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Cerebral Palsy: Cerebral
palsy refers to a group of disorders that affect a person's
ability to move and to maintain balance and posture. It is due
to a nonprogressive brain abnormality, which means that it does
not get worse over time, though the exact symptoms can change
over a person's lifetime.
People with cerebral palsy have
damage to the part of the brain that controls muscle tone.
Muscle tone is the amount of resistance to movement in a muscle.
It is what lets you keep your body in a certain posture or
position. For more information about cerebral palsy, go to
http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/dd/cp2.htm and/or
http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/actearly/cerebral_palsy.html.
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Congenital Rubella
Syndrome: According to the National Institutes of
Health, congenital
rubella is a group of physical problems that occur in an infant
when its mother is infected with the virus that causes German
measles. Symptoms can include: Skin rash at birth, low birth
weight, small head size, lethargy, irritability, deafness,
seizures, cloudy corneas or white appearance to pupil,
developmental delay, and mental retardation. (Medline Plus:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001658.htm.)
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Developmental
Disabilities: Developmental disabilities are a diverse
group of severe chronic conditions that are due to mental and/or
physical impairments. People with developmental disabilities
have problems with major life activities such as language,
mobility, learning, self-help, and independent living.
Developmental disabilities begin anytime during development up
to 22 years of age and usually last throughout a person’s
lifetime. For more information on developmental disabilities, go
to:
http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/dd/default.htm
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Developmental
screening: a brief assessment designed to identify children
who should receive a more intensive evaluation.
Developmental screening is part of developmental surveillance.
For more information on developmental screening, go to:
http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/screening.htm
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Developmental
surveillance: Developmental surveillance is an ongoing
process where health care professionals identify children who
may have developmental problems. Surveillance can be useful for
determining appropriate referrals, providing patient education
and family-centered care in support of healthy development, and
monitoring the effects of developmental health promotion through
early intervention and therapy. According to the American
Academy of Pediatrics, there are 5 components of developmental
surveillance: eliciting and attending to the parents' concerns
about their child's development; documenting and maintaining a
developmental history; making accurate observations of the
child; identifying risk and protective factors; and maintaining
an accurate record of documenting the process and findings.
For more information about developmental surveillance and
screening, go to
http://aappolicy.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/pediatrics;118/1/405
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM),http://www.dsmivtr.org/
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
(DSM), published by the American Psychiatric Association, is the
standard classification of mental disorders used by mental
health professionals in the United States. DSM-IV (Diagnostic
and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition),
published in 1994, was the last major revision of the DSM.
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Epilepsy: According to the
American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), epilepsy is a
disorder of the brain where brain cells create abnormal
electricity that cause seizures. A seizure may cause “jerking”
movements. In some cases, seizures cause only a loss of
consciousness, a period of confusion, a staring spell or muscle
spasms. A single seizure is not considered epilepsy. People
with epilepsy have repeated episodes of seizures. (AAFP.
http://familydoctor.org/214.xml)
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Fragile X: According to the
National Fragile X Foundation, Fragile X is a family of genetic
conditions, which can impact individuals and families in various
ways. These genetic conditions are related in that they are all
caused by gene changes in the same gene, called the FMR1 gene.
- fragile X syndrome (FXS), the most common cause of
inherited mental impairment. This impairment can range from
learning disabilities to more severe cognitive or
intellectual disabilities. (Sometimes referred to as mental
retardation.) FXS is the most common known cause of autism
or "autistic-like" behaviors. Symptoms also can include
characteristic physical and behavioral features and delays
in speech and language development. (National Fragile X
Foundation: http://www.fragilex.org/html/what.htm.
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Hearing Loss: Hearing loss
can vary greatly among children and can be caused by many
things. In the United States, 1 to 3 children per 1,000 are born
with hearing loss each year. Most children also experience mild,
temporary hearing loss when fluid gets in the middle ear from
allergies or colds. Sometimes as a result of an ear infection,
fluid stays in the middle ears, which can sometimes cause a
temporary decrease in hearing and delays in your child’s speech.
Some people have permanent hearing loss. This can be from mild
(they don’t hear as well as you do) to complete (where they
can’t hear anything at all). To find out more about hearing
loss, go to
http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/dd/ddhi.htm and/or
http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/actearly/hearing_loss.html
IDEA: The Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act is our nation’s special education
law. To find out more about IDEA, go to
http://nichcy.org/idea.htm
or
http://nectac.org/idea/idea.asp#regs.
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Individualized Education Plan (IEP):
According to the Autism Society of America, the IEP is the
written plan that outlines a child’s education. It is a legal
document, and it should include the following:
- The child's special education plan by defining goals for
the school year
- Services needed to help the child meet those goals
- A method of evaluating the student's progress
To read more about the IEP, go to
http://www.autism-society.org/site/PageServer?pagename=life_edu_IEP
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Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP):
The IFSP is a “roadmap” through the early intervention program.
It documents where a child is starting from and where he or she
is headed. According to the Council for Exceptional Children,
the IFSP “documents and guides the early intervention process
for children with disabilities and their families. Through the
IFSP process, family members and service providers work as a
team to plan, implement, and evaluate services tailored to the
family's unique concerns, priorities, and resources.” For more
information on the IFSP, go to
http://ericec.org/digests/e605.html or
http://www.nichcy.org/enews/foundations/earlyintervention.asp#ifsp
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The
International Classification of Diseases (ICD)
The International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision,
Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) is based on the World
Health Organization’s Ninth Revision, International
Classification of Diseases (ICD-9). ICD-9-CM is the official
system of assigning codes to diagnoses and procedures in the
United States.
International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision
(ICD-10) is used internationally.
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Mental
Retardation/Intellectual Impairment: Mental retardation is
characterized both by a significantly below-average score on a
test of mental ability or intelligence and by limitations in the
ability to function in areas of daily life, such as
communication, self-care, and getting along in social situations
and school activities. Mental retardation is sometimes referred
to as a cognitive or intellectual disability.
Children with mental retardation can and do learn new skills,
but they develop more slowly than children with average
intelligence and adaptive skills. There are different degrees of
mental retardation, ranging from mild to profound. A person's
level of mental retardation can be defined by their intelligence
quotient (IQ), or by the types and amount of support they need.
For more information on mental retardation, go to:
http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/actearly/intelectual_disability.html
and/or http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/dd/ddmr.htm
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Phenylketonuria (PKU): According to
the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD),
phenylketonuria (pronounced fee-nill-key-toe-NURR-ee-uh) or PKU
is an inherited disorder of metabolism that can cause mental
retardation if not treated. In PKU, the body can’t process a
portion of the protein called phenylalanine (Phe), which is in
many foods. If the Phe level gets too high, the brain can
become damaged. All babies born in U.S. hospitals are now
routinely tested for PKU soon after birth, making it easier to
diagnose and treat them early. (NICHD: http://www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/phenylketonuria.cfm.
Accessed November 2006).
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Thalidomide: According to
the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), thalidomide is a
drug that was marketed outside of the United States in the late
1950’s and early 1960’s. It was used as a sleeping pill, and to
treat morning sickness during pregnancy. However, its use by
pregnant women resulted in the birth of thousands of babies with
severe malformations. Thalomid (thalidomide) is approved in the
U.S. to treat the painful, disfiguring skin sores associated
with leprosy, and to prevent and control the return of these
skin sores.
Distribution of and access to thalidomide is strictly
controlled to prevent its use during pregnancy. A pregnant woman
or any woman thinking about becoming pregnant must not take
Thalomid (thalidomide), because it is known to cause severe
birth defects or death to an unborn baby, even after taking just
one dose. When a woman of child-bearing age has no other
appropriate treatment choice and must take Thalomid
(thalidomide), there are many precautions that must be taken to
avoid pregnancy. To view these steps and to find out additional
information, go to
http://www.fda.gov/cder/news/thalinfo/thalfaq.htm.
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Tuberous Sclerosis:
According to the
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS),
Tuberous sclerosis (TSC) is a rare genetic disease that causes
benign tumors to grow in the brain and on other vital organs
such as the kidneys, heart, eyes, lungs, and skin. It commonly
affects the central nervous system. In addition to the benign
tumors that frequently occur in TSC, other common symptoms
include seizures, mental retardation, behavior problems, and
skin abnormalities. TSC may be present at birth, but signs of
the disorder can be subtle and full symptoms may take some time
to develop.
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Vision Impairment:
Vision impairment means that a person's eyesight cannot be
corrected to a "normal" level. Vision impairment may be caused
by a loss of visual acuity, where the eye does not see objects
as clearly as usual. It may also be caused by a loss of visual
field, where the eye cannot see as wide an area as usual without
moving the eyes or turning the head. For more information on
vision impairment, go to
http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/dd/ddvi.htm or
http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/actearly/vision_loss.html.
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