Can a brain injury in early childhood that causes disabilities be overcome or improve over the years?
446530
I think that there is always a battle, but a person with motivation can improve their skills, and when that happens new opportunities open up to them.  I think that person needs some freedom to develop, naturally, the skills that they came into this world with.  I also think they need encouragement to develop in ways that are more challenging and even uncomfortable -- without the pressure to succeed in the same way that their otherwise-abled peers succeed.\n\nThe only limits I see are those of imagination, motivation, and resignation.\n\n\nMotivation = Progress\nProgress = Success\nSuccess = Opportunity\n\nI see from your 360 page links that you are directly involved with special education.  I would love to know your experiences.  It would be interesting to know if your question is an attempt to educate people or if it is a seed to draw experiences from the masses to encourage you in your own journey.  \n\nI wish you well.
716204
In regards to children who have behavior problems. The first thing that you have to look at with children who have "behavior" problems is their parents. Second is if there is an underlying cause for the behavior. Like chemical imbalance or brain injury. What can be done for them is to first find the cause and then address the issue accordingly. Having worked in the public school system for several years I have found that many of the behavior problems stem from "parenting styles" . Go and visit a local grade school and interview some teachers they will have some great input. Good Luck in your research.
421676
IF the child does not have a medical condition interfering with concentration (e.g. ADHD), then you indeed must raise the value of education in the child's perceptions of it.\n\nIf the child does have a medical condition that interferes with concentration, not only must you raise the value of education for the child, but also address the condition interfering with concentration through a doctor's help.\n\nFor a child to value education, they must perceive:\n--why are long-term goals important?\n--why is working as an adult important?\n--why is schooling relevant to adult work, and/or adult free-time activities?\n--how does the child's effort (especially if the child does not learn as fast as his/her average peers, or has an LD making reading/math difficult, or other extra challenges) bring about achieving the level of education needed to achieve his/her goals?
65376
A brain which is partially damaged is analogous to a computer where some software file has become corrupted.  That particular software will not operate properly.\n\nFor the speech part of the brain, if that has been damaged, and if the damage is limited to that part of the brain, one can LEARN to speak again as recovery takes place.  That is analogous to reprogramming a computer by reloading the damaged software.\n\nHumans program themselves by TRAINING their neurons (nerve cells, arranged in systems and pathways).  Whenever you practice sports, music, math or whatever, you are training your neurons.  When you start doing something perfect kind of AUTOMATICALLY, you have succeeded.\n\nPeople with brain damage may have to learn how to talk almost fronm the baby stage, if the damage is severe.\n\nThe neurologist can tell you how bad the damage probably is.  Damage is caused by trauma (being hit, or hitting your head in a car accident or some other accident), a STROKE (old people have bleeding or a clot in the brain), by a tumor or a tumor removal operation (necessary damage).  These are just the main types, there are others.\n\nThe worst kind of brain damage is to the top of the spinal cord and to the innermost parts of the brain, on the bottom, where it connects to the spinal cord and near there.  Lots of fancy names for parts in that area.  They are VERY IMPORTANT which is why they are in a well protected area.  If these areas are badly damaged, a person turns into a vegetable at best, and most likely will die.\n\nBut damage to speech occurs in a very different area.  Many, many people have recovered quite satisfactorily from damage to the speech areas.  A few may have some lasting deficit, such as slow speech.\n\nDrugs that are illegal can cause grave brain damage in some instances, and you find drug addicts often who have brain damage.
778527
i'm not sure but try this link: http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/alternatinghemiplegia/alternatinghemiplegia.htm
160523
Well, technically, in order to have the diagnosis of developmental ADHD you need to have had symptoms prior to age 7. Now, I don't know how good a job the diagnostician did at getting a history from you, or whether you do know your history. But often you can't tell who will have ADHD (except in very severe cases) before age 4 or 5, because all 4 year olds are restless and inattentive (well, most, anyway). \n\nNow, it is possible to develop what we refer to as aquired ADHD, which is ADHD symptoms that occur as a result of a head injury of some type. If you did develop aquired ADHD then you should be able to identify when the head injury occurred.
381151
First, I'd talk to his pediatrician and/or see a neurologist (I'm sure he's had one in the past with this sort of problem).  Second, ask the doctor (or look into it yourself) about enrolling him in sometype of therapy-- I'm not sure what type would be appropriate- in addition to typical therapy (emotional type- to help him find better coping strategies)also maybe you could enroll him in something like physical therapy or occupational therapy-- where at least they could maybe fit him with some type of helmet or device or install something on the walls to protect him.  Not sure if you live in an area where this is available or how affordable an option it is (I'm from a small town where these things just don't exist) but I would strongly recommend seeing the doctors and considering some sort of therapy.  I truly wish you and your child the best of luck.
1165465
Brain damage isn't exactly easy to catch because there are areas of the brain we still don't know much about. We don't know what they "look like" normally and so we have a hard time seeing what's abnormal.\n\nDid they run an MRI? If so, it's possible they were either negligent or the damage hadn't shown up. \n\nA relative had epilepsy for about 11 months. It developed when he was 20 and fled him shortly thereafter. No one knows why - the brain scans (they hooked up electrodes to his skull and had his patterns tracked for 72 hours) came back normal. There are just some things we don't know yet.\n\nYou may want to have him examined by both a physician and a psychiatrist - the delayed reactions may be physical or psychological in nature (based on attention and preponderance), while the mood swings and headaches can be fully psychological in nature, or based on structural damage.
981557
Yes, it can.  :(\n\nMost people experience their first symptoms of MS between the ages of 20 and 40; the initial symptom of MS is often blurred or double vision, red-green color distortion, or even blindness in one eye.  Most MS patients experience muscle weakness in their extremities and difficulty with coordination and balance.  These symptoms may be severe enough to impair walking or even standing. In the worst cases, MS can produce partial or complete paralysis.  Most people with MS also exhibit paresthesias, transitory abnormal sensory feelings such as numbness, prickling, or "pins and needles" sensations.  Some may also experience pain.  Speech impediments, tremors, and dizziness are other frequent complaints. Occasionally, people with MS have hearing loss. Approximately half of all people with MS experience cognitive impairments such as difficulties with concentration, attention, memory, and poor judgment, but such symptoms are usually mild and are frequently overlooked.  Depression is another common feature of MS.
622866
the part of her brain that controls those muscles was probably damaged. physical therapy is the best bet for improvement but not a sure thing
412313
You have to exercise your brain like you do your body.  Do crosswords, math problems, word games.  My mother had this problem and her doctor recommended doing these things and she has seen improvement.
1182816
There are different degrees of severity.  Our friends little boy has it and as a baby he was unable to crawl, talk, feed himself, hold a bottle and many things other children could do.  He had a beautiful smile and a great attitude we all loved him very much.  He is able to crawl now which is an accomplishment as some individuals are confined to a wheel chair.  It is definitely an adjustment but with patience and love you can learn so much from individuals that experience life so simply.
831413
No it is not the same. \nDevelopmentally delayed means that your son has not acquired certain benchmarks of development within the normal age range of meeting them.\n\nLearning Disorder is a general term that implies a child has some difficulty learning.\n\nI understand your fear of the "label" but think of it this way---------\nAn IEP is an Individual Education Plan. Where there are specific goals that you, your child, and your child's teachers want him to achieve. Having an IEP means lessons have to be individualized for your child and will receive any and all help in achieving it. Your child will receive more specific instruction and given time to master new skills. He will also be placed in the least restrictive environment. Which means he will be place where he will do his best and the environment will be best for him.\n\nIf it is a speech delay your child will receive speech therapy.\nIf it is physical delays your child may receive physical therapy.\n\nDon't view this as a negative-------- view it as a positive thing. Getting help before he falls too far behind and if there happens to be a learning disability then they will catch it and adjust his learning environment.\n\nJust added after reading responses------\n\nThe No Child Left Behind Act was implamented to ensure that all children recieve the best possible education. It holds the teachers and schools accountable for what their students learn or don't learn.\nAlthough I do not agree with everything about the NCBA, I do like the fact that if the school fails my child I can take him elsewhere. This holds true for any child.
976899
23 years ago yesterday.  \n\nThe day my son was born.  With birth defects.  The trama began that day and has continued.  God allows us the "auto pilot" ability to do what has to be done, and that's just what we did.  Through 18 surgeries, and thousands of trips to PT - OT & speech therapy.\n\nToday - he is such a joy (as he has been for all the time), but I know the things he has had to overcome.  And that is traumatic.
750339
Well, depending on what kind of "mentally challenged" you mean, the answer could be yes or no.\n\nThere are several kinds of neurological disorders that result in a brain that is simply differently wired, with IQs in the normal range or higher. Because the brain is extremely adaptable, it will often compensate for deficits in one area by making other areas work more efficiently. That's why a blind person often has very good hearing: He doesn't have any visual input to process; so his brain specializes on the next most informative sense: Hearing.\n\nSome disorders are like that. ADHD is associated with originality; autism with very good visual-spatial skills; bipolar disorder with creative talent, especially in the arts. So people with these disorders are also more likely to have talents that people without them don't have. People with these disorders look at them as mixed blessings, or even as gifts.\n\nI don't know what it's like to be anyone but myself; so I don't know which disorders other than my own (Asperger Syndrome, a mild form of autism) fit into the category I just described. And I do consider AS to be a gift, in some ways. I'm socially clumsy, and I can't tolerate some sensory input; but I also have very good logical reasoning skills, I approach problems in original ways, and I have quite a lot of talents in my areas of special interest.\n\nBut all in all, people with psychological, neurological, or biological isorders that affect their mental functioning have one big problem: They are square pegs trying to fit into round holes. They are not the majority; so the world is not designed for them. It could be prejudice or the need for accomodations or some aspect of the disorder itself; but being ill-suited for the world you live in can be a difficult thing. Even your talents may not be the sort of thing the world is looking for.\n\nRegarding people with low IQs and severe disorders with no positive aspects. Individual personalities may indeed make them feel superior to others, just as neurologically average people may feel superior to people in general, whether their IQs are higher or lower than their own; but that seems to be a personality trait unconnected to any disorder.\n\nFrom what I can tell, all but the most profoundly affected are aware that they are different; but in a loving family, with good support and the accomodations they need to live in the world, they need not feel inferior or unwanted. These folks have the same goal that any of us have--the pursuit of happiness, in whatever form that takes for them; and why should a happy life ever be called an inferior one?
996677
My son was diagnosed as attention deficit and mildy autistic by our public education system in Texas. We were told he would never hold a job, graduate from H.S., and would be institutionalized as an adult. We fought the system continuously, forced them to place him in mainstream classes and to accommodate his learning disabilities, much to the dismay of educators. He graduated last month from college, has had a job for six years and drives a new car he purchased himself. \nIf you are willing to completely dedicate yourself to helping your child , they can overcome this disability, it will not be easy. The public education system would rather label your child and place them in special education. Without a voucher system there is no help available from private specialized programs.
252108
though i am offering nothing more than a personal opinion (worth about as much as any other layperson's)i'm going to row against the stream here and say that the rest of the brain is the part capable of things we learn to forget. i have seen young children just "feel" things that are beyond the grasp of older humans. maybe at one point in the past we all used instinct as we now use our senses. the structures are still there, and occasionally they still kick in, but mostly, we learn to rationalize things and think them through so we stop using that part. perhaps we were once able to sense that an earthquake was coming, or see and process two whole sets of visual information, or any number of other lost skills. perhaps in time the brain will evolve new uses for those areas, or even just use them as extra storage.\n\nor perhaps the brain needs the extra space. maybe it's a filler, so the useful parts can be in certain places. maybe padding, so the crucial parts are harder to damage. maybe it's just dissipation space, to keep the electic activity from being too concentrated and shorting our brain. i'm not an expert, but those are some ideas that come to mind.