Week Ten

Week Ten is courtesy of the Thomas Mahoney group.

Lisa has continued to attend public schools and is now 12 years old. Lisa has experienced many changes within the past year in her life due to the transition into middle school. Since she has CP, this transition has been even more difficult for her. Her teachers in elementary school were wonderful and more than her parents could've asked for. However, since transitioning into middle school, they have not been as lucky. The teachers seem to be stressed out and are more worried about getting through each day then truly helping the child learn and develop. Tim and Yuting have considered pulling Lisa out of the middle school and placing her into a different school.

Lisa has progressed from the use of the walker to forearm crutches which has given her much more freedom and independency. The assistants help her with her gait. She continues to go to occupational therapy which has helped her tremendously along with speech therapy. She is able to communicate with her peers effectively and express her needs to others. Her parents have had to pay out of pocket for her occupational therapy, which has caused tremendous stress and burden on both of them. However, after Ron passed away, they received a generous amount of money which will help cover the costs.

When Lisa was 8 years old, she was diagnosed with having a mild learning disability. English is the subject that Lisa has the most trouble with and her language comprehension skills are delayed due to the late onset of speech.

The grandparent, Ron, died when Lisa was 10 years old and was a major presence in her life. She would take Lisa to many activities and they shared a special bond so this was a devastating event for Lisa and she still struggles to cope. In order to help Lisa cope, her parents have actively engaged her in a supportive group which was Special Olympics. Lisa began to partake in the Special Olympics in her community and has excelled in bowling. She has gained a lot of friendships through this and looks forward to going to the practices each week.