Early Intervention
Ivanhoe Broadcast News Features Sparks Therapist
Cathy Burke in "Smart Woman" Series
Cathy Burke, M.S., CCC-SLP, at the UAB Civitan Research Center Sparks Clinics, is being featured in a nationwide video series called "Smart Woman" produced by Ivanhoe Broadcast News. She is one of ten women featured in the series which is provided to subscriber television stations throughout the nation.
The video features a therapy session with Burke and the Coppage family and their daughter Laura Claire, age-2, who has been diagnosed hypocondrogenesis, a rare form of dwarfism. She has small lungs and uses a ventilator to help her breathe at night. Because she has a tracheostomy tube, learning to talk is very difficult for Laura Claire, but she is beginnning to make some sounds and can say "mama".
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Cathy provides speech/language intervention twice a week and has focused on teaching Laura Claire and her family to talk with each other through sign language and picture communication boards. The introduction of specialized augmentative communication strategies has made communication and language learning much easier for Laura Claire and her family. She can tell her brothers that she "wants ball" while they are playing and through signs can ask "daddy" to read a "book" or ask "Jojo" her nurse to "go play" outside. In
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Custom made picture communication boards help Laura Claire sing songs such as "Old MacDonald" with her family and friends. Using the board she can tell her "mama" what animal she wants to sing about. Pictures of "fast" and "slow" on her push-car allow her to tell everyone at what speed to push her. Other forms of simple assistive technology include books that are adapted with velcro, which spread the pages apart so Laura Claire can turn them more easily. |
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Related
Links *No Birmingham station is presently carrying the Smart Woman new series. If the video report about the Coppage Family and Cathy Burke becomes available online we will provide a link from this page. So bookmark this site and return in the near future.
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Laura Claire has made wonderful progress due to her motivation and determination, as well as the tremendous support from her family, caregivers, friends, and neighbors. Developmental motor therapy is provided to Laura Claire by Judy Drews, Ph.D., Coordinator of Physical therapy at Sparks Clinics. "Laura Claire is learning to get to a sitting position by herself, pulling up to stand, and take weight on her legs for longer periods of time in preparpation for orthopedic surgery," reports Judy. "She is learning to climb on and off a toy riding train. When she is in riding position, she can tell her helper to "go" and the train goes down a track slide and Laura Claire ges a BIG ride!" The therapies for the Coppage family are a collaboration of the UAB Civitan Research Center, the Alabama Early Intervention System, and Children's Rehabilitation Services.They are part of on-going efforts by the these agencies to provide family-centered, home-based early intervention services to Alabamians. |
