The Disabling Effects of Selective Mutism
Among the vast range of anxiety induced disorders that exist, Selective Mutism may be the most disabling to its victims. It has been estimated that approximately one in a thousand children suffer from this presumed psychiatric ailment wherein the ability to speak is limited to the household or other areas of comfort. (2) Public places and schools elicit so much anxiety within these children that their natural capacity to speak is suppressed. Once a child under five years of age exhibits the behavior described, for over a month, and without having other speech impeding barriers affecting them such as autism or a second language, he or she will most likely be diagnosed with selective mutism. (2)
Many hypotheses have been posed as to what causes selective mutism, however, no determinate conclusions have been made. In most cases it has been proven that anxiety disorders are hereditary, thus, nearly all children who become selectively mute have family members who were afflicted with the same or more serious anxiety disorder, like obsessive compulsive disorder, schizophrenia, or social phobia. The fact that anxiety disorders pass through generations implies that brain chemistry is perhaps genetic or that serotonin levels are inherited. Other suggested causes of selective mutism have been speculated upon, however, little research has been instated. Abuse, neglect, extreme shyness, extremely embarrassing experiences like vomiting or having diarrhea in a classroom setting, or living in a home environment with exceptionally nervous parents may also lead to become selectively mute. These theorized causes tend to describe the background of children who have no similar disorders runni...
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...e Mutism Foundation, a support sight to better understand the disorder
http://www.cisinternet.net/errorpages/404.shtml
3)Philadephia Page, a site with excerpts about selective mutism from the Philadelphia Inquirer
https://registration.philly.com/reg/login.do?url=http://www.philly.com%2Fmld%2Finquirer%2Fliving%2Fhealth%2F3939354.htm
4)Selective Mutism UK, an interesting article about the seriousness of selective mutism
http://www.selectivemutism.org/smg/ukarticle.htm
5)Anxiety-Panic Website, a site which describes several other anxiety disorders
http://anxiety-panic.com/dictionary/en-dicts.htm
6)Mental Health web page, a helpful site providing several articles about selective mutism
http://www.mental-health-matters.com/
7)Anxiety Network, illustrates well the treatment available for those selectively mute
http://www.anxietynetwork.com/spsm.html
The Chicago fire was a bad time and a good time in Chicago’s past. It destroyed a whole city, but in a way it rebuilt it as well. It led to many good things, it showed that even though you may not like the people you live by or with, when they need help, you should help them no matter what. It also led to industrialization, which helped Chicago become the metropolis it is today. Even though nobody knows who started the Great Chicago fire, whether it was old peg leg Sullivan, two random old men fighting in the barn, a comet falling from the night sky, or Mrs. O’Leary starting it herself for attention, it is still one of the worst, if not the worst disasters in Chicago’s great history. Chicagoans will always remember October 8, 1871, because it is a day that changed Chicago forever.
The story of the Raven tells of a lonely man who has lost his one true love Lenore. As he sits alone in his chamber nearly falling asleep, a raven comes to him. The man has many questions for the raven, yet all the raven replies is "nevermore." Why is the Raven there, this day at his window? Poe starts off by offering insight to the surroundings of the house. He mentions midnight in the first line. In the next paragraph he also speaks of "bleak December." Automatically I remembered the first line of The Purloined letter and the significance the time of month and day had on the story. I believe midnight and December brings up the idea of New Years Eve. The end as well as the begging to many things. It brings up the thought of a Winter darkness, and loneliness for some. Before the story even starts Poe makes you imagine what time of year it is and the feelings those seasons bring. The end of the year marks many holidays for us, with holidays comes family and friends. I believe Poe chooses this time of year to show the reader the narrator has absolutely no one to spend time with. The most important symbol used in the story is the raven.
After working with the 3rd graders, I became an assistant teacher at an early childhood education center in a low-income neighborhood with numerous students who needed extra support due to behavioral and emotional disorders. At one point, I encountered a student with selective mutism; selective mutism is when a person is capable of speaking but voluntarily chooses not to communicate verbally. I began to work one on one with him to understand why he didn 't communicate verbally. The first course of action was a meeting with his mother to learn more about him and th...
Tuberculosis or TB, referred to by some as the White death due to the epidemic that arose in Europe that lasted two hundred years, is usually caused by in humans by a microorganism by substrains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. It’s hard to determine the exact years in which TB first infected humans, but since the disease leaves traces on the bone in can be found in archeological record and it is believed to go all the way back to the B.C. era. Although it is hard to tell if the bone damage was truly from TB, there is research that shows that it has been around since the 17th and 18th centuries with a high number of incidences of TB, and in 1882 Dr. Robert Koch announced that his discovery of the causing factor of TB, which is Mycobacterium tuberculosis. A tuberculosis bacterium is spread through the air by an infected person speaking, coughing, or sneezing. Due to the fact the bacteria is protected by a waxy cell all, the body’s defense takes weeks to develop any kind of immunity and it allows the bacteria to exponentially multiply freely within the body. If TB it’s left untreated it will eat rapidly through many tissues, usually beginning with the lungs, lymph nodes, and kidneys. As the infection spreads to the lungs, it causes a cough and fluid between the chest wall and lungs, which leads to chest pains, severe shortness of breath, and potential heart failure. TB also infects bones and joints that can produce arthritis like pain and characteristic bone damage. Another possibility is that it may affect the fluid around the brain, causing meningitis, which can lead to fever, drowsiness, and eventually coma and death (Wingerson, 2009).
Tuberculosis is disease caused by a bacterium called Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Usually bacteria attacks lungs but TB bacteria can attack any parts of the body such as brain, kidney, and spine. It can spread through the lymph node and blood stream to any organ. Usually it is seen in the lungs. If it is not treated accordingly, it can be deadly. One of the leading causes of death in the United States was tuberculosis. Everyone who infected with TB bacteria not get sick. There are two TB conditions stand. They are latent TB infection and TB disease. In latent TB infection, people do not get sick but TB bacteria can live in you. People with latent TB infection cannot spread the bacteria to others nor are they infectious. If the bacteria is active and multiply, the person has TB disease. If a person has TB disease, their immune system cannot stop the bacteria become active. People with TB disease get sick and they are able to spread the bacteria to others.
One thing that obese people must put up with is being unhealthy, not just physically unhealthy, but mentally unhealthy as well. This unfortunate reality is present in all ages. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute did research on the health risks of being overweight and obese. They discovered that in adults, the health risks of being overweight include, but are not limited to, “coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, strokes, type two diabetes, metabolic syndrome, cancer, sleep apnea, gallstones, and reproductive problems.” Overweight children, on the other hand, are less prone to these health conditions unless they remain heavy through adulthood. Since obese or overweight kids are very likely to stay that way over time, in the end they may be subject to the same health problems as corpulent adults (1). Moving on...
Tuberculosis (TB) has various infections that can completely immobilize one's body. Its infections are varied and it generally eats away lung tissues and forms boils that releases pus. As disease proceeds, lungs would mercilessly be devoured and the victim will become pallid and fragile, coughing up blood and becoming unable to breathe. The word consumption originated from this sickness because o Infections in digestive tract can cause serious vomiting, bloody diarrhea, and acute pain. Aside from lungs, it can also infect bloodstream and even kidneys. TB can also cripple people's nervous system and their bones. Basically, it can destroy one's body completely. Surprisingly, the germ causing it (Mycobacterium tuberculosis) is extremely small.
between Body Mass Index and health-related quality of life among children and adolescents. Journal of Pediatrics, 162(2), 280-286. doi:10.1016/j.jpeds.2012.07.049
“In 2012, more than one third of children and adolescents were overweight or obese.” (CDC) Childhood obesity is a problem that has inundated society for many decades. Almost anywhere that you go, you’ll see a magazine article or some sort of poster regarding childhood obesity. Childhood obesity can be defined as a condition where excess body fat negatively affects a child’s health or well-being. Majority of adults care about their weight because self-image is a very important factor in their lives, but when it comes down to children, many pay their weight a very minimal amount of attention. Due to the superfluous rise in the number of obese children over the past couple of decades, doctors and physicians have become concerned about this trend. This concern is raised by the various diseases and health issues accompanying childhood obesity. Childhood obesity puts children at a greater risk for developing health issues and diseases of the heart.
Kaplan, P. S., Bachorowski, J., Smoski, M. J., & Hudenko, W. J. (2002). Infants of depressed mothers, although competent learners, fail to learn in response to their own mothers' infant-directed speech. Psychological Science, 13(3), 268-271.
Tuberculosis is an infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, in which bacteria may invade many parts of the body, such as the brain, the kidneys, and the spine. Mycobacterium tuberculosis is a rod shaped, aerobic bacterium that is resistant to destruction and can persist in necrotic and calcified lesion for prolonged periods and remain capable of reinstating growth (Porth, 2011). However, the most common target is the lungs (Wouk, 2010). The Tuberculosis bacteria severely damage the lungs that it is difficult for a person to breathe. According to Wouk, there are two main types of Tuberculosis. The first type is latent, which means a person carries the tuberculosis germ, but he or she is not sick and can not pass the germ on to the other person, and the other type is active tuberculosis.
Children can experience numerous complications in relation to their obesity, and it is important to understand these long-term effects on their body. Childhood obesity has been shown to persist into adulthood, causing an increase in morbidity and early mortality for those affected. Illnesses that were historically unheard of in pediatrics are occurring more frequently. Metabolic syndrome was once a predictor of adult cardiovascular disease and diabetes, but has recently been used for pediatrics. Pediatric patients with the diagnosis of metabolic disorder tend to be obese, sedentary, and show signs of insulin resistance and hypertension. Metabolic syndrome is increasing by 16% in children (Malek, 2010, p.1) and is a precursor to type II diabetes. Rates of type II diabetes in children have growth drastically; 85% of children with type II diabetes are overweight or obese (Waldman & Perlman, 2007, p.12). According to Waldman and Perlman (2007), about two thirds of diabetics die from stroke or heart disease (p.12). Obese children are being set up for these serious cardiovascular disorders and the need for treatment with antihypertensives, insulin, and other medication regimens. Diabetics are also at risk for blindness, kidney failure, nervous system damage, and periodontal disease (Waldman & Perlman, 2007, p.12). Waldman and Perlman (2007) also stated that as a child’s weight increases, so does their chance of death, and “over 300,000 deaths per year will be attributed to obesity” (p.13).
Tuberculosis is transmitted from person to person through airborne droplets, when a person that is infected with TB coughs, sneezes, talks, and/or sings letting tiny droplet to be released into the air(Bare, Smeltzer, Hinkle, and Cheever, 2008). TB cannot be spread through touching inanimate objects, food, or drinks (Bare et al. 2008). The person must be in the same area an affected individual is in and inspirate the droplets to be affected. Once the bacillus is inspired into the lungs, the bacilli start to multiply causing lung inflammation also known as nonspecific pneumontis (Huether et al. 2008). To cause an immune response the bacilli will travel through lymphatic system and become lodged in the lymph nodes (Huether et al. 2008). Lung inflammation causes the activation of the alveolar macrophages and neutrophils (Huether et al. 2008). Granulomas, new tissue masses of live and dead bacilli, are surrounded by macrophages, which form a protective wall. They then transform into a fibrous tissue mass, the central portion is called a ghon tubercle (Bare et al. 2008). The bacterial then necrotic, forming a cheesy mass, this mass may become calcified and form a collagenous scar (Bare et al. 2008). At this point, the bacteria becomes dormant and there is no further progression of the active disease. The disease can become active again by re-infection or activation of the dormant bacteria (Bare et al. 2008).
In recent years, childhood obesity has become a public health concern, both in the U.S. and worldwide. According to Hopkins, DeCristofaro, and Elliott (2011),
Active tuberculosis only develops in about 10% of infected persons, remaining dormant in the rest; although the latent infection may later progress to active disease years later, especially in immune-compromised individuals. 9 Infection by MTBC may involve any organ of the body, but clinical presentation is most common in the lungs (pulmonary TB). General symptoms include fever, loss of appetite, weight loss, fatigue and severe cough with bloody sputum (hemoptysis) which may lead to death if untreated. 10 Mortality rates without treatment are high: in a study of natural history of TB in HIV-negative patients, 70% died within 10 years. 11 Tuberculosis remains a major health problem in the world...