Thursday, July 30, 2009

Cerebral Palsy

Mates, I am sure that there are most of us still don't have the same level of understanding regarding to "Cerebral Palsy". Even this words is really new to my ears since i join this new office. One of the team in this office is dealing with a club called CP (cerabral palsy) club. Curious on how and what it is, I try to search the issue of it and here is the article. Hopefully it will be able to enrich our knowledge and understanding about the CEREBRAL PALSY.
Well Mates, lets start.... :-)

Cerebral palsy (CP) is a disorder that affects muscle tone, movement, and motor skills (the ability to move in a coordinated and purposeful way).
Cerebral palsy can also lead to other health issues, including vision, hearing, and speech problems, and learning disabilities.
CP is usually caused by brain damage that occurs before or during a child's birth, or during the first 3 to 5 years of a child's life. There is no cure for CP, but treatment, therapy, special equipment, and, in some cases, surgery can help a child who is living with the condition.

About Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral palsy is one of the most common congenital (existing before birth or at birth) disorders of childhood. About 500,000 children and adults of all ages in the United States have the condition.

The three types of CP are:

1. spastic cerebral palsy — causes stiffness and movement difficulties
2. athetoid cerebral palsy — leads to involuntary and uncontrolled movements
3. ataxic cerebral palsy — causes a disturbed sense of balance and depth perception

Cerebral palsy affects muscle control and coordination, so even simple movements — like standing still — are difficult. Other vital functions that also involve motor skills and muscles — such as breathing, bladder and bowel control, eating, and learning — may also be affected when a child has CP. Cerebral palsy does not get worse over time.

Causes of Cerebral Palsy

The exact causes of most cases of CP are unknown, but many are the result of problems during pregnancy in which the brain is either damaged or doesn't develop normally. This can be due to infections, maternal health problems, or something else that interferes with normal brain development. Problems during labor and delivery can cause CP in some cases.

Premature babies — particularly those who weigh less than 3.3 pounds (1,510 grams) — have a higher risk of CP than babies that are carried full-term, as are other low birth weight babies and multiple births, such as twins and triplets.

Brain damage in infancy or early childhood can also lead to CP. A baby or toddler might suffer this damage because of lead poisoning, bacterial meningitis, malnutrition, being shaken as an infant (shaken baby syndrome), or being in a car accident while not properly restrained.

Diagnosing Cerebral Palsy

CP may be diagnosed very early in an infant known to be at risk for developing the condition because of premature birth or other health problems. Doctors, such as pediatricians and developmental and neurological specialists, usually follow these kids closely from birth so that they can identify and address any developmental delays or problems with muscle function that might indicate CP.

In a baby carried to term with no other obvious risk factors for CP, it may be difficult to diagnose the disorder in the first year of life. Often doctors aren't able to diagnose CP until they see a delay in normal developmental milestones (such as reaching for toys by 4 months or sitting up by 7 months), which can be a sign of CP.

Abnormal muscle tone, poorly coordinated movements, and the persistence of infant reflexes beyond the age at which they are expected to disappear also can be signs. If these developmental milestones are only mildly delayed, the diagnosis of CP may not be made until the child is a toddler.

Preventing Cerebral Palsy

In many cases the causes of CP are unknown, so there's no way to prevent it. But if you're having a baby, you can take steps to ensure a healthy pregnancy and carry the baby to term, thus lowering the risk that your baby will have CP.

Before becoming pregnant, it's important to maintain a healthy diet and make sure that any medical problems are managed properly. As soon as you know you're pregnant, proper prenatal medical care is vital. If you are taking any medications, review these with your doctor and clarify if there are any side effects that can cause birth defects.

Controlling diabetes, anemia, hypertension, seizures, and nutritional deficiencies during pregnancy can help prevent some premature births and, as a result, some cases of cerebral palsy.

Once your baby is born you can lower the risk of brain damage, which could lead to CP. Never shake an infant, as this can lead to shaken baby syndrome and brain damage. If you're riding in a car, make sure your baby is properly strapped into an infant car seat that's correctly installed — if an accident occurs, the baby will be as protected as possible.

Be aware of lead exposure in your house, as lead poisoning can lead to brain damage. Remember to have your child get his or her immunizations on time — these shots protect against serious infections, some of which can cause brain damage resulting in CP.

How Cerebral Palsy Affects Development

Kids with CP have varying degrees of physical disability. Some have only mild impairment, while others are severely affected.

Associated medical problems may include visual impairment or blindness, hearing loss, food aspiration (the sucking of food or fluid into the lungs), gastroesophageal reflux (spitting up), speech problems, drooling, tooth decay, sleep disorders, osteoporosis (weak, brittle bones), and behavior problems.

Seizures, speech and communication problems, and mental retardation are also common among kids with the severe form of CP. Many have problems that may require ongoing therapy and devices such as braces or wheelchairs.
Treatment of Cerebral Palsy

Currently there's no cure for cerebral palsy, but a variety of resources and therapies can provide help and improve the quality of life for kids with CP.

Different kinds of therapy can help them achieve maximum potential in growth and development. As soon as CP is diagnosed, a child can begin therapy for movement, learning, speech, hearing, and social and emotional development.

In addition, medication, surgery, or braces can help improve muscle function. Surgery can help repair dislocated hips and scoliosis (curvature of the spine), which are common problems associated with CP. Severe muscle spasticity can sometimes be helped with medication taken by mouth or administered via a pump (the baclofen pump) implanted under the skin.

A team of professionals will work with you to meet your child's medical needs. That team may include therapists, psychologists, educators, nurses, and social workers.

Many resources are available to help and support you in caring for your child. Talk to your doctor about finding those in your area.

Source : http://kidshealth.org

How To Write a Motivation/Cover Letter

Dear Mates! Hope that u are always in an excellent health and ready for the activities.
Hey, we are at the end of the working days. Its Friday mates!! Wow, thats why I feel so happy, hahaha...

Lots of us wonder and curious how to write a good motivation letter, or cover letter where we all aware that this letter play an important point when we applying a job.

The Cover Letter (CL) is the document that accompanies your CV when you are applying for a job. For academic purposes, the document used is typically called statement of purpose, and is laid out after somewhat different rules. The CL is short (200-250 words), with a quite rigid structure and has the layout of a letter. Its goal is to introduce the CV, to bring to attention aspects of your activity that can help your application and are not listed or not presented in the proper light in the CV. In short, its goal is to answer the recruiter's question: "Why should I hire this person?".



Layout.

The layout is that of a formal business letter: your address and contact details come under your name, in the upper right corner of the page. Underneath, aligned left, write the name, function, organisation and address of the person you are writing to. It is a lot better to know the name of the person who is going to read your letter. You should address the letter directly to him or her. In the case you do not know the name, an email, a little digging in the net or a phone call should help you get that name, in case it is not mentioned in the official announcement. Under the receiver's address, but aligned right, write the date of the day when you are writing the letter. You should spell the name of the month and use four digits for the year. You can put in front of the date the location, like Banda Aceh, 24th July 2009.

If you do know the name of the addressee, start with Dear Mr (Mister), Ms (Miss), Mrs (Mistress), Dr (Doctor), without the full stop that you might expect to follow the abbreviation, and the surname of the addressee, followed by comma (Dear Dr Smith,). In this case, you should end the letter with the salutation Yours sincerely. If you do not know the name, start with Dear Sirs, or Dear Sir or Madam and close with Yours faithfully. In American business correspondence, Yours truly is acceptable in both cases. Do not start the body of the mail with a capital letter, since it follows a comma.

Structure.

Ideally, a cover letter has no more than four paragraphs. The goal of the first is to specify what you are applying for and how did you find out about that opportunity. The last one outlines your availability for an interview, suggesting in this way a concrete follow-up for your application.

The second paragraph should list your skills and qualifications that make you the right person for the position you are applying for. Read carefully the announcement, identify the requirements and see how your skills match those required. Do not simply state you have them, prove it. Ideally, you should start from your experience and show how you have developed those qualifications by doing what you have been doing/learning. Same as in the case of your CV, the result should portrait you as an independent, creative person that can take initiative and deal with responsibilities, apart from the specific skills needed for the job. In short, the second paragraph should show why you are good for the job.

The third should point out why you want it. You should outline your interest for the skills you are going to learn if you get the job. The impression left should be that you can make a genuine contribution to the company's operations, while simultaneously deriving satisfaction from your work.

After the fourth paragraph leave a blank space, same as you should do in the beginning, after the salutation (Dear). Write the proper closing, as described above and your name. Do not forget to leave a blank space between the closing and your name and to sign the letter in that space.

Enclosure.

It is customary for formal letters to mention whether you have enclosed any documents accompanying the letter. Simply mention enclosure, or write curriculum vitae under the heading enclosure at the end of the letter.

Print the letter on A4 white paper same as that on which your CV was printed, and put both documents in an A4 envelope of matching color. If you are emailing it request a notification that your documents have been received. Wait at least two weeks since the day you sent your application or after the deadline before writing again in the case you did not get any answer.

Source: www.my-virtualcorner.blogspot.com



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