of Behaviors A Safe Environment in School Developing rules in class Teachers should develop and discuss with their students all the necessary rules that will prevent children with CP from being bullied during class meetings. This can be done by letting the children know how bad bullying is and repercussions of bullying (Heinrichs, 2003). Enhancing class supervision This involved identifying high risk places such as toilets where children with CP can encounter bullies in the absence of supportive peers or adults nearby. Supervision of such places should be intensified to ensure a safe environment in and out of the classroom (Heinrichs, 2003). Using support students to report bullying cases This involves identifying and assigning certain students the role of reporting any cases of bullying in class or out of class (Migliore, 2003). Enhancing social skills in students This involves teaching both the bulling students and the victims’ social skills on how to interact with other students and the ways of avoiding being bullied. This can enhance the students’ interactive skills and social skills which bonds the students together to avoid bulling others (Heinrichs, 2003; Migliore, 2003). Slide 16 The Aspect of Learning Applying technology in learning Due to the low motor abilities of children with CP technology such as the use of keyboard in note taking should be encouraged to match the speed of children without CP. This can create time for such children to engage in class discussions. Through the use of technology children with CP can also participate in expressing their views and opinions during classroom discussions (Queensland Education, 1998). Adapted Curriculum Physical education During physical education lessons teachers should encourage children without disabilities or adults to help those with physical disabilities to participate in different activities in the field (Pickles, 2004). Reading During the early years, children with CP use visual memory in words recognition. This visual ability can be enhanced by the teachers by adopting the approach of whole-word to enable such children to read. Phonological awareness can then be enhanced once the students can recognize and have confidence in reading (Pickles, 2004). Read More