OCR Text |
Show ! March of Dimes Gives 'Total Care' ' To Help Child Walk, Talk and Learn .... y THUMBS UP. Pronouncing familiar words is not as easy as "A BC" for Elizabeth Burr, 5, born with a speech defect. Here the youngs, gets help from speech pathologist Vicki Perkle at March of Dim'' Birth Defects Center, Cleveland, Ohio, Metropolitan General Hospital' John C. Burr of suburban subur-ban Cleveland, Ohio, was understandably rattled that day five years ago when his wife, Caroline, announced, an-nounced, 2Vz months before be-fore their first child was due, "Honey, I'm ready." Like most men, the 29-year-old chemist had never delivered deliver-ed a baby. But there wasn t time to get to the hospital in St. Paul, Minn., where they were then living, so he phoned the police for help. He also phoned the obstetrician obstetri-cian who offered some well-chosen well-chosen words of instruction just in time for John to deliver de-liver the baby, who arrived in a breech position. For a beginner, John did an admirable job. The three-and-one-ha If pound baby girl, who was born with the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck, was rushed to the hospital where doctors kept her alive with the help of blood transfusions trans-fusions and supplemental oxygen- , x Ten weeks passed before John and Caroline were able to take little Elizabeth home. For about a year, everything seemed just fine. But the young couple began to notice that their daughter was not moving or talking like other one-year-olds. They later la-ter learned that Elizabeth had been born with a crippling birth defect. No one knows what caused it, but the pretty, intelligent little blonde has no control over her leg muscles and has serious speech difficulties. "Although physical therapy was prescribed for Elizabeth at 18 months," says Mrs. Burr, "it was not until she was three years old, when we moved to Cleveland, that her condition was properly diagnosed and she began to receive the kind of total care she needs." Elizabeth was taken to the March of Dimes-financed Birth Defects Center at Cleveland Metropolitan General Hospital. There a team of medical experts ex-perts began a continuing program pro-gram of physical ,and occupa tional therapy, fitted the little girl with leg braces and began a program to correct her speech difficulties. Elizabeth visits the hospital three mornings a week. There she is learning to sit straight, pronounce words properly and walk. As they do with other patients, the doctors observe Elizabeth's ability to learn and try to determine how she can best be educated. "Many patients may have a great deal more potential for learning and achievement th?.n is generally recognized," says Dr. Irwin A. Schafer, director of the Birth Defects Center. "If assessment is inadequate, these children could be functionally handicapped all their lives and become a burden on the community. com-munity. "In our comprehensive care program, these children can be adequately assessed. Our -staff can look at these children neurologically, medically and psychologically over extended periods of time and recommend recom-mend the kind of educational programs they will need." Elizabeth, whose IQ is cer tainly high enough for her to benefit from a formal educs tion, is now attending nursery school and will be enrolled next year in a school for the handicapped. The total treatment and ed ucation of Elizabeth Burr k not confined to the hospital and school. With the help 0f i her mother, the little girl ex-ercises ex-ercises at home on swings and I in the sand box. i "Elizabeth is the perfect ' mother to her dolls," Mrs. Burr i points out. Although she can- I not walk without help, she is i able to era .vl between her toy stove and a little table to feed i her dolls imaginary tea and i crackers. The Burrs have a son, Michael, Mich-ael, 3, who is normal and ' healthy. There is just one problem, though. While Mrs Burr is teaching Elizabeth to read and pronounce, she must also help Michael, who has picked up some poor speech habits from his older sister. The Burr children can understand under-stand each other, but they need help if others are to understand un-derstand them. |