Questions
Answers
1. What animals besides dogs can be service animals?
Dogs are used for people who are blind, have seizures, are hearing impaired, and people with limited mobility. Dogs can be trained to pick up things that are dropped, turn on lights, get a cordless phone, pull wheelchairs, help people get dressed, in addition to guiding.
Capuchin monkeys help people who are quadriplegic by doing simple tasks, such as getting food or drink, getting dropped or out of reach items, assisting with audio cassettes, video cassettes, CDs, and books, and operating lights .
Miniature horses guide people who are blind.
Social/therapy animals help people who are lonely or have emotional problems. They can include dogs, cats, ferrets, rabbits, hamsters, horses, birds and many other different kinds of animals.
Source:
"A Brief Information Resource on Assistance Animals for the Disabled " U.S. Dept of Agriculture
http://www.nal.usda.gov/awic/companimals/assist.htm
A ferret's litter size averages 8 kits. The kits are born hairless, blind, and deaf and develop a white hair coat in about two days.
In one week, the dark fur comes in, and by two to three weeks it is possible to tell what color they will be as adults.
The eyes open between three and four (34 days average) weeks of age, and they can be started on soft food as early as three weeks of age (use the adult food softened with milk or water).
Kits can be weaned at five to six weeks of age, but many breeders recommend leaving them together until at least eight weeks of age to enhance socialization.
http://www.petstation.com/ferretcare.html
You have brought up an excellent question. One of the biggest problems that people with invisible disabilities have is the public's perception of them, their perception of themselves, and the availability of resources. Public includes teachers, parents, government, employers, fellow employees, peers, siblings, friends and everyday people that are encountered in public places. People with invisible disabilities, like Ben, can look fine, but act differently, which could make them difficult to get along with. It is easy to criticize, make fun of, shun, become irritated with, ignore, fear or fire someone who has behavior that could irritate other people. This could be the person's indifference and irritability as in Ben's case, misunderstanding of directions(LD, CAPD, brain injury, mental illness), saying inappropriate things ( Tourette's, ADHD, brain injury, mental illness), slowness in talking (brain injury, cognitive difficulties), communication difficulties due to slow processing and word retrieval difficulties (CAPD, brain injury), irritability (LD, ADHD, brain injury, mental illness) just to give a few examples.
There are several areas that can affect successful interaction:
1. The person's own adjustment to the disability
denial
self-esteem
embarrassment
lack of accommodations
lack of helping resources
uncomfortable asking for help
2. The public's attitude
Lack of education and information
Myths about invisible disabilities
Government and legislation
Prejudices - the need to feel "superior" to someone else
Level of tolerance/acceptance
Surprise factor
Public education (dispelling myths and fears), trying to get people to think beyond the initial reaction when encountering a person who acts differently (understanding disabilities) and act with understanding compassion. People with disabilities have to become their own advocates, have access to the resources that can help them, and the government (schools, employers, legislation) needs to give them the ability to have the accommodations that they need.
What can the individual person do? Have empathy and tolerance.
The Able Crew website is our effort to try to help people understand and think about these issues. We are also creating a series of "The Able Crew" children's chapter books. Thank you for interest in trying to seek a better understanding.
Methamphetamine, also known as "ice," "crystal," "speed," "glass," and "tina," is an addictive stimulant drug. It has been used legally to treat obesity, narcolepsy, and ADHD ( Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder ).
It is also created in illegal laboratories, where it can be mixed with other ingredients - including cold medications. This street manufactured drug is very risky. If created incorrectly, it can produce a toxin, called MPTP, that causes Parkinson-like disease within a day or two.
The production of one pound of methamphetamine releases poisonous gas into the atmosphere and creates 5 to 7 pounds of toxic waste. These waste materials are so strong that government agents who discover and raid these illegal laboratories can become very ill.
Just one use of meth can kill. Overdose is not uncommon and can cause a heart attack. People who use methamphetamine may suffer schizophrenia, hallucinations, manic depression and suicidal impulses. Worst of all, studies have shown that the drug may permanently alter the brain. Meth usage releases high levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine, which enhances mood (limbic area) and body movement. Over time, it reduces the level of dopamine that the brain produces, which causes Parkinson's like symptoms. Brain scans of longtime meth users have shown that methamphetamine damages neuron cell endings - axons, which are long, single fibers that transmit messages from cells to neurons. They appear on the scans as though they were chopped off. The axons may regenerate as much as two years after drug use has stopped, but they grow back in tangled clumps, their shape and configuration greatly changed. As much as 50% of the dopamine-producing cells in the brain can be damaged by prolonged exposure to relatively low levels of methamphetamine and serotonin-containing nerve cells may be damaged even more extensively.
The result is a change in brain architecture that may be permanent and can cause delusions, schizophrenia, depression, headaches, irritability, insomnia, confusion, tremors, stomach cramps, convulsions, anxiety and aggressiveness. It can cause increased heat rate and blood pressure that can cause strokes, respiratory problems and irregular heartbeat. Chronic users may develop sores on their bodies from scratching at "bugs," as they can have a delusion that bugs are crawling under the skin
Most abuse is reported on the West Coast and Hawaii
http://www.teenhealthfx.com/answers/Alcohol/2983.html
http://www.nida.nih.gov/Infofax/methamphetamine.html
http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/publications/factsht/methamph/
It is the forebrain that holds your memories, gives you ideas, helps you organize and think. It is located behind your forehead, and contains the cerebrum (two halves connected by the corpus callosum), thalamus (collects sensory information), hypothalamus (controls sleep), and the limbic system (controls emotions).
There are different types of memory. Sensory memory is the information that you get from your senses: sight, touch, hearing, taste and smell. Immediate memory, like when you remember a phone number, only lasts for a few minutes. Short term memory lasts for about 30 minutes. It is like a note pad, that remembers things you have just learned. All of this type of memory combined is called working memory.
Long term memory is the storage place for what you know. This is what you use when you remember something that you learned a week, a year or many years ago. It uses the hippocampus, which is deep inside of your brain around the areas between your ears.
Emotion and memory are closely related. Not getting enough sleep, being afraid or angry, some medicines and brain injury or diseases can affect your memory. It is normal to loose some of the things that you store in long term memory.
A lot of research on memory is still occurring. All of the mysteries are not solved yet.
http://www.tbiguide.com/memory.html
http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/exhibitions/brain/1.asp
http://www.brainexplorer.org/brain_atlas/Brainatlas_Forebrain.shtml
6a. How do Capuchin monkeys help people?
and
6b.
Can any mokeys can help any people?
Capuchin Monkeys have the largest brain of all New World monkeys. They are the same monkeys that organ grinders used.
An occupational therapist, Judi Zazula and Dr. M. J. Willard, a behavioral psychologist, had an idea to train these monkeys to help people who are paralyzed. Beginning in 1979, these monkeys were trained to use their human-like hands to turn lights/computers/televisions on and off, open and close doors, do some housework, change cassette tapes, pick up dropped objects, and even feed people. The monkeys are affectionate and great companions. People and monkeys bond to become a working team. The monkey can care for the person with the disability while their family is at work.
It costs about $25,000 to raise and train a monkey. Foster families raise the monkeys and help to train them. The monkeys are rewarded for their good behavior during their training with food, drink and lots of praise. The person with the disability is not charged for the monkey. The “Helping Hands” organization takes donations to pay for the expenses.
Other animals are also used to help people with disabilities. People who are blind who are allergic or afraid of dogs can use miniature horses. The ponies are very calm, obedient, have great vision, are very intelligent, have great stamina, and are not easily distracted.
http://www. capuchin-monkeys.com
http://www.helpinghandsmonkeys.org
http://library.thinkquest.org/CR0210580/main1.htm
Monkey's that have not been trained to help people who are disabled do not make good pets. Many are for sale on web sites, but they are either left over from research labs or brought here illegally. Monkeys are pulled from their mothers at a very young age and given an object for a substitute. This can give the monkey emotional problems and is cruel.
When monkeys reach puberty, they can get very aggressive. Some people have the monkey's teeth pulled out so that they cannot bite. Monkeys pose a potentially deadly threat because of the risk of disease transmission, including yellow fever, monkey pox, Ebola and Marburg virus, Foot and Mouth Disease, tuberculosis, and herpes-b.
A zoo will not take an animal that has been a pet. There are several resource organizations that take monkeys, but they are over populated.
Congress is working on a bill to help prevent people from having monkeys as pets.
You might try contacting the Helping Hands organization, to see if you could help them raise and train the young monkeys with their professional advise. http://www.monkeyrescue.com/aboutus.html
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/09/0916_030916_primatepets_2.html
http://www.emory.edu/LIVING_LINKS/capuchins/Pet%20Trade.htm
http://pin.primate.wisc.edu/aboutp/pets/
http://www.monkeyrescue.com/aboutus.html
| Albinism |
Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that that you are born with. It is not a disease. People have it because of the way their brain works. When you are dyslexic, you can have difficulty with recognizing words, spelling and reading. People who are dyslectic have average or above average intelligence. When they get the proper help at school, they can learn to read and excel in life. Many famous people are dyslexic.
http://www.interdys.org/
The best thing for you to do is to talk to your parents. Many people with ADD are very creative and intelligent. School can be difficult but your parents can make sure that you get the accommodations that you need. You can ask them to look at these web sites.
http:// www.ch add .org/ | http://www.ldonline.org | http:// www. add .org/ | http://www.addresources.org/
People who have Aspergers Syndrome can have behaviors that are not easily accepted in public. They cam range from mild to severe. They can have marked deficiencies in social and communication skills, have difficulties with transitions or changes and prefer sameness. They often have obsessive routines, repetitive movements, and may be preoccupied with a particular subject of interest. They have a great deal of difficulty reading nonverbal cues (body language) and very often the individual with AS has difficulty determining proper body space. They are often overly sensitive to sounds, tastes, smells, and sights. People with AS usually have normal or high intelligence.
These characteristics can open the person with Asperger's Syndrome to isolation, and can easily become victims of teasing and bullying.
http:// www. aspergers .com/ | http:// www.maapservices.org/ | http://www.aspennj.org/
http:// www.autism-society.org/
A seizure is the result of a sudden burst of excess electrical activity in the brain. This causes the brain's messages to become temporarily halted or mixed up. The type of seizure a person has depends on the area of the brain where this activity occurs. There are 40 different types of seizures. A seizure can involve only part of the brain, or all of the brain.
Tonic-conic, or Gran Mal, is the most common type. The person loses consciousness, the body stiffens, falls to the ground, and then starts jerking movements. Their mouth can turn a slight blue color because they don't breathe well during this time. The person will usually go to urinate and have a bowel movement at the same time. This only lasts a short time and slowly the person will return to consciousness. They will not remember what happened. They will be tired and need time to recover.
If you are with a person who has this type of seizure, protect them person from injury by clearing things around them that they could bump into, cushion their head, stay with them and talk calmly to them.
Common belief used to be that you need to put something in the person's mouth. Do not do this. Do not try to stop the person from jerking or try to wake them up.
You should call an ambulance if it is the first time that the person has a seizure, if it lasts more than 5 minutes, if they have more than one seizure within a few minutes or if they are injured.
Some kinds of seizures are just like daydreaming. The person is unaware of what is going on around them for a short while, and then pops back into full awareness.
You can have seizures from brain injury, fever, infections, tumors, diseases or you can be born with a condition that causes it.
http://www.epilepsy.org.uk/ | http://www.epilepsyfoundation.org/
We cannot predict unless we know the cause.
If there is some organic cause of the seizure, eg: tumor, then surgically removing the mass could solve the issue.
If it is something else that cannot be treated similarly, then we cannot predict. In such cases, doctors try to see if there is a pattern, eg: fever, stress (emotional/physical). Since this occured since the early stages, it could be stress on the baby during delivery.
The brain is the least understood part of the human body.
If the person who submitted this question, along with other personal information, would like a direct answer , please
for specific response off line.
If you are troubled to the extent that you are frightened by your reactions and are seeking answers, the best course of action is to go to immediately to a professional familiar with the symptoms and treatment of early-onset bipolar disorder.
You can talk to your parents or school counselor to start the process. Don't delay! Once the illness starts, episodes tend to recur and worsen without treatment. Early intervention is important and this is a treatable medical illness. Extreme changes in mood, energy, thinking and behavior can make you do dangerous things.
Bipolar disorder in children and adolescents can be difficult to tell apart from other problems such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, conduct disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, or other types of mental disorders more common among adults such as major depression or schizophrenia. Drug abuse also may lead to such symptoms. It may look different in young children than it does in adults. Children usually have an ongoing, continuous mood disturbance that is a mix of mania and depression. This rapid and severe cycling between moods produces chronic irritability and few clear periods of wellness between episodes.
Many people who are bi-polar have thoughts of suicide. This link gives you a list of 24/7 hotlines
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, 1-800-273-TALK
Talk to someone today!
www.bpkids.com | www.nimh.nih.gov/Publicat/bipolar.cfm
15. Do horses need ro be trained every day to learn something?
Horses in the wild live in groups, with one lead mare who determines the groups direction and one stallion that rules. the object is to get the horse to see you as the lead mare, and then it will naturally follow your rules.
Horses are not trained to be ridden until they are 2 years old, but when they are younger, they need to be socialized to humans, who they fear by instinct. The best way is to spend a lot of time with the young foal. They will learn to read you body language and your emotions. The first lessons a young horse learns is to follow you at your side and to longe (pronounced lunge).
Longe is when a horse has a long rope tied to them as they walk and run by command in a large circle around you. They should learn to longe in both directions and know the commands such as "trot" "stop" "stand" "reverse" and "back".
There is no rule to follow on how long a training session should be. Two or three times a week should be plenty. The horse should remember each lesson, be more relaxed with the task and ready to add on to the previous lesson each time. The problem is usually more that they get bored, so best to make sure that each lesson is a little different than the last.
Horses need to be trained a little bit at a time. The bit and saddle is introduced very slowly for very short periods of time, so the horse is not afraid. The horse will need much petting and reassurance. The goal is to longe the horse with the bit and saddle before you ever try to mount it.
The horse must always be warned up and cooled down with each session.
www.horses-and-horse-information.com/articles/horse-training-young.shtml