RESILIENCY-BASED APPROACH

Resiliency-Based Approach



Resiliency-Based Approach

Introduction

This memoir, Melanie, Bird with a Broken Wing: A mother's story was published some 30 years after Melanie's death. As Beth Harry explains, "It tells the story of a beautiful and determined little girl with cerebral palsy, whose soaring spirit lifted her and all who loved her to the very tops of themselves." "Melanie: Bird with a broken wing" is a master piece of love and a document that guide the reader through the journey of living with a daughter wounded with cerebral palsy. To understand the theme and purpose of the story, we first have to understand the causes and consequences of the disease.

Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral palsy (CP) is one of the congenital (existing before birth or contracted at birth) most common of childhood. Approximately 500,000 children and adults of all ages in the U.S. have cerebral palsy and the overall incidence is increasing because premature infants, who had died before, now survive. The risk of a premature baby of cerebral palsy is much higher than the term baby. Premature infants weighing less than 1510 grams (3.3 pounds) have 30 times more likely to develop cerebral palsy than babies born at term.

Characteristics

First, the disorders are caused by brain injury (brain) that interferes with normal child development. It occurs in the first year of life, or even in the period of gestation, and may occur up to five years. It is distinguished by the dominant damage motor functions, which affects the tone, posture and movement. Finally, there is a widespread notion that the injury is not evolutionary but its consequences can vary in the child. Motor disorders affect most of the cases and hinder the development of eating and speaking.

Cerebral palsy is a group of motor disorders by an alteration in the control of movement and posture caused by a brain injury in the immature brain (from the prenatal development at 5 years of age).

Causes

The causes of cerebral palsy will depend and vary from case to case therefore cannot be attributed to a single factor, although all developed as a common determinant, poor maturation of central nervous system. Cerebral palsy can occur in both the prenatal and perinatal or postnatal manifestation taking the limit after the first five years of life.

In the prenatal period, the injury is caused during pregnancy may influence the unfavorable conditions of the mother during pregnancy. Usually result in 35% of cases. Prenatal factors that are related are maternal infections (mainly rubella), radiation, anoxia (oxygen deficiency), toxemia and maternal diabetes. In the perinatal period, the lesions tend to occur at the time of delivery. Cause 55% of cases, and the most common causes are: anoxia, asphyxia, forceps trauma, prematurity, multiple births, and in general, any labor that causes suffering to the child.

In the postnatal period, the injury is caused due to illness after birth. Corresponds to 10% of cases and may be due to head injuries, infections, strokes, accidents, anesthetics, dehydration, etc.

Question 1

Since the beginning of the book, one learned to feel ...