It’s a tough road, especially when you’re dealing with the most common condition in children: orthopedicism.
But it’s the most challenging part of orthopedists’ jobs, especially for those who’re dealing not just with one child’s condition, but also with a variety of other conditions.
“We don’t want to do a single treatment, we want to work with multiple children,” said Dr. Elizabeth B. Tewes, an orthopaedic surgeon in Florida who’s been treating children with special needs since the 1990s.
“But the way we work, we don’t have any guidelines.
We have no standards, and the way that we work is the way it’s been since the 1970s.”
Tewes has seen a dramatic uptick in the number of children who have a congenital heart defect, or CTH, and are at increased risk of heart failure.
A child with a CTH can have a heart defect for the rest of their lives, and their risk of dying from the disease is even higher.
“Children with CTH are more at risk for developing CVD and death from heart disease than children with congenital defects, and CTH has a high mortality rate,” she said.
And while Tews sees a huge uptick in CTH cases, it’s not all just one family.
She’s also seen an uptick in children with other conditions, including ADHD and learning disabilities.
“You’re seeing these kids with a lot of other things that are a little bit more difficult to treat,” Tewse said.
“We’ve seen children with autism and ADHD and speech dysfluency, and we’ve seen the increased incidence of anxiety and depression in children.”
Telling kids about the illness that their parents are having has been challenging.
Tawana Buhr, the CEO of the National Center for Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine, said the organization’s work in the field of congenital conditions has been a bit of a challenge.
“What we’re seeing is a lot more parents coming forward to say that they’re having a child with congenial conditions,” she told The Huffington, explaining that she’s received hundreds of calls over the past two years from parents who are concerned about their child’s mental health.
Buhr added that there’s a lot to learn from these children’s parents.
“I think that’s what I think is really unique about these children.
They’re doing this for so many reasons,” she explained.
“They don’t just have the condition, they have the parents.
They have the children.
And they’re doing it all for their own reasons.”
So, what can parents do to help their children cope?
There are a number of things you can do to make it easier for your child to thrive and have a healthy life, Buhre said.
“One thing we’ve found is that parents need to be able to look at the child in the eyes, not just look at their child as they’re playing,” she added.
“What parents need is not to just be concerned with their child, but what they’re feeling in their child.
What they’re trying to get across to their child.”
The National Center’s Buhra said the key to improving your child’s life is to find a way to support them in all aspects of life.
And that means having a healthy relationship with your child, supporting them in school, supporting their health, and making sure they’re getting their needs met.
“Parents are the people who are able to make this happen,” she noted.
“That’s where I feel it’s really important for us to do.”
So what can you do to support your child with CUSH?
Here are some tips to help.
If you can’t be there for your kids, the best thing you can offer them is support, Buehler said.
And if you can, that means making sure that they have a positive environment, so they feel like they can get out of the house and that they can do whatever they want.
“You need to get your children involved in their social life,” she stressed.
“Make sure they feel supported and they feel comfortable.
But make sure they also feel safe, and that it’s safe for them to go out with friends and to go to the parks.
It has to be safe.”
Treat your child like they are your own, Bumby said.
Talk to them about how they’re being treated, how they feel about things.
And, whenever possible, make them feel like you care.
“It’s important to say, ‘You are not the only one who has problems with this, there are others that are struggling,'” Bumbysaid.
“And I think that helps.”
There are so many things you should do for your children to help them feel more comfortable in your home, Burelysaid, as well as the things you and your family can