Children registered with Novita all have physical disabilities that meet the eligibility criteria of the Association. To be eligible for Novita services depends on a child’s level and type of disability, not just on the child’s diagnosis. Therefore a child having one of the following conditions will not, by itself, indicate that the child can be registered for Novita services. For more information about which children may receive services, see the Registration for Services page of this site.
An Acquired Brain Injury is an injury to the brain that has happened since birth. This can happen because of an accident, (such as a road accident, a fall or a diving accident), or various other incidents that result in an injury to the brain.
Acquired brain injury can happen to anyone at any age. You may know someone close to you with an acquired brain injury or you may have an acquired brain injury yourself.
People who have an acquired brain injury may experience a number of different difficulties:
The difficulties experienced depend on the type and extent of brain damage and this is different for each person - no two people with acquired brain injury will have exactly the same problems.
For more information about acquired brain injury:
Disclaimer: General information only - you should consult with the relevant professional before applying it to a particular situation. See disclaimer details.
Cerebral palsy is the most common reason for a child to have a physical disability. It is a general term for a group of disabling conditions caused by damage to the brain in early life during the period of brain development. Cerebral palsy is a disorder of muscle control affecting posture and movement causing problems such as weakness, spasticity or difficulties with balance and coordination.
Cerebral palsy is not a progressive condition, but changes may occur, with age, due to variations during the child’s growth and development.
In addition to problems with movement, other problems may be present, such as intellectual disability, epilepsy, visual and hearing problems, speech disorders and eating difficulties.
Two children with cerebral palsy are born for every 1,000 live births. This has been the same for many years.
Damage to the brain occurs:
Cerebral palsy is divided into the following types:
Involves spasticity and weakness of one side of the body. These children are usually late walking, but eventually walk independently. They may have more obvious involvement in the arm. A number of the children have intellectual delay and epilepsy is fairly common in this group.
Involves spasticity and weakness of the lower limbs, the upper limbs being less affected. This form often occurs when a baby is born early.
Involves spasticity and weakness of all four limbs. Many of these children have a number of other difficulties, for example, intellectual delay, epilepsy, vision and hearing problems, communication and eating difficulties.
These children often have an abnormality of the part of the brain that controls balance (the cerebellum). Walking is difficult because of these balance problems. Co-ordination and fine motor skills, such as the way children use their hands to write and manipulate things, may be affected and in some cases speech is also affected.
This type of cerebral palsy, affecting only a small proportion of children, affects the part of the brain that makes it possible for a person to produce smooth, controlled movements. The result is a tendency for uncontrolled, jerky movements, that in the most severe cases, can occur continuously. With training and practice, some degree of control is possible, but control is less when the person is tired or experiencing high levels of stress.
The muscular dystrophies are a group of inherited conditions in which there is break down of muscle fibres, leading to gradually increasing weakness.
The following information is about the most common form, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, which occurs only in boys. More than one boy in the family may be affected. Female relatives may be ‘carriers’ of the condition. This means that while they do not ‘show’ the condition, they carry the condition in their genes and may pass it on to their children. In such cases, genetic counselling of families is very important.
The main features of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy include:
Unfortunately most boys die in their late teens or early twenties, usually from respiratory failure or from heart failure. However with advances in research there is good reason for hope.
Retts Syndrome is very rare and progressive syndrome that affects the grey matter of the brain. The syndrome only affects girls. In this condition the little girl will progress fairly normally for most of the first year of life, after which development stops and gradually starts to go backwards. Learning is seriously affected and the girls have involuntary movements of their arms and hands. Most eventually rely totally on others for all their care.
Disclaimer: General information only - you should consult with the relevant professional before applying it to a particular situation. See disclaimer details.
Spina bifida is the term used to describe a group of congenital conditions in which there is abnormal development of part of the spinal cord. The most common and serious form is myelomeningocele in which the abnormal spinal cord is exposed on the surface of the back when the baby is born.
The major effects of spina bifida are:
There may be complete paraplegia, or partial or minor paralysis depending on the level of the spinal injury. Children with complete paralysis use wheelchairs for getting around. Those with part paraplegia may walk with callipers, splints or crutches. A few are able to walk by themselves without equipment.
There is loss of feeling in the legs that depends on the level of paralysis. This may lead to problems with pressure ulcers and burns, followed by infection.
About 80% - 90% of children with myelomeningocele have hydrocephalus, which is a build up of fluid in the brain. Most children will require a shunt operation to control the hydrocephalus. The shunt may need to be revised as your child grows or if it becomes blocked.
Nearly all children with spina bifida have problems with bladder and bowel control. Bladder paralysis may lead to repeated urinary infections and kidney damage. Bladder paralysis is managed by regular catheterisation every few hours during the day. Parents are taught how to do this, and the child will learn to self-catheterise when they are about six to eight years old. Bowel incontinence is managed in various ways such as by careful attention to diet, medicines that soften the faeces, enemas or suppositories.
These are common and may require splints or surgery.
Most children with spina bifida have learning difficulties. They often have problems with self-organisation, and poor motivation and may need special educational help.
Children with spina bifida and their parents face many challenges. However, with the support of a coordinated team including doctors, nurses, therapists and teachers, these can be met successfully. Physiotherapists have a large involvement in helping such children with how they move about, occupational therapists assist them to learn how to manage activities of daily living and psychologists are essential in helping the child to learn as well as they can.
Novita Toy and Resource Centre has an extensive collection of reading material covering all aspects of disabilities. Contact the library via the Contact Us page.
The following videotapes can be obtained from the Novita Toy and Resource Centre
Check out websites that provide extensive information about these and many other disabilities by going to the Disabilities Links page. See also the Related External Links list below.
Disclaimer Detail: The information on this website is of a general nature only and does not constitute advice. Novita Children's Services Inc. makes no representations as to the accuracy, usefulness, suitability or application of the information to a child's particular circumstances. You should seek professional advice before acting or relying on the information. In using this site, you are agreeing to the Terms and Conditions of Use for the site.
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Supports (usually made of metal) fixed to the legs to help a person to walk.
A way of draining the bladder by inserting a thin plastic tube through the urethra (the canal leading from the bladder through which urine is usually passed).
Present at birth.
A group of drugs associated with the adrenal cortex area of the brain.
Where a person is helped to have a new understanding about things that have, or may be likely to happen to them, by talking them through with another person
A standard, rule or test against which something can be measured or judged.
The way in which a health condition is discovered for a person. Diagnosis is also often used to refer to the name of the disease, condition, syndrome or disability that results from this process. In children, there is interest in their developmental progress/diagnosis as well as their medical diagnosis.
Entitled or allowed to receive something (such as a service).
Injection of liquid into the rectum (the lower part of the large intestine), usually to flush it out.
An ongoing medical condition, produced by temporary changes in the electrical function of the brain, that causes seizures that affect awareness, movement, or sensation. Sometimes called a seizure disorder.
‘Poo’, the matter passed from the bowel when going to the toilet.
The lack of ability to control the release of urine or faeces from the body.
Passed on from parents to their children from birth.
Where a child does not reach the same level of functioning in one or more major life activities such as self-care, language, learning, mobility, self-direction, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency. Also known as ‘developmental delay’.
An intellectual level significantly below average (assessed IQ less than 70), occurring before the age of 18 years. This must be combined with related limitations in two or more of the following areas: communication, self-care, home living, social skills, community awareness, self-direction, health and safety, functional academics, leisure & work.
Done without meaning to. Unintentional.
Loss of power or voluntary movement in a muscle through injury or disease of its nerve supply.
Paralysis of both lower limbs, and generally, the lower trunk.
Body position.
When a baby is born 3 or more weeks earlier than the due date.
A condition that develops or gets worse over time.
Not being able to breath properly to get oxygen into the blood-stream.
A tube inserted into a part of the body to divert or empty extra fluid.
The increased stiffness or ‘muscle tone’ felt in children with cerebral palsy. Muscle spasm can often be felt when such a child’s limbs are moved. The limbs are hard to bend or straighten because of the spasticity of the muscles. The doctor usually finds increased tendon jerks in a child with spasticity.
The nerves that run down the back inside the back-bone.
A custom-made or ‘off the shelf’ support which is worn on the hand to hold it in a fixed position - usually made from materials such as low temperature thermoplastic (plastic material which is mouldable when heated), neoprene and lycra.
Medicine in a material that melts at body temperature and is inserted into the rectum (the lower part of the large intestine).