Childhood Disorders/Diseases

I know a lot of people don't like to think about their children being anything less than perfect but, we have to consider it sometimes. The best way to help our children is not by denying the  truth but embracing it and looking for answers. There are a lot of childhood disorders out there and yes they can be a scary thing but it's the jobs of parents to help make it a lithe less scary for their kids. But how can you do that when you're terrified yourself? Let's start with getting informed about some of the most common disorders.

Learning Disabilities

Dyslexia

Like other learning disabilities, dyslexia is a lifelong challenge meaning, children will have to deal with this disorder all the way into adulthood. It is a language-based processing disorder that can hinder reading, writing, spelling and sometimes even speaking. What a lot of people do not understand is that dyslexia is not a sign of poor intelligence or laziness. It does not result from impaired hearing or vision in fact, it is often genetic. Children and adults with dyslexia have a neurological disorder that causes their brains to process and interpret information differently. The result being difficulty in word recognition, decoding and spelling. However, with the proper support almost anyone with dyslexia can become good readers and writers.

Dysgraphia

Dysgraphia is a learning disability that affects writing. Writing is a process that requires a complex set of motor and information processing skills. Dysgraphia can lead to problems with spelling, poor handwriting and putting thoughts on paper. People with dysgraphia often have trouble organizing letters, numbers and words on a line or page. This can result from visual-spatial difficulties and language processing difficulties. Visual-spatial difficulties are when one has trouble processing what the eye sees. Language processing difficulties are when one has trouble processing and making sense of what the ear hears.

Autism/Autism Spectrum Disorder

What Is Autism/Autism Spectrum Disorder?

Autism and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are general terms for a group of very complex disorders of brain development. These disorders are characterized, in varying degrees, by difficulties in social interaction, verbal and nonverbal communication and repetitive behaviors. Where at first there were different subtypes of autism, all autistic behavior has been merged under one umbrella diagnosis of ASD. 

How Common Is Autism?

Autism statistics claim that 1 in 68 American children are on the autism spectrum, a ten-fold increase in the last 40 years. Actually, autism is a lot more common than people are lead to believe. An estimated 1 out of 42 boys and 1 in 189 girls are diagnosed with autism in the United States making it four to five more common in boys than girls. ASD also affects over 2 million individuals in the U.S. and tens of millions of people worldwide. Moreover, government autism statistics suggest that prevalence rates have increased 10 to 17 percent annually in recent years.

Treatments

Because there is no one cause for autism there is no one specific treatment. However, there are programs and therapy that have been beneficial to autistic children. Some links can be found below:

Growing Minds

Autism Speaks

Autism Treatment Center of America