Smiles for Kids Blog
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Rhys Lloyd of Cooroy does not let his disability get in the way of his competitive nature
It takes him a few seconds, but with a determined frown and a bit of manoeuvring, Rhys Lloyd hooks his left arm over the swing and launches into the air.
This might seem an easy feat for most children, but the difference for six-year-old Rhys is that he has no left hand.
In theory, he should have to work twice as hard to do the things that most people take for granted.
But this little bundle of energy makes it all look relatively simple, effortlessly throwing and catching the football with his father and brother, picking up things from the ground, making sure he doesn’t miss out on anything in his childhood.
Via TheDaily.com.au
Baby's Sleep Position May Not Affect Severity of Head Flattening
But study finds lower gestational age, being male did have a correlation
"We found a trend toward less flattening in infants who slept prone [face downward], or in positions that were alternated," Dr. Albert Oh, a professor of surgery at the Alpert Medical School at Brown University, said in a Hasbro Children's news release. "Interestingly, however, while supine [on the back] positioning has been a well-established risk factor for the development of plagiocephaly, we were not able to demonstrate a logical correlation to indicate more severe flattening from the supine position."
Via US News & World Report
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Humans Cared for “Special-Needs” Kids 500,000 Years Ago, Say Researchers
The oldest known fossil of a human child with a skull deformity has been discovered, suggesting that early humans did not kill or abandon their abnormal offspring, as has been commonly assumed. A research team reconstructed the 530,000-year-old skull, the first pieces of which were unearthed in Spain in 2001, and determined that the child likely suffered from craniosynostosis, a debilitating genetic disorder in which some pieces of the skull fuse too quickly, causing pressure to build in the brain [Wired] and interfering with brain development. The severity of the deformity is not clear, but researchers say the child probably had learning difficulties and other mental health issues, and certainly would have required extra care.
Via Discover Magazine, Wired
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Risk factors for severe head flattening identified
A number of factors, including gender and favorite head position -- but not sleeping position -- influence the severity of flat head syndrome in infants, researchers found in a study of 434 babies with the condition known medically as deformational plagiocephaly.
Via Reuters
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Press Release: Positive effects outweigh negative for families of children with cleft lip and palate
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Positive effects outweigh negative for families of children with cleft lip and palate
Contrary to previous reports, families who have children with cleft lip and palate (CLP) report more positive than negative experiences, according to a study in The Cleft Palate–Craniofacial Journal.
Most of the previous research on CLP has focused on individuals with CLP and not on their families. In addition, previous work has focused on the negative aspects of having CLP as opposed to the positive. This report applied the resiliency model of family stress, adjustment and adaptation to better understand the effect of CLP, or what the model would call a “life stressor,” on families.
Questionnaires were completed by family members. They were questioned about their views on coping strategies, social support, psychological distress, adjustment and family impact. The results differed from those of other reports. For example, positive adjustment outweighed psychological distress. Levels of social support were much higher, and there was a much greater use of approach-oriented coping strategies, as opposed to avoidance strategies.
Regardless of whether the outcomes reported were positive or negative, they were all dependent on the level of social support. Those who had confidants to speak with, who experienced a sense of belonging through engaging in various activities, and who were able to receive practical and tangible help fared much better than those without this support.
Families whose children were younger and had multiple medical problems experienced a greater impact from CLP. However, contrary to other reports, coping strategies and levels of support were not affected by these conditions. Social support was present regardless of the child’s age.
The results of this study will help researchers develop strategies to assist families with children with CLP. They will also serve to improve the morale of families by showing them ways their lives may be positively affected when faced with this challenging situation.
To read the entire study, “Coping Strategies and Social Support in the Family Impact of Cleft Lip and Palate and Parents’ Adjustment and Psychological Distress,” visithttp://www.allenpress.com/pdf/CPCJ_46.3_final10.15972F08-075.pdf
The Cleft Palate–Craniofacial Journal is an international, interdisciplinary journal reporting on clinical and research activities in cleft lip/palate and other craniofacial anomalies, together with research in related laboratory sciences. It is the Official Publication of the American Cleft Palate–Craniofacial Association (ACPA). For more information, visit http://www.acpa-cpf.org/
Media Contact:
Amy Schneider
Allen Press, Inc.
800/627-0326 ext. 412
Aschneider@allenpress.com
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Girl Honored For Creating Smiles
Recognizing that need and having a cleft palate herself, 11-year-old Paige Atkinson has stepped up in a big way to help and was honored for her efforts Friday at St. John's Lutheran School.
Atkinson has raised more than $50,000 to provide surgeries for over 200 kids in other countries born with cleft lips and palates.
A cause close to Atkinson's heart since she has undergone several surgeries herself to correct her cleft palate
"In America, we are so privileged because if they have a cleft they can get if fixed right away," said Atkinson. "But in Africa or in Asia, sometimes they die or have to go through all their life being shunned because of their mouth. I wanted to be able to help out and give them the same chance we have in America."
Via KERO 23
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Pharaoh’s Feminine Figure Explained
Via Popular Science
Genetic disorders may have caused ruler’s unusual physique
The Egyptian pharaoh Akhenaton’s voluptuous body shape and elongated head and neck, recorded in ancient depictions of the male ruler, have long perplexed historians. But now Irwin Braverman, a professor of dermatology and an expert on visual diagnosis at the Yale University School of Medicine, is offering a theory on the characteristics, which are not found in representations of other pharaohs: Akhenaton may have suffered from two genetic disorders that affect body shape.
Akhenaton, who ruled from 1353 to 1336 B.C., is shown in paintings and statues as having prominent breasts and buttocks—indications, Braverman says, of a hormone disorder. An overproduction of the enzyme aromatase, which is instrumental in the body’s production of the hormone estrogen, is the likely culprit. In males, the disorder results in the development of feminine traits by puberty. Depictions that show Akhenaton’s prepubescent daughters with breasts support the genetic hormone-disorder theory.
Another genetic disease, craniosynostosis, which can result in the joints in the skull fusing too early, could have caused the pharaoh’s elongated head and neck. Egyptologists sometimes refer to the shape, which was common among 18th-dynasty royalty, as “royal head.” Illustrations of Akhenaton’s daughters also show the elongated head, as do mummies of his progeny. One such descendant: child-king Tutankhamen, who some believe may have been Akhenaton’s son. Akhenaton’s mummy has yet to be found, but Braverman hopes that DNA analysis of mummies of the pharaoh’s descendants may one day confirm his theory.