What´s Ortophedic Impairment?

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An Orthopedic Impairment is the most common of physical disabilities. A physical disability is any condition that interferes with how a child uses their body. An Orthopedic Impairment is defined as, “A bodily impairment that is severe enough to negatively affect a child’s educational performance” (education). Orthopedic Impairments are often separated into three main categories. These categories are neuromotor impairments, musculoskeletal disorders, and degenerative diseases. Although neuromotor impairments typically involves the brain and spinal cord, they can also affect a child’s ability to move, use, feel, or control certain parts of their body. Musculoskeletal disorders include diseases of the bones and muscles, such as limb deficiency or club-foot. Degenerative diseases affect a child’s motor skills such as muscular dystrophy. This is a group of genetic diseases in which muscle fibers are very vulnerable to damage. Some causes of orthopedic impairments can be genetics, injury, birth defects, disease, burns, fractures, cerebral palsy, and many other circumstances. Some examples of orthopedic impairments that may be caused by a birth defect are clubfoot, spina bifida, and absence of or malformation of one for more limbs. Some examples that may be caused by a disease consist of muscular dystrophy, arthritis, and childhood obesity. Other causes of orthopedic impairment may contain fractures, which cause stiff and/or immobile joints called contractures.
Evaluating a child for an orthopedic impairment can be difficult because there are so many different forms to look for. Most impairments are recognized before the child enters school, but sometimes the signs are missed. To start the process of being diagnosed a licen...

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...ith your child at home. Most of all you need to be patient, loving, and kind. Your child is already going through enough; they just need your love and support!
Having an orthopedic impairment does not stop a child from being anything they want to be. It might mean they need to work a little harder at their hopes and dreams, but that will just make them that much more rewarding when they achieve them. There are many well-known people that have had an orthopedic impairment. Rick Allen, the drummer from Def Leppard, Hank William’s, a US Country singer, Roy Campanella, a major league baseball player, Jean Driscoll, an eight-time Boston Marathon winner, and Stephan Hopkins, a signer of the USA Declaration of Independence all had some form of orthopedic impairment. Having an impairment doesn’t have to be all negative, you can still do anything you put your mind too!

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