Video: Scoliosis Diagnosis, Treatment and Impact on Your Child

Last updated on September 26th, 2016 at 07:01 pm

Rachel was diagnosed with scoliosis, a curvature of the spine, when she was 11. She describes how it progressed throughout her childhood, the treatments she had and where she found support. Click on the picture below to go to the NHS YouTube channel to watch the video.

scoliosis-video-pic

Editor’s Note: Video Highlights

  • Rachel, who is grown now, was diagnosed with scoliosis – curvature of the spine – at age 11, in a routine school health check up
  • To check for scoliosis, you have to bend down and touch your toes
  • The impact of the issue depends on how much  your spine is curved
  • learning-about-scoliosisRachel’s spinal curve was moderate, so she was still able to do sports and PE
  • What she couldn’t do was trampolining – or anything with a lot of impact
  • There’s a strong genetic link with scoliosis – so siblings should be checked – Rachel’s sister was diagnosed with a slight curve
  • Because Rachel was still growing, she was fitted with a “Boston brace” – which is a plastic corset that fits around the torso
  • At first Rachel found the brace scary – and it was big and bulky – but she got used to it
  • She had a choice of wearing it just during the day – or both day and night – Rachel mostly wore her brace just during the day
  • After wearing the brace for 18 months, Rachel was told she needed surgery
  • This involved having a Harrington rod fused to the base of her spine – to the bottom curve of her S-shaped spine
  • This was also very scary – but Rachel had a lot of support from her parents
  • She was in the hospital for one week – including one night in the ICU (Intensive Care Unit)
  • It was quite major surgery but Rachel recovered at home over the summer – and was able to go back to school at the start of the new year
  • Rachel wore her brace again for another six months to protect her spine – and she wasn’t allowed to do any physical activity during this period
  • If someone was being diagnosed now with scoliosis, Rachel would say: “Don’t be scared. It doesn’t affect your life that much if you don’t let it.”
  • For further support you can go to the Scoliosis Association website in the UK

Editor’s Note: US Resources :

 





September 21, 2016 | Filed Under Community | Leave a Comment 

Child Health & Safety News Roundup: 09-12-2016 to 09-18-2016

Last updated on September 26th, 2016 at 07:02 pm

twitter thumbIn this week’s Children’s Safety News: Ultimate Car Seat Guide – Safe Kids https://t.co/lmzhZsHboL

Welcome to Pediatric Safety’s weekly “Child Health & Safety News Roundup”- a recap of the past week’s child health and safety news headlines from around the world. Each day we use Twitter and Facebook to communicate relevant and timely health and safety information to the parents, medical professionals and other caregivers who follow us. Occasionally we may miss something, but we think overall we’re doing a pretty good job of keeping you informed. But for our friends and colleagues not on Twitter or FB (or who are but may have missed something), we offer you a recap of the past week’s top 15 events & stories.

PedSafe Child Health & Safety Headline of the Week:
Improve the Health of Young Athletes: Concussion Awareness https://t.co/E11jyWD9qe

September 20, 2016 | Filed Under Awareness | Leave a Comment 

Information for Your Teen about Abuse in Relationships

Last updated on September 19th, 2016 at 06:28 pm

If you’re in a relationship and you feel unhappy about or frightened by the way your partner treats you, you don’t have to put up with it.

It can be hard to know what’s “normal” in a relationship. It can take time to get to know each other and discover what works for you both. But there is one thing that’s for sure: abusive or violent behaviour is not acceptable, and if it’s happening to you it’s OK to ask for help and advice.

Partner abuse can happen to anyone of any age, culture or religion. It can happen to boys or girls, but it’s much more likely to happen to girls. Young people in same-sex relationships are also more likely to be affected.

Tink Palmer, a social worker who works with people who have been abused, says: “No one should have to put up with violence in any form. If it’s happening to you, talk to a person you trust, such as a parent, a trusted adult or a friend. Don’t hold it in, talk to someone.”

What is Abuse in a Relationship?

Abuse can involve physical violence, such as hitting, kicking, pushing, slapping or pressuring you into sex. But there are other forms of abuse, too. Emotional and verbal abuse can involve your boyfriend or girlfriend:

  • Saying things that make you feel small, whether you’re alone or in front of other people
  • Pressuring you to do things you don’t want to do, including sexual things
  • Checking up on you all the time to find out where you are and who you’re with – for example, texting or calling you a lot if you’re out with your friends
  • Threatening to hurt you or someone close to you, including pets

As well as happening when you’re together, emotional and verbal abuse can happen on the phone or on the internet.

Behaviour like this is not about love. It’s about someone controlling you and making you behave how they want. People who abuse a partner verbally or emotionally may turn to violence later on in the relationship. This kind of controlling behaviour is a big warning sign.

Behaviour like this is not OK, even if some people tell you it is. Violence and abuse in relationships is not normal, it is not “just the way things are” or “messing around”. It’s a serious issue.

Being hurt emotionally and physically can harm your self-esteem and make you feel anxious, depressed or ill. Girls who are abused can also develop eating disorders, problems with alcohol and drugs, and be at risk of sexually transmitted infections and pregnancy from sexual abuse.

Getting Help for Abuse

If you are in a controlling or abusive relationship and you want help, don’t be scared to talk to someone about it. Remember it’s not your fault, no matter what anyone says, and it is far better to talk about it with someone. It doesn’t matter if you’ve been drinking or what you’ve been wearing. There is no excuse.

It can be difficult to find the right words to ask for help. Try asking someone whether you can talk to them about something. Tell them you need some help or that something is happening and you don’t know what to do.

There are several people you might talk to, such as:

  • An adult mentor or a favourite teacher at school
  • Your mum, dad or another trusted adult, perhaps a friend’s mum
  • An adviser on a helpline such as ChildLine (0800 11 11) (*in the UK)
  • A GP (*family physician) or nurse
  • A friend

And remember, try again if you don’t get the response you think you need. If you are in immediate danger, call 999 (*in the UK – 911 in the US).

If You Think a Friend is Being Abused

If you think a friend might be experiencing abuse, talk to her (your friend might be male, but it is most often girls who experience abuse). “Keep calm, and don’t be judgmental or condemning,” says Palmer. “It can be difficult to talk to a friend, but try. If you’re concerned, don’t worry that you might be wrong, worry that you might be right.”

Try asking your friend if you can talk about something. Tell her you’re worried about her and ask her whether everything is OK. Listen to her and let her know that nobody has to put up with abuse.

If she has been hurt, offer to go to the doctor with her. Have the number of a useful helpline, such as ChildLine on 0800 11 11 (*in the UK), ready to give to her.

Your friend might be angry or upset with you for a while, but she will know that you care and you might have helped her realise she can get help.

If You are Abusing Someone

If you are abusing your partner or you’re worried that you might, you can call ChildLine on 0800 11 11 (*in the UK) or talk to a trusted adult.

“Recognising that your behaviour is wrong is the first step to stopping it. But you may need help to stop,” says Palmer.

Sometimes the things that cause abusive behaviour, such as feelings about things that happened in the past, can be very powerful. “We can’t always stop things on our own, or straight away,” says Palmer. “We do need help, which is why it’s important to talk to someone.”

Editor’s Note: *clarification provided for our US readers.

U.S. Resources for Teen Relationship / Domestic Abuse:

 





September 14, 2016 | Filed Under Community | Leave a Comment 

Child Health & Safety News Roundup: 09-05-2016 to 09-11-2016

Last updated on September 21st, 2016 at 11:57 am

twitter thumbIn this week’s Children’s Safety News: 8 Safety & First Aid Tips for Kids https://t.co/GVPIh3WVDO

Welcome to Pediatric Safety’s weekly “Child Health & Safety News Roundup”- a recap of the past week’s child health and safety news headlines from around the world. Each day we use Twitter and Facebook to communicate relevant and timely health and safety information to the parents, medical professionals and other caregivers who follow us. Occasionally we may miss something, but we think overall we’re doing a pretty good job of keeping you informed. But for our friends and colleagues not on Twitter or FB (or who are but may have missed something), we offer you a recap of the past week’s top 15 events & stories.

PedSafe Child Health & Safety Headline of the Week:
Dangerously Hot Playgrounds and Children’s Health https://t.co/RaZO2FXuhn

September 13, 2016 | Filed Under Awareness | Leave a Comment 

12 Benefits of Unscheduled Play for Our Stressed-Out Kids

Last updated on May 28th, 2017 at 12:08 am

kids_jump_logOkay folks, I’m concerned. Over the last few weeks I’ve been reviewing studies involving children and play. “Shocked” and “disturbed” are the two words that describe how I feel when reading those reports.

Every study reaches one sad conclusion: Good old-fashioned play (remember that?) is quickly becoming an endangered pastime for today’s plugged-in, over-scheduled, too supervised kids.

Worse yet, play is not only disappearing from our homes and neighborhoods, but our schools as well. And this comes at the same time when reports show that stress is mounting to new heights in our kids while their mental health has plummeted to a twenty-five year all-time low. A good old fashioned childhood of cloud-gazing, leaf-kicking, and hill rolling is disappearing to be replaced by screens, earplugs, flashcards and tutors.

        Facts About Today’s Play-Deprived Kids

  • Since the late 1970s there’s been a 25% drop in our children’s free play and a 50% drop in unstructured outdoor activities
  • Since the late 1970s kids time in organized, adult-supervised sports have doubled and the number of minutes devoted each week to passive leisure, not including watching television, has increased from 30 minutes to more than three hours
  • The average U.S. child is now “plugged-in” to some kind of digital device–not including cell phone and text–71/2 hours a day

The loss of play and even skepticism about its value may be partly due to a more competitive, “no-child left untested era” (don’t get me started on that one…), our increasingly hurried, quicker-pace life style, and the belief we have to schedule our kids with activity after activity to stretch those IQ points. Now Tiger Mom–and every media outlet our there appearing to quote her–is urging every so-called “Western” mom to halt those play dates and any child-chosen activity.

Whatever the reason, today’s kids are playing less and many experts–and the kids–are crying, “Foul!” and with good reason. They are growing up in a play-deprived world. Dozens of studies prove that play is not just a luxury but essential to our children’s healthy development.

12 Scientific Benefits of Play

We’ve always known that “kids and play” are just a natural combo. But new research also shows that letting kids engage in self-directed play has immense value for their social, emotional, cognitive and physical growth. Here are just a few of the proven scientific benefits of letting our kids get messy and doing something besides clicking those darn keypads and video controllers and paper and pencil tasks:

1. Play boosts children’s creativity and imagination

Play gives children the chance to invent, build, expand, explore and develop a whole different part of the brain.

2. Play stretches our children’s attention span

Playing outdoors just 30 minutes a day increases child’s ability to focus and pay attention.

3. Play and rough-housing boost boys’ problem solving abilities

The more elementary school-boys engaged in rough-housing, the better they scored on a test of social problem solving. (Don’t ya love that one!)

4. Play boosts self-confidence and self-regulation

Kids learn to become masters of their own destiny without an adult directing, pushing, managing or scheduling.

5. Play forges friendships, strengthens social competence and teaches social skills

Undirected (which means an adult isn’t there guiding and directing each moment) play allows kids to learn how to work in groups, share, negotiate, communicate and develop core social skills they need not only now but for the rest of their lives.

6. Play helps kids learn to enjoy just being in their own company, entertain themselves and develop identity

Ease that guilt when your kid says, “I’m bored, Mom!” Our kids must learn to enjoy their own company!

7. Play reduces children’s anxiety and diminishes stress

A study published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry shows that play is also critical for our children’s emotional health because it helps kids work through anxiety and reduce stress.

8. Play creates joyful memories of childhood

Come on, no kid is going to remember the car pools and worksheets but the swings, jumping in leaves, playing leapfrog in the mud, blowing bubbles, building forts–those are the unforgettable childhood moments. Sigh!

9. Play boosts physical health and reduces risk of obesity

Henry Joseph Legere, MD, author of Raising Healthy Eaters points out: “Rises in screen time have led to the rise of a sedentary lifestyle for our children. In 1982, the childhood obesity prevalence in the United States was actually less than 4 percent. By 2004, that number had grown to about 30 percent.”

10. Play expands our kids minds and neurological development

Self-initiated play improve skills such as guessing, figuring, and interpreting is important to brain development and learning. It helps kids learn to self-regulated as well as stretch critical thinking and focusing skills.

11. Play builds new competencies, leadership skills, teaches lifelong hobbies, and develops resilience

“Play is what allows kids to manipulate their environment,” says a report written by Kenneth Ginsburg, M.D. of the AAP, “And how you manipulate your environment is about how you begin to take control, how you begin to develop your senses, how you view the world.”

12. Play nurtures the parent-child bond

Child-driven play also improves our parent-kid relationship.Play offers a wonderful opportunity for parents to see the world from our children’s eyes as well as strengthen our relationship when we join in.

In fact, playing with our kids is one of the few times when clocks stop and stress fades. There’s no judgments, schedules or time constraints that worry us. It’s just a glorious opportunity to give our kids our full presence, be in their space and enjoy each other’s company, and build those wonderful childhood memories. Keep in mind folks, there’s no rewind button when it comes to childhood!

So parents, why not just this week push pause and tune into your kids’ schedule? I dare you: take a Reality Check and see just how how unstructured, unsupervised time your kid has. While you’re at it, here are a few questions to help you assess if play should be added to the “Endangered Species List” at your home.

REALITY CHECK: Could Your Kids Be ‘Play Deprived’?

  • How much are your kids plugged into some kind of a digital device?
  • How often are your kids glued to that TV or clicking that keypad?
  • How much free time do your kids have that is unscheduled, unplanned, unsupervised?
  • How often do your kids go outdoors to just recompress?
  • Do your kids know how to entertain themselves solo an adult, coach, teacher, or you whether it be indoors or out?
  • Do your kids enjoy the great outdoors?
  • How often (if ever) do your kids see you throwing off your shoes and joining in the unplanned, spontaneous fun with them?
  • Do your kids know outdoor age-appropriate games and have the equipment for those activities whether it be hopscotch, jump rope, Red Rover, I Spy, basketball, freeze-tag, kick the can, skateboarding?
  • Do your kids know how to self-entertain and do activities that would nurture their creativity or imagination on a regular basis?
  • Do you set a rule that when friends come to the house a minimum or no plugged-in devices are allowed?
  • Would your kid say that you encourage them to play unstructured?
  • How do you respond when your kids get messy? (Just asking…but remember letting your kids get messy every now and then is actually a great way to teach them that nobody’s perfect, accidents do happen, and teaches them to enjoy themselves and their own company).

Let’s remember: Play is an essential — not a luxury – for our children’s well-being. Thirty years of solid child development research confirms that play is crucial for our children’s social, emotional, physical and cognitive growth.  So check into your kids’ lives and make sure at least  a bit of “free time” is a part of their waking hours.

What do you think? Are our kids becoming play-deprived? And if they are, what do you see as the disadvantages?

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UnSelfie 140x210Teens today are 40 percent less empathetic than they were thirty years ago. Why is a lack of empathy—along with the self-absorption epidemic Dr. Michele Borba calls the Selfie Syndrome—so dangerous? First, it hurts kids’ academic performance and leads to bullying behaviors. Also, it correlates with more cheating and less resilience. And once children grow up, it hampers their ability to collaborate, innovate and problem-solve—all must-have skills for the global economy. The good news? Empathy is a trait that can be taught and nurtured.  UnSelfie is a blueprint for parents and educators who want activate our children’s hearts and shift their focus from I, me, and mine… to we, us, and ours.  It’s time to include “empathy” in our parenting and teaching!  UnSelfie is AVAILABLE NOW at amazon.com.

September 12, 2016 | Filed Under Affiliate, Community | Leave a Comment 

Don’t Miss AMC’s Sensory Friendly Screening of Sully Tomorrow

Last updated on September 18th, 2016 at 05:45 pm

New sensory friendly logoAMC Entertainment (AMC) has expanded their Sensory Friendly Films program in partnership with the Autism Society. This Tuesday evening, families affected by autism or other special needs have the opportunity to view a sensory friendly screening of Sully, a film that may appeal to older audiences on the autism spectrum. 

As always, the movie auditoriums will have their lights turned up and the sound turned down. Families will be able to bring in snacks to match their child’s dietary needs (i.e. gluten-free, casein-free, etc.), there are no advertisements or previews before the movie and it’s totally acceptable to get up and dance, walk, shout, talk to each other…and even sing – in other words, AMC’s “Silence is Golden®” policy will not be enforced during movie screenings unless the safety of the audience is questioned.

sully-posterDoes it make a difference? Absolutely! Imagine …no need to shhhhh your child. No angry stares from other movie goers. Many parents think twice before bringing a child to a movie theater. Add to that your child’s special needs and it can easily become cause for parental panic. But on this one day a month, for this one screening, everyone is there to relax and have a good time, everyone expects to be surrounded by kids – with and without special needs – and the movie theater policy becomes “Tolerance is Golden“.

AMC and the Autism Society will be showing Sully tomorrow, Tuesday, September 13 at 7pm (local time). Tickets are $4 to $6 depending on the location. To find a theatre near you, here is a list of AMC theatres nationwide participating in this fabulous program (note: to access full list, please scroll to the bottom of the page).

Coming Soon: Storks (Sat, 9/24 and Tues, 10/8) and The Magnificent Seven (Tues, 9/27)

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Editor’s note: Although Sully has been chosen by the Autism Society for a Tuesday Sensory Friendly screening, we do want parents to know that it is rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association of America for some peril and brief strong language. As always, please check the IMDB Parents Guide for a more detailed description of this film to determine if it is right for you and your family.

September 12, 2016 | Filed Under Awareness | Leave a Comment