Superior Home Care
10597 165th St. W.
Lakeville, MN 55044
Phone: 952-898-4911
Fax: 952-898-3088
Email: info@superiorhome
care.org
Superior Home Care has compiled a wide variety of information and links to help you learn more about a specific diagnosis. The links included on this page are not affiliated with Superior Home Care in any way. If you know of any web sites that would be of value to others, please email us with your suggestions. Please email us about any broken links.
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder:
A condition that describes students who display
hyperactive behaviors. Those with ADHD have difficulty attending to the
task at hand, and tend to be impulsive. Common characteristics include:
lack of attention, poor listening skills, and restlessness.
• Very well organized site for information on ADHD.
http://www.adhd.com/
• A monthly updated newsletter on ADHD.
http://users.nlci.com/nutrition/
• The science of ADHD and much more.
http://www.help4adhd.org/en/about/what
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Autism is defined as a developmental disability
that affects verbal and nonverbal communication and social interaction.
Autism is generally evident before age 3. Common characteristics include:
Impairment of social interaction, verbal and nonverbal communication,
less aware of the feelings of others, repetitiveness, stereotypical patterns
of behavior, interests, and activities.
• Here you will find everything you ever needed to know about Autism.
http://www.autism-society.org/site/PageServer
• Daily updated, easy to navigate web site on autism. Very helpful
daily living information.
http://www.canfoundation.org/
• Very clean looking web site, very well organized, and full of information
on Autism.
http://www.naar.org/
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A condition of disruptive or inappropriate
behaviors that interferes with the person's learning, relationships, or
personal satisfaction to such a degree that intervention is required.
Common characteristics include: poor coordination, loss of emotional control,
hostility, noncooperative behavior, and destructiveness.
• Behavior disorder issues, very useful links.
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/childbehaviordisorders.html
• Great online article about teaching children with behavior disorders,
written in 5 steps.
http://specialed.about.com/library/weekly/aa061503a.htm
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Bipolar disorder generally has two parts
to it. The first is periods of excitability (mania) alternating with periods
of depression. The "mood swings" between mania and depression
are often very abrupt. Bipolar disorder results from disturbances in the
areas of the brain that regulate mood. During manic periods, a person
with bipolar disorder may be overly impulsive and energetic, with an exaggerated
sense of self. The depressed phase brings overwhelming feelings of anxiety,
low self-worth, and suicidal thoughts. Common characteristics include:
elevated mood, racing thoughts, hyperactivity, increased energy, lack
of self-control, inflated self-esteem, reckless behavior, little need
for sleep, easily agitated or irritated, and poor temper control.
• Updated Regularly, and conatins a great forum page on Bipolar.
http://www.mcmanweb.com/
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A disorder of movement and posture caused
by a defect in the developing brain. Common characteristics include: lack
of reflexes, and slow development of postural reflexes. Many people who
have Cerebral Palsy may have the following as well: mental retardation,
convulsions, speech problems, and hearing and vision loss.
• Helpful information for parents of a child with Cerebral Palsy.
http://www.cerebralpalsy.org/
• Cerebral Palsy issues, very useful links.
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/cerebralpalsy.html
• Great information on Cerebral Palsy.
http://www.nichcy.org/pubs/factshe/fs2txt.htm
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Depression is the mental state of excessive
sadness characterized by persistently low mood or extensive loss of pleasure
and interest. To be considered a clinical condition, depression symptoms
must have a duration of at least 2 weeks and include: decreases or sometimes
increases in weight, agitated or sluggish activity, disturbance in sleep,
appetite, and concentration.
• Many great resources for information on Depression.
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/depression.html
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Down syndrome is the most common and readily
identifiable chromosomal condition associated with mental retardation.
It is caused by a chromosomal abnormality: for some unexplained reason,
an accident in cell development results in 47 instead of the usual 46
chromosomes. This extra chromosome changes the orderly development of
the body and brain. In most cases, the diagnosis of Down syndrome is made
according to results from a chromosome test administered shortly after
birth. Common physical characteristics include: poor muscle tone, slanting
eyes with folds of skin at the inner corners (called epicanthal folds),
hyperflexibility (excessive ability to extend the joints), short, broad
hands with a single crease across the palm on one or both hands, broad
feet with short toes, flat bridge of the nose, short, low-set ears, short
neck, small head, small oral cavity, short, high-pitched cries in infancy.
• One of the largest site, devoted to providing information on Downs
Syndrome.
http://www.ndss.org/
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A condition that includes all levels of hearing
loss, both deaf and hard of hearing. Common characteristics include: lack
of balance, information processing time is longer, physical fitness may
be lower, may be a delay in social/emotional development, and speech can
range from intelligible to none.
• A wealth of information on Hearing Impairment.
http://www.hear-it.org/
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A disability in which the person possesses
average intelligence but is slower in academic achievement. Common characteristics
include: poor spatial orientation, clumsiness, rhythmic problems, problems
with body awareness, and motor skills difficulty.
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A person diagnosed with mental retardation
meets the following criteria: 1. cognitive level (IQ below 70-75), 2.
significant limitations exist in two or more adaptive skill areas, 3.
the condition is present from childhood (age 18 or less). Common characteristics
include: slower rate of learning, hard time academically, can exhibit
inappropriate responses to social/emotional situations, may not fully
comprehend what is expected of them in social situations, may have slower
development of physical skills, and commonly overweight due to lack of
energy.
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A disorder of the brain and spinal cord (central
nervous system) caused by progressive damage to the outer covering of
nerve cells (myelin). This results in decreased nerve functioning which
can lead to a variety of symptoms. Common characteristics include: weakness
of one or more extremities, paralysis of one or more extremities, muscle
spasticity (uncontrollable spasm of muscle groups), numbness, decreased
or abnormal sensation in any area,
extremity pain, loss of vision (usually affects one eye at a time), rapid
eye movements, uncontrollable, decreased coordination, decreased memory,
depression, decreased attention span, slurred speech, difficulty speaking
or understanding speech, and fatigue, tired easily.
• One of the largest site, devoted to providing information on Multiple
Sclerosis.
http://www.nmss.org/
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A seizure or convulsion can be a sudden,
violent, uncontrollable contraction of a group of muscles. A seizure can
also be more subtle, consisting of only a brief "loss of contact"
or a few moments of what appears to be daydreaming. There are several
types of seizures. Common causes include: injury or trauma to the head,
infection, brain tumor (30% to 40% of patients with brain tumors have
a seizure), high fever or heatstroke, epilepsy, (seizures occur in a predictable
pattern), diabetes (seizures can occur when blood sugar level is too low).
• Great resources on Seizures.
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/seizures.html
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Spinal cord trauma is damage to the spinal
cord that results from direct injury to the cord itself, or from indirect
injury from damage to the bones, soft tissues, and blood vessels surrounding
the spinal cord. Common characteristics include: weakness, paralysis,
breathing difficulties (from paralysis of the breathing muscles), spasticity
(increased muscle tone), sensory changes, numbness, pain, and loss of
normal bowel and bladder control.
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A traumatic brain injury (TBI) is an injury
to the brain caused by the head being hit by something or shaken violently.
This injury can change how the person acts, moves, and thinks. A traumatic
brain injury can also change how a student learns and acts in school.
Common characteristics include: lowered thinking and reasoning, lowered
understanding words, trouble remembering things, paying attention, solving
problems, thinking abstractly, talking, behaving, walking and other physical
activities, seeing and/or hearing, and learning.
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An overall term that includes all levels
of vision loss, from partially sighted to complete blindness. Common characteristics
include: physical fitness is commonly poor, balance development is impaired,
basic motor patterns and skills are delayed, and physical growth and maturation
may be impaired.
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