From
January-February 2005
Training
Catie's Brain
By Beverly Kenik, MA/CCC
Northern Wyoming Scottish Rite Childhood Language Clinic
A RiteCare Childhood Language Program Clinic
Masonic Temple, Sheridan, Wyoming
Catie and her mother
Catie is a wide-eyed, rosy-cheeked three-year-old who participates
in a comprehensive speech and language program through the
Sheridan, Wyoming, Scottish Rite Center. Catie was born with
agenesis of the corpus collosum——a rare abnormality
in which there is a partial or complete absence of the area
of the brain which normally connects the two cerebral hemispheres.
Without this connection, Catie is unable to form words,
unable to stand or crawl, and unable to make her hand point
to indicate
her preferences. This does not, however, keep this little
girl down! Catie is very communicative with her eyes, facial
expressions, and body language. The Sheridan Language Clinic
has organized a comprehensive therapy program to "train" Catie's
brain. This has included referral to occupational therapists,
physical therapists, feeding consultants, preschool programs
which incorporate music as a primary focus for learning,
and training of respite providers. Besides language, Catie
must learn things that we take for granted, like bringing
a spoon to your mouth or grasping an object.
Two areas which are guaranteed to make Catie brighten and
tend to a task are singing and playing in the water. With
this in mind, the clinic has sponsored swimming parties in
which Catie’s friends and family can attend and see
how to interact with Catie. During these play times, music
and song games are incorporated to encourage Catie to organize
her movements in a meaningful manner.
Catie’s mom first brought her daughter to the Clinic
in October of 2001. At this time, Catie’s attention
span was approximately two seconds, and her parents really
did not know if Catie was able to comprehend anything in
her environment. The parents were enrolled in the first It
Takes Two to Talk, Hanen Parent Program, and an evaluation
was completed. Catie began to make her needs known from this
point on! Her mother stated: "When we got the diagnosis
two days after her birth, we were devastated! There’s
such a wide range of outcomes, from a vegetative state to
like nothing ever happened. We were at a loss until we enrolled
in the eight-week parent program with the Scottish Rite Clinic.
Then her dad and I knew we had found some answers. Not only
was Catie getting some real help, but I was learning techniques
to use at home to keep Catie’s progress moving along."
Although the future for Catie is unknown, she now can pay
attention for up to 30 minutes at a time, she enjoys computer
programs, loves to interact with song games, and is learning
alternative ways to communicate, until the day words come.
The above article is reprinted
from The Scottish
Rite Magazine of Freemasonry in Wyoming (Spring 2003).
