Sensory Care Paediatric Services, Lagos, Nigeria

Therapy and educational materials for children with special needs and other learning disabilities.

FREE individual assessment at our therapy center and 20% DISCOUNT on your child's first month of therapy valid till 20th Dec. 2016

For more information, call or Whatsapp 0816 993 1962
Email: sensorycareng@gmail.com
 

Visit us at 3rd Avenue E close Hs 16, Festac Town, Lagos.

Guess Who's back...

Hello people!

Happy new month.

Sorry for the long [okay long is an understatement] break in transmission. 

We had a lot to sort out but now we're back, bigger and better so watch this space.

Image courtesy: Encomium.ng

By the way, Happy Democracy day!

Therapist Thursdays: Meet Chidera

Chidera is a Special Ed.Intern who works with sensory care Pediatric services.

Why did you choose to be a therapist?
I chose to become a therapist because I love working with kids, it's fascinating watching their various developmental stages especially the cognitive.

Area of interest?
My area of interest has always been speech and cognition. This is because there is nothing like hearing and seeing a child expressing him/herself properly. When a child has a challenge in this area, it is really saddening because, the child wants to communicate, wants to be asked questions, wants to ask questions and also joins his pr her classmates during playtime in fun activities, chatting lively like other children. So as a therapist, teaching a child various words and how to merge them to form sounds and then sentences which will then be used in expressing him/herself gives me a sense of achievements like I’ve actually impacted on this child’s life.

Pros of being a therapist/things I like about my vocation?
For me, one of the pros of being a therapist is that it gives one the opportunity to be creative, to think out of the box, to brain storm and search for the best possible means/approach to a child’s challenges by putting yourself in the child’s shoes, basically not conforming but going out of your way to make the child improve.
One of the things I find really interesting about my vocation is its flexibility. It does not take up my whole time since typical therapy session last 2-3 hrs so it gives me time to rest and plan for the next session. It also leaves me time for myself and my family. For me, Therapy is fun and really interesting.

Image Courtesy: pinterest.com

Things I dislike about my vocation
As much as therapy sessions are fun and interesting, sometimes they can really be boring especially when we continually work on a certain activity that the child has not grasped i.e repetitive work and then after he or she finally gets it, we still have to do the maintenance drills so he/she does not ever forget,so ..yeah,it can be boring at times.

What’s the happiest and saddest moments in therapy?
My happiest moment in therapy is seeing the child improve in a certain task or reaches a milestone. It gives me great joy. It makes me even happier when the parents see the improvements and are really excited and appreciative. It motivates me to do more.

My saddest moment in therapy is after weeks of doing the same drill and child finally seems to be getting it and has even finally gotten it, even down to maintenance drills, then all of a sudden, he/she just behaves like they’ve never heard nor seen what you’ve been hammering on for weeks. It makes me sad cos it feels like I’ve been wasting my energy and time doing that activity.

Humphhh…I have to start all over again doing that again until the child understands. Also when the child’s parents notice the improvement but are not appreciative, it makes me feel bad.

Image courtesy: parentsmap.com

What are the challenges practicing in Nigeria/my location?
One of the major challenges I’d say I have is the inadequate materials .Its hard trying to explain to parents that their children actually need lots of materials depending on the level of disability and condition. Therapy materials make therapy interesting and tasks, easier for the child to understand. When there are limited or no materials, this makes therapy sessions boring and challenging.

What is your favorite therapy material?
My favorite therapy material is the medium sized white board. I can do a lot of writing on the board and when we’ve filled up the board, we can easily wipe it off without wasting paper or littering the whole place. We also use it to work on various grips, also for drawing especially shapes and colours. Kids love using it for pretend play (teacher role). Puzzles are my second favourite. It makes the child problem solve.

What do you wish parents knew about therapy?
I wish parents knew that in therapy, you have to patient. Most parents are anxious and impatient and want to see results like yesterday. Also parents should understand that in therapy, lots of educational and fine motor materials are needed for the child to improve. They should try to commend a therapist because it goes a long way in motivating us.

Chidera is on her way to becoming a great Occupational Therapist, while she's doing that, she'll be taking care of the special diet column.

Stem cells and Cerebral palsy

Image courtesy: bioedge.org

I have been getting mails about stem cell cure  for cerebral palsy and other developmental disorder. I decided to do a bit of research and write about it.

Image courtesy: assymmetrex.com

What is a stem cell?
A stem cell is a primitive cell that has the potential to develop into a range of cell types and form different tissues. Stem cell therapy has been mentioned as a therapeutic option for a diverse group of diseases such as cancer, Parkinson, and muscular dystrophy.  Stem cell therapy involves introducing stem cells into patients to replace damaged tissues. Stem cells have the ability to renew themselves by dividing.
There are 2 main types of stem cells:

Image courtesy: genengnews.com

 •    Embryonic stem cells that are found in the very early embryo. These cells have the potential to develop into all the different tissues and organs that the developing embryo will need as it matures.

Image courtesy: nocamels.com

   •    Adult stem cells that are found in the tissues of humans who have matured beyond the embryonic stage (that is, in the tissues of fetuses, infants, children and adults). The function of adult stem cells is to supply new cells for repairing tissues; for example, bone marrow stem cells develop into blood cells.

There are various ongoing researches by Scientists to  develop stem cell therapies for the replacement or repair of damaged tissues such as nerves, muscle and other parts of the body. 
What diseases and conditions can be treated with stem cells?

Image courtesy: blog.lifecell.in

The most well-established and widely used stem cell treatment is the transplantation of blood stem cells to treat diseases and conditions of the blood and immune system, or to restore the blood system after treatments for specific cancers and muscular dystrophy. The US National Marrow Donor Program has a full list of diseases treatable by blood stem cell transplant.  

Since the 1970s, skin stem cells have been used to grow skin grafts for patients with severe burns on very large areas of the body. A new stem-cell-based treatment to repair damage to the cornea (the surface of the eye) after an injury like a chemical burn, called Holoclar, has recently received conditional approval in Europe

Image courtesy: advancells.com

Stem cell and cerebral Palsy
According to Eurostemcell.com fact sheet, stem cell therapy cannot treat infants nor anyone else who lives with CP, as research into stem cell therapy is still in the laboratory and clinical trial phase. Experts speculate that once the research is out of its clinical trial stages, patients will probably need accompanying forms of treatment as well, such as physical therapy and Occupational therapy.

Image courtesy: advancells.com

Stem cell and Autism
Research is still ongoing and seems to be studying the causes and no conclusive treatment approach has been put forward.
 Patients researching their options may come across companies with Web sites that say otherwise and offer fee-based stem cell treatments. Many of these claims are not supported by sound scientific evidence and patients are encouraged to review some of the links below before making crucial decisions about their treatment plan.

Parents are advised to visit government owned research websites and not private clinic researches. 

For further reading:

• Eurostemcell 
•   Stem cell fact sheet by Michael Fehling
• Cordblood
• Stemcells

The Nigerian parenting websites you should be reading

Being a parent is not easy. Nothing prepares you for the changes you have to undergo as you welcome the little one home but guess what? You're not the only one going through this and you can get help.....even after Omugwo is over. For parents to be, this is a great way to get ready for the wonderful, interesting and at times, difficult life changes that are about to occur. 

It is also a good way to separate the facts about raising children from the old wives tales.

I made a list of websites that parents can go to for help. They will educate you, entertain you, encourage and inspire you. They will also support you with their forums; if you ask a question, you will be answered promptly.

They even go a step further with events organized regularly, which serve as opportunities to meet other parents, attend workshops, listen to childcare experts and really get to know one another. This for me is the best part.

Errr...some of them aren't up to date but the wealth of information there is still very helpful. 

You can also find them on Facebook.

In alphabetical order

9JAMOM: As noted in the "About" column; A support community for Nigerian mothers and mothers-to-be. 

BABYHOODTV :  As noted in the "About" column; The most revered and referred aggregator on the babying  experience.

GIDIMOMS: As noted in the "About" column;  Gidimoms has a lot to offer. They want to make parenting as easy as possible in Lasgidi [Lagos]

LAGOSMUMS: As noted in the "About" column; If you're a mum or a mum to be, lagosmums.com is the place where we can survive in the city of Lagos as mums a bit more easily. 

P.S. I have been to 2 events organised by her....one word...awesome!

MAMALETTE: They have said it all, "You are mamalette. You are not alone"

 MUMSWORLDAFRICA: Okay this is more African than Nigerian specifically but they also have a lot of valuable information to share and as they have said....They do support mums across Africa.

NAIJAPARENTS: Anything parenting, everything Nigerian....

It's good to know that there are websites like these to help out when one needs information. A lot more are coming up and we'll be here to read them up and keep educating ourselves.

I've had my eye on some really cool Nigerian mommy bloggers for some time. I'llbe putting out a post on them soon.

P.S. All images courtesy of the websites mentioned.

Happy New Year!

Happy new year!

Welcome to 2016! 

May God make this year even better for us than last year was. 

Hopefully we'll stick with our resolutions....

Merry Christmas!

Here's wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy new year in advance.

The special diet 2

In my first special diet post, I briefly talked about food our special kids should be eating. Diet is one challenging issues with parents with a special needs child and I keep getting questions on what I should or should not give a child especially kids on the spectrum, ADHD and other learning disabilities or generally picky eaters.

I was also asked about foods that don’t fall under the Casein (protein found in diary products that many people find difficult to tolerate) and gluten free (protein found in wheat, rye, barley and other grains).

I decided to ask some parents who have really researched on these and we came up with lots of Nigerian meals that are healthy rich and delicious in these series. You don’t need to import your food or drinks, besides you don’t know if they have preservatives added to them and are quite expensive.
Please send other recipes too if you have....

The next food post will contain cooked recipes, cereals (very important meal which parents find really challenging), local healthy drinks,snacks,smoothies,local healthy sweeteners and locally made seasonings.
Let us begin…..

Now lets get back to our balanced diet. I shall proceed to list out basic foods under these especially protein and healthy carbohydrate. I would advise watching the carbohydrates especially high caloric ones.

List of healthy Nigerian food that we shall be drawing out recipes from that fall under the 3 classes of food  include
Yam
Sweet potatoes
Irish potatoes
Beans
Soups and stew
Acha/fonio (this helps a lot because it’s a very healthy alternative to eba and since we love to eat lots of eba…)
Millet 
Meat
Fish
Cocoyam
Eggs
Brown rice (local ofada rice or Abakiliki rice) that has not been fully processed. Please limit intake as much as possible and be careful when buying!!!
Plantain

WHAT NOT TO EAT
Sugar and sugar based products
Processed food- white rice, pasta, macaroni, sausages, lots of sealed imported food especially cereals and canned food fall under these.
Milk and cheese 
Junk food- doughnuts, meat pies, puff-puff, chin-chin
Processed seasonings
Fried foods.
Soda and other processed drinks.
The secret of this diet is to, as often as possible, use plant based natural food, not overly cooked. Don't stuff your child with carbs.
 

I shall be having some foodie guests from time to time.

I would also appreciate any recipes you know are generally healthy for children. 

Thanks...

Image courtesy: thefitnessdish.com, nationofchange.org, kumbuja.com, naijatowncrier.com, mayihavethatrecipe.com, wikipedia.com, thepaleodiet.com, woman.thenest.com, coreperformance.com, farafena.com, nigerianfoodtv.com, simplyrecipes.com, africanbites.com, 247frolic.net

7 ways to help a child with delayed development

As a continuation of the previous post, here are some tips for parents...

1. Learn the milestones and ACT EARLY: Always know the skills to expect at a certain age so you will be able to spot any lags in development and talk with your doctor or early intervention specialist right away. 

2. Download a milestone checklist or chart or get one from the hospital and document all progress: Compare with kids his or her age, however, it is important to note that some kids are slower than their mates in reaching their milestones. Premature babies are also often slower to meet milestones so you have to consider gestational age instead of chronological age. To know more about children developmental milestones, check here.

3. Seek the early Intervention of a specialist: Try to get a diagnosis and then seek one of the early intervention specialists to get a thorough developmental assessment. Make sure the specialist knows his onions because a developmental assessment gives you the “big picture” or road map for IEP. For more on assessment check here.

4. Communication: Always talk with your child’s therapist, doctors or special caregivers. Be an active participant in the child’s therapy session (though don’t be in the way, I see that all the time), try to become a sort of mini therapist who would do help in drawing up reasonable targets and follow up.

5. Understand the IEP [Individualized Education Program]: Ask questions if you don’t understand IEP drawn up and be comfortable with IEP drawn up. Make sure it fits the child. Learn more about IEP here.

6. Keep track of progress: Document, minute on the report books and always go through them.

7. Be informed: Attend workshops, Parent forums or join online groups to share experiences, give or be given support.

My Child is 14 months and is not yet walking, why? :Part 2

As discussed in the last post, a Developmental delay is when your child does not reach his or her developmental milestones at the expected time. Developmental delays might happen just in the short term or it might be long term or permanent.

Short-lived delays usually aren't a cause for concern. Kids catch up on their own but a developmental delay is more than just being “slower to develop” or “a little behind.” It means your child is continually behind doing things other kids his age can.
For example, a baby who isn’t rolling over by 4 months may be just a little behind but if he also isn’t able to hold his head up and push up when lying on his tummy, he’s a lot behind. That’s a sign of a developmental delay in motor skills.

Developmental delay can show up in the way a child moves, communicates, thinks and learns, or behaves with others.

Major Causes of developmental delay
There is no one cause of developmental delays however, the following are main causes especially in Nigeria.

1.   Genetic conditions such as hydrocephalus, Down syndrome or a cleft palate cause delays. 
2.   Complications at birth: Being born prematurely, low birth weight or the baby not getting enough oxygen at birth [birth asphyxia] which could happen especially if the delivery was difficult, prolonged or if the mother has a serious infection, high or low blood pressure.
3. Jaundice: At this point, it would be important to note that bathing a baby with pawpaw water or over exposure to the sun does not cure Jaundice.
4. Hospital negligence [at birth]: This could also cause problems for the baby.  This is very important because of the rise in the number of hospitals and clinics cropping up all over the country on a regular basis. Starting from the moment, a pregnancy has been confirmed, Parents should really research on most competent hospitals (especially private clinics) to do Antenatal and have their babies and also for the best pediatric hospitals for their young ones. One of the best ways to do this would be to ask other parents and friends.
5. Environmental issues and other medical conditions: Poor nutrition, poverty, Lead poisoning, being exposed to alcohol or drugs before birth. Chronic ear infections, for example, which can cause delays in speech and language development.

The first three years of a child's life are an amazing time of development and what happens during those years stays with a child for a lifetime. That's why it's so important to watch for signs of delays in development and to get help if you suspect problems. The sooner a delayed child gets early intervention, the better their progress will be. So, if you have concerns, act early.

Support and treatment of children with developmental delay.
The following professionals might be able to help if you think your child might have developmental delay, or your child has a developmental delay diagnosis:
    •    GP 
    •    Occupational therapist 
    •    paediatrician 
    •    audiologist 
    •    occupational therapist 
    •    physiotherapist 
    •    psychologist 
    •    social worker 
    •    special education teachers 
    •    speech pathologist.

My Child is 14 months and is not yet walking, why?

So you have been wondering why your neighbour's baby who is the same age as yours, is walking and yours isn't. Well, no two children are the same; the fact that Baby A is standing or walking and yours isn't, doesn't mean there is a problem with your child. Baby might just be taking his or her time.

However, you as a parent should know the milestones so you can know when there is actually a problem.

The first five years create the foundation for the child to accomplish key developmental milestone advances in mind and body. It is during these years that the brain undergoes its most dramatic growth in gross, fine motor, language skills, thinking and social interactions.

So how can you tell the difference between a child who is just taking his or her time and one who has a true developmental delay?

According to Marat Zeltsman DO of Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital, a developmental delay is when a child does not reach a milestone by the upper range of normal.

Even though babies develop at their own pace, he explains, "Every child should do certain tasks by a certain age."

These tasks fall into five main categories:
• Gross motor skills, such as crawling and walking
• Fine motor skills, such as stacking blocks or coloring
• Language skills, including speech and comprehension
• Thinking skills
• Social interaction

Using input from the CDC and the American Academy of Pediatrics, WebMD compiled a rough timeline of milestones in the above areas. Remember, a child can stray from this timeline and still be within the range of normal, but it's best to discuss any concerns with your pediatrician.

Timeline of Childhood Milestones

2 Months
Smiles at the sound of your voice and follows you with their eyes as you move around a room

3 Months 
Raises head and chest when lying on stomach

Grasps objects

Smiles at other people

4 Months 
Babbles, laughs, and tries to imitate sounds
holds head steady

6 Months 
Rolls from back to stomach and stomach to back

Moves objects from hand to hand

7 Months 
Responds to own name

Finds partially hidden objects





















9 Months 
Sits without support, crawls, babbles "mama" and "dada"

12 Months
Walks with or without support

Says at least one word
Enjoys imitating people

18 Months 
Walks independently
drinks from a cup
says at least 15 words
points to body parts

 







2 Years 
Runs and jumps

Speaks in two-word sentences

Follows simple instructions

Begins make-believe play

3 Years 
Climbs well

Speaks in multiword sentences

Sorts objects by shape and color

4 Years 
Gets along with people outside the family

Draws circles and squares

Rides a tricycle

5 Years 
Tells name and address

Jumps, hops, and skips

Gets dressed

Counts 10 or more objects

In my next post I will be talking about conditions that may cause a child to develop slower that others.


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Madamnoire.com
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