by Sarah | Jul 16, 2009 | Hypotonia, Terminology
Today in email I was asked by a mom with a new diagnosis of Truncal Hypotonia to explain it in layman’s terms for her. She’s new to all of this and is frightened – and I remember that feeling well. It’s been ages since I did a Terminology Tuesday, and today is not Tuesday, but I thought it would make a great post, since I display clearly on my site that Angel has this and what it is may not be clear. I’ve already answered this directly to that mom in email, but I’m making a post now too 😀
Hypotonia is a muscular condition. It means that the muscles do not have the tone of normal muscles – they aren’t as strong or flexible. This is often characterized by a rigidity. In our case, even changing a diaper caused discomfort for Angel. She had Torticollis (definition on Tues.) as a baby, then her arms were stuck in the airplane reflex (arms raised tight and bent at her sides) until we finally got her crawling – and even then we could not get her to use her left arm to reach for anything.
Truncal means the torso. The hips/stomach/chest area is the weakest. The trunk supports us in just about everything from sitting to moving and walking. Angel’s hips and chest are her weakest area, most especially on the left side.
I hope this helps! I’m off to research another disorder to gain an understanding of it before I email this mom back!!
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by Sarah | Dec 4, 2007 | Terminology
Talk about just under the wire!!! Quick TT for today…something I learned about at the Orthopedic (more on that appointment tomorrow)
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Tibial Torsion
Tibial torsion is an inward twisting of the shin bones. Tibial torsion causes the child’s feet to turn inward, or have what is also known as a “pigeon-toed” appearance. It is typically seen among toddlers.
Tibial torsion generally corrects itself by age 4. In the rare cases that it does not correct itself, surgery may be required.
by Sarah | Nov 27, 2007 | Hypotonia, Terminology
(Yes, I did almost forget)
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Hypotonia
(as quoted from Wikipedia because I couldn’t say it better)
Hypotonia is a condition of abnormally low muscle tone (the amount of tension or resistance to movement in a muscle), often involving reduced muscle strength.
Hypotonia is not a specific medical disorder, but a potential manifestation of many different diseases and disorders that affect motor nerve control by the brain or muscle strength. Recognizing hypotonia, even in early infancy, is usually relatively straightforward, but diagnosing the underlying cause can be difficult and often unsuccessful. The long-term effects of hypotonia on a child’s development and later life depend primarily on the severity of the muscle weakness and the nature of the cause. Some disorders have a specific treatment but the principal treatment for most hypotonia of idiopathic or neurologic cause is physical therapy to help the person compensate for the neuromuscular disability.
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And that is very close to what we have going on. K has the condition, but we haven’t determined the exact underlying cause. She is in PT for it…and we have seen a neurologist, and are scheduled to see a Orthopedist next week! That’s the full gist of it as we know it!
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by Sarah | Nov 20, 2007 | CF, Terminology
Sputum Culture
Lovely word, isn’t it? Sputum. Sorry. Definition…
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A sputum culture is a test used to determine what bacteria or fungi are infecting a persons lungs and/or breathing passages.
The test is run using a swab at the back of the throat to collect the Sputum**. The culture is then tested for growth. If not growth is present, the culture is considered negative. If there is growth, the test is positive and is then checked under a microscope to determine the type of bacteria.
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**Extra definition: Sputum. The thick fluid fluid produced by the lungs and the airway leading to the lungs.
by Sarah | Nov 13, 2007 | SID, Terminology
For the first TT, we’re going to cover SID – Sensory Integration Dysfunction (also commonly called Sensory Processing Disorder).
Definition of SID:
A neurological disorder causing difficulties with processing information from the five classic senses (vision, auditory, touch, olfaction, and taste), the sense of movement (vestibular system), and/or the positional sense (proprioception).
The layman’s definition: Difficulty processing sensory input.
SID can be a standalone disorder, or it can be symptomatic of other disorders (such as forms of PDD, Tourettes, or even dyslexia).
SID is usually diagnosed by an Occupational Therapist.
by Sarah | Nov 6, 2007 | Terminology
Starting next Tuesday, I’m going to start a weekly snipped called ‘Terminology Tuesday’. I’ll be going in depth with definitions and terminology that special needs parents know. Different conditions (autism, CF, Fragile X, etc.), and therapies and equipment. If you have a topic you’d like to see covered, please let me know! Either respond to this post, or email me. I’ll be happy to take suggestions!!!
