By Alexandria Geisler
Everyone, meet Laurel!
For my service learning project, I have the privilege of working with 5 year old Laurel! Laurel is a lover of all things music! She is a Destiny's Child fanatic, and listens to Independent Woman multiple times per day. Really! She also has the most stunning eyes I have ever seen. She loves snuggling and napping on your shoulder!
Laurel also has Rett Syndrome, a postnatal neurological disorder. Rett syndrome is a rare disorder defined in the DSM-IV as the following:
Everyone, meet Laurel!
For my service learning project, I have the privilege of working with 5 year old Laurel! Laurel is a lover of all things music! She is a Destiny's Child fanatic, and listens to Independent Woman multiple times per day. Really! She also has the most stunning eyes I have ever seen. She loves snuggling and napping on your shoulder!
Laurel also has Rett Syndrome, a postnatal neurological disorder. Rett syndrome is a rare disorder defined in the DSM-IV as the following:
A. All of the following:
(1) apparently normal prenatal and perinatal development
(2) apparently normal psychomotor development through the first 5 months after birth
(3) normal head circumference at birth
B. Onset of all of the following after the period of normal development:
(1) deceleration of head growth between ages 5 and 48 months
(2) loss of previously acquired purposeful hand skills between ages 5 and 30 months with the subsequent development of stereotyped hand movements (i.e., hand-wringing or hand washing)
(3) loss of social engagement early in the course (although often social interaction develops later)
(4) appearance of poorly coordinated gait or trunk movements
(5) severely impaired expressive and receptive language development with severe psychomotor retardation
Rett Syndrome is a rare condition (1 in 10,000) that affects girls almost exclusively. The range of severity varies from person to person, but for Laurel, she is unable to verbally communicate, walk, eat, or play with her 8 year old big sister, Annalese.
Laurel eats small snacks during the day, but gets most of her nutrients from her feeding tube. She is very small for her age. Another characteristic of children with Rett is repetitive hand movements. You can see in the photo above and also in the next photo that she constantly has her hands in little fists and loves to shake them! Her parents have been working with her to teach her to shake her hand in a certain way to say yes or no. She is still practicing!
When Laurel & I spend time together, we do a lot of the things she does with her big sister! I have taken her to the park, and she cannot get enough of the swing set! She laughs and laughs. I also help feed Laurel dinner, get her ready for bed, hook her up to her feeding tube, and more!
I spend my time at Laurel's house, which has been really neat to see the family dynamic. Both of her parents work full time, while she goes to school in a special education classroom. They have in home therapy ten hours a week and otherwise, are taking care of Laurel & Annalese in their free time! Laurel and her family have met several other Rett children and families in the States and they make an effort to meet up a couple times a year. Laurel's best friend has Rett just like her!
I look forward to my time with Laurel & her family each week. She is a sweet, sweet bundle of snuggles & fun!
I spend my time at Laurel's house, which has been really neat to see the family dynamic. Both of her parents work full time, while she goes to school in a special education classroom. They have in home therapy ten hours a week and otherwise, are taking care of Laurel & Annalese in their free time! Laurel and her family have met several other Rett children and families in the States and they make an effort to meet up a couple times a year. Laurel's best friend has Rett just like her!
I look forward to my time with Laurel & her family each week. She is a sweet, sweet bundle of snuggles & fun!