Physical Disabilities

1
Physical Disabilities

• Amputations, Muscular Dystrophy, Multiple
  Sclerosis, Spina Bifida

2
Amputations

• Incidence
• Two major categories of limb deficiencies
• dysmelia
• phocomelia
• Limb Deficiencies
• Congenital
• Acquired (tumor, trauma, disease)
• Joint Intact vs. Joint Amputated

3
Limb Deficiencies and AmputationsConsiderations

• General Attitude -
• Prosthetics -
• Gaits and Movement Patterns -
• Balance -
• Energy -
• Concerns -
• cooling and perspiration
• skin breakdown
• posture

4
Other Physical Conditions

• Muscular Dystrophy
• Multiple Sclerosis
• Spina Bifida

5
Muscular Dystrophy

• Degenerative muscular condition -
• 250,000 cases in U.S.
• Males 5-6x more prevalent than females
• Appx. 50,000 use WC
• Four main types
• Duchenne
• Facio-scapular-humeral
• Limb girdle
• Myotonic

6
Types of MD

• Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy
• Muscle fibers degenerate -
• Pseudohypertrophy -
• Frequent falls, contractures (Achilles tendon),
  body imbalance
• Gradual reduction in motor ability, wheelchair
  use, and then ultimately death
• Facio-Scapular-Humeral MD
• Limb Girdle MD
• Myotonic MD

7
Multiple Sclerosis

• Inflammatory disease of the CNS
• Demyelination bouts that last 1 to 3 months
• Degree of disability varies with each episode

8
Spina Bifida

• Failure of one or more vertebral arches to
  properly develop and close

9
Three types (levels of severity) of Spina Bifida

• Spina Bifida Occulta
• Meningocele
• Meningomyelocele

10
Effective Teaching Strategies

• Flexibility in Scheduling
• To allow for specific health needs that minimize
  time away from academic content including all
  subject areas (i.e. art, PE, etc)
• Physical Access
• Respond to same instructional strategies