Ian Mahoney – Week Four
Ian and Tyler were inseparable. Leila thought about how
sweet it was that the two loved each other so much. Tyler really did look out
for Ian, and Ian was as fond of his big brother as one could imagine. They were
like two peas in a pod. Ian was a healthy 7 year-old, and Tyler, at age ten, loved
running in the yard with his brother. After taking time to get herself together
after Phil’s death, Leila had started to try to meet someone. There were a
couple of “nice guys,” but the sparks just weren’t there. Then she met Eric. He
was wonderful – secure in himself, incredible good looks (people said he
resembled Brad Pitt), and a deep desire to be a dad. His first wife had died of
breast cancer six years before, and he was thrilled to meet Leila.
The two began spending time together, and Ian and Tyler took
to Eric. He really was a wonderful person – sensitive, kind, calm, and, at the
same time, very much an exceptional role model of what a man could be. Leila
couldn’t believe her good fortune – maybe this was Phil looking upon her from
above and helping her to move on.
Eric had gotten tickets to the first game of the big series
between the hometown team and their cross-state arch-rivals. Everyone was looking forward
to the family’s time together, even if it was a little cold and rainy. Leila
and Eric loaded up the kids in the car and started to make their way downtown.
Ian and Tyler were singing some silly song together, as usual. Leila was turned
around in her seat, laughing with them. As she turned toward the front of the
car, she later remembered hearing the screech of brakes and her own scream as
the truck smashed into the driver’s side of the car.
When Leila awoke, she was in a bed in a hospital. Her mother
had been contacted and was there in the room when she came to. Leila’s first
thought was to find her kids. She tried to get out of the bed, but the pain was
too great. Her mother was standing there with tears in her eyes. As if in a
dream, Leila slowly began to take in the horrible news: Eric had been killed,
and Tyler was still in a coma. Ian was in and out of consciousness with a head
injury – but he had also sustained severe injuries to both of his legs, and the
doctors did not think they could save them. They were trying to wait for Leila
to awaken in order to make a decision about what to do. Over the last 24 hours
that Leila had been unconscious, teams of doctors worked feverishly to stem the
bleeding in an attempt to keep Ian’s legs with him. Gangrene has started to set
in, however, and the head physician came to talk with Leila.
It was in this state of mind that Leila had to make the
terrible decision for the doctors to remove the legs.
* What are the major developmental milestones for a 7
year-old?
* What services would you recommend for Leila and Ian at
this point?
* What is the responsibility of the school in terms of
special education? What is the process that must occur so that the school can
meet Ian’s educational need? What kind of assessments should Ian have in order
to rule out a Traumatic Brain Injury?
* What might the school do to welcome Ian back when he
returns?
* How would you handle telling Ian’s classmates about what
happened? Who should be involved?
DECISION POINT:
Does Tyler come out of his coma? If so, does he have any
permanent brain damage?
1. There are major developmental milestones for a 7 year old. This is a time for refinement and improvement of coordination and fine motor skills. According to GreatSchools, motor development, language and thinking development, and social and emotional development are hugely impacted during this year of life. Ian should be able to have good balance and develop hand-eye coordination. By this age, Ian should be excelling in language and thinking development. GreatSchools says that Ian should be able to tell time, know the days of the week and months in a year. He should be able to understand reasoning and make the right decisions and be able to use logical thinking. Ian should also start to become more individual in his actions and learning style. In the language and thinking development stages, Ian should also be able to understand reasoning and make the right decisions in a situation. In addition, Ian should also have a longer attention span. The website GreatSchools lists many social and emotional development milestones a 7 year-old should meet. Ian is beginning to become extremely self-conscious and has a desire to be perfect. He is becoming self-critical of himself and has a need for encouragement and positive feedback from peers and family members around him. At this age, Ian understands the difference between right and wrong and takes directions from others very well. Ian is also able to understand the feelings of guilt and shame. According to the website babycenter, Ian should be able to make his own lunch, clean his room, and pack their bag for school. Ian will also start to separate from his mother with ease. 7 year-old children go through many significant developments at this time in their life and need the support of their family and friends to make it through all these changes and new beginnings of their life.
ReplyDelete2. There are many services we would recommend for Leila and Ian. After Ian is out of ICU and starts to begin recovery he can join a rehabilitation center in the hospital or around town that will help him gain back any motor skills he has lost from his minor brain injury. Ian will not need to be in a rehabilitation center for long because he is so young his brain is still developing which will cause the bounce back period to be short. The loss of Ian’s legs will be the biggest obstacle he and Leila will have to face. Leila and the doctors taking care of Ian will have to decide if prosthetics are the way to go. Ian is going to need constant physical therapy and aids to help him learn how to get around without the use of his legs. Live in aids are an option for Leila as well as daily visits to a physical therapist for his leg loss and an occupational therapist for his motor skills and social interaction to help cope with his losses. In addition to these therapies, Ian as well as Leila are going to need psychological therapy. Ian needs a therapist so he can try and understand why these bad things keep happening to him and he is going to need ways to try and cope with everything. He is also going to need a therapist to deal with the loss of his legs and try and understand there are things doctors can do to make his daily life better. Leila is going to need a therapist to learn how to deal with Ian and Tyler’s needs as well as emotional therapy on dealing with the loss of two men in her life she truly cared about. Leila is going to need to be there in everyway possible for both of her sons to get through these hard and emotional times.
ReplyDelete4. Ian’s school should welcome him back with open arms. His class should have a welcome back party with banners and some snacks so Ian can get back into his comfort zone. This will allow Ian to talk to his classmates he hasn’t seen in a while and allow him to start to feel normal again since his accident.
ReplyDelete5. Ian’s teacher should be the one to tell his classmates about what has happened to Ian and perhaps even his family. Allowing them to see the full picture and hear the details will be confusing to them at first but will soon set in and questions will start to be asked. The teacher should be prepared with pictures of children with no legs, children who have prosthetics, and children who are in wheel chairs. Some children might get upset but having them see the pictures and know what they are about to see on their real life friend will make the initial meeting with Ian not as scary and confusing. Ian’s teacher should notify the parents of each student prior to the discussion with the class about Ian’s situation so they are aware of what is going on and are fully prepared for the questions their children are going to come home and ask.
ReplyDeleteDecision Point:
ReplyDeleteTyler eventually comes out of a coma. He suffers moderate brain damage and has a language problem that does not allow him to communicate well with others. He also has much trouble with word retrieval. At first he is very unaware of what is going on and is not accepting of his new disability.
3. There are many assessments that need to take place to rule out a traumatic brain injury. According to the website traumaticbraininjury, a detailed neurological examination is necessary and will bring out any evidence of brain injury, a CAT scan, MRI, and PET scan may be useful in ruling out a TBI and a cognitive evaluation by a neuropsychologist doctor is extremely necessary. In addition to these tests, a Ranchos Los Amigos Scale could be used on Ian while in and out of consciousness to determine his levels of awareness, cognition, behavior and interacting with the environment. Once these actions take place, evaluations by physical, occupational and speech therapists can help clarify the specific deficits of Ian.
ReplyDeleteDestefanis, J., Firchow, N. (2011). Developmental milestones: Your 7-year-old child. Retrieved from http://www.greatschools.org/special-education/health/731-developmental-milestones-your-7-year-old-child.gs
ReplyDeleteGroup 3 Questions:
ReplyDelete1. Will the kids experience a form of post-traumatic stress disorder and be scared to ride in a car? Or are they too young to experience this?
2. How will Leila cope with the death of the second man in her life? Will she need to seek some sort of therapy?
3. How will Leila accommodate for Ian’s wheelchair needs? Will he get fake legs?
4. Will Ian lose his friends at school due to his disability? Will he be teased?
Finegan, J., Lenrow, D., Stewart, C. (2006). Traumatic Brain Injury. Retrieved from http://www.traumaticbraininjury.com/
ReplyDeleteBaby Center (2011). Retrieved from http://www.babycenter.com/303_milestones_1517873.bc